by Mia Wolf
I place a hand on my heart to steady its pulse. I can’t believe this is happening to me.
Chapter 4 – Andrew
Ashley Wang, 38, talent acquisition manager, head of sales, and designer at Regal. Quite a diverse portfolio, I think to myself. I’ve been aware of her resourcefulness which is precisely why I want someone like her on my team.
I scroll down for more information on her as I wait for the traffic to move on my way to the hotel. I grab a pair of sunglasses from my dashboard and put them on. I see a decent flock of girls in the cars next to me ogling me, and I suppose the matte black BMW convertible doesn’t help the situation.
My thoughts reel back to Ashley Wang. She knows I’ve been trying to scout her for a while, but she hasn’t shown much interest in joining RISE. I don’t think that has changed.
I brush my chin lightly. My intuition says it’s something else that she wants from me, but I have no idea what that might be. Perhaps, there’s something I can do for her this time. Let’s see what Miss Wang has up her sleeves.
An hour later, I pull over into the Hilton parking lot in downtown Brooklyn. Clothed in my standard white linen shirt (I always have a spare one in my car, because my bear has a tendency to shred them regularly) and a black pair of low-hanging Levi’s, I push back my hair, and shove my hands into my pockets as I walk across the lobby and into the restaurant. I wave at Ariana at the reception, and she blushes in response.
I’m taken aback as I check the time on my watch. 2:23 p.m. I am seven minutes early, and yet I see Miss Ashley Wang already seated at our reserved table.
“Miss Wang,” I say with my brightest toothy smile. She slips out of her seat, and we hug in greeting. Her grace does not seem to be a facade. Undoubtedly, RISE would be lucky to have her.
“Mr. Brehm,” she says, and her voice is of a grown woman’s, unlike her petite appearance. She’s not a standard brand of chic that most of the women I end up going on dates with are. She’s custom-made from head to toe. I grin at her with narrowed eyes and slip into my seat, even more curious about why she wants to speak to me than before. I let the curiosity silently bubble inside of me, all the while trying to pick clues from her body language. Surprisingly, she doesn’t give away much.
“You look even lovelier in real life,” I say to break the silence. Most of the times, the small talk comes naturally to me. But every once in a while, the praise is well-deserved.
“That’s very kind of you, Mr. Brehm,” she says, and her lips stay parted as she momentarily pauses before continuing with a seemingly more pressing matter. “We should order something first. I’m famished.”
She picks up the menu and runs her eyes from one page to the next. A waiter promptly shows up at our table.
“Chardonnay,” says Miss Wang and smiles at me invitingly.
“I’ll have regular water, thank you.” Bad manners, I know. But I prefer to stay focused. Plus, I have a lot of driving to do for the rest of the day.
We order our food as well. Miss Wang gets some salad, and I get my standard order of medium-rare steak.
I am hoping we can spare each other the chit-chat, and I’m pleased to find that so does Miss Wang, or Ashley.
Ashley makes a clicking sound with her tongue before beginning. “Let me cut to the chase, Mr. Brehm. I’m well aware that you don’t accept modeling offers, your staff was quite thorough in explaining that to me.”
“And apparently you don’t accept fashion design offers,” I say and let the words hang to let her ruminate on them. Ashley Wang ignores them.
“I nevertheless think it might be worth considering it just this time because there might be a good business opportunity for you. The Regal fashion week is coming up next month, and I have signed a few designers that, in my expert opinion, the entire industry should be on the lookout for. I have an eye for such things,” she says. Right then, the waiter places her glass of wine in front of her, but she pays him no mind.
The dull amber glow of the hall makes the woman look hauntingly pretty, and I can’t help but think that she must have stolen some hearts. Sharp cheekbones, dark eye makeup, and a black dress that makes her look like a queen of a faraway country. Her eyes have an edge to them like she sees more than what’s on the surface. Though, she has a way of looking down on me like I’m a child which irks me, to say the least.
It’s quite unlike me to get fazed. I’m immune to the powerplay from most, actually all, men. And here, I feel like I’m only reeling in what Ashley Wang wants me to know. How bothersome.
“Usually, I care about pedigree. The fashion industry is a bit high-strung that way. Everyone partakes in the who’s who and doesn’t play too far off from that. But every once in a while, I’m compelled to break that rule. Fortunately, this is one such occasion.” She pauses and narrows her eyes at me. She sips from her wine glass, and it soaks her bare, pink lips. She presses them softly with her eyes still resting on me.
“Unfortunately, one of the designers I’ve signed does not have the kind of resources you and I enjoy. That should be no reason to squander talent, now isn’t that right Mr. Brehm?” She pouts, and the words out of my mouth are not even required.
“Quite right,” I say.
“I would love to work with you, I really do. You seem like the kind of person I would love working for. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the work that does not particularly align with my tastes. I’m a creative woman, Mr. Brehm,” she pauses and narrows her eyes at me. “The designer I’m talking about, if given the right mentorship and resources, I think she has the potential to be as good as I am in about half the time it took me to get here.”
I don’t understand what she’s trying to get at, but something tells me it’s not the answer I’m looking for.
“Someone like her would be more suited to work for you. Frankly, I don’t think she needs much mentoring either. If you start now, you can mold her to be the designer for RISE.”
Ashley Wang sips chardonnay from her glass after dropping her proposition, just like that.
It makes sense, but unfortunately, I don’t believe in potential.
“Miss Wang, I wager only on things I see in front of me and not on what if’s.” I don’t add any more to that. If it’s not going to be Ashley Wang, then I’ll find someone else to do the job. There are plenty of people who’d kill for the offer. But it is that creative vision that I want for RISE, and that is hard to find.
She smiles back, and there really is no animosity in her expression.
We eat the rest of our meal in relative silence, but somehow it’s not that awkward. We both have places to get to, and lunch needs to be had. We do exchange some of our experiences working as a self-made business person. The suffocation, the pressure, the constant threat of being pulled down. A little heart to heart I don’t usually care for, but Ashley Wang is proving to be different than most of the people I’m accustomed to.
I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something honest, naked, and vulnerable about her. I give myself a reality check not to pry too deep too soon. It’s all walking on a minefield when you’re at the top. Everyone always wants something in return.
“Mr. Brehm, I certainly don’t want to push you. But I would still say, as a designer, you can trust my opinion on this,” she says without flinching her eyes. Her confidence is absolute.
“It was nice to meet you, Miss Wang,” I say, concluding our meeting. I pay the bill, and we get up to leave. Before walking away, she slips a piece of paper in my direction.
“In case you change your mind,” she says then picks up her purse and leaves.
I take the piece of paper in my hand and flip it.
Rose Maibach.
Perhaps the name of the designer she talked about? I put the piece of paper in my pocket as soon as Ashley Wang is out of my sight. I still have a couple of places to go, a long day ahead. The lunch left a sour taste in my mouth in more ways than I would’ve liked.
I shake my head as I ex
it the hotel lobby.
Once I reach home after a long day, another problem awaits me. My phone has been off the last couple of hours because it was empty and I left my charger at home. As soon as I plug it in, though, my phone starts blowing up with texts. I frown, thinking who on earth could be sending me all these texts. I open the first and let out a sigh. It’s from the alpha of the clan. I admit it’s somewhat amusing to know the lengths he must’ve gone just to get a hold of my phone number. I’m not an easy man to get in touch with. Not for anyone from my clan, anyway.
I left the village ten years ago, I have not kept any ties to my life back there, and I have absolutely no plans to ever return there. Ten years out of the village, and I’ve mastered control over my animal instincts. How can the stupid Alpha still feel threatened by me? The answer finds its way out of my gut instinctively. My father has not given up on me, I see.
“Andrew, I challenge you to a duel.”
“I will find you and put an end to this once and for all.”
“Stop hiding like a little rat.”
There are about half a dozen more texts full of pithy curses, jabs, and empty threats that I gloss over. None of this concerns me anymore.
I plop onto my bed with my shoes still on and stare at the ceiling as if I can see the stars in the sky. I remember how I used to do that in the village at nights.
But before I sink back into memories that I’d rather bury forever, my phone rings in the pocket of my jeans, and I pull it out to find that it’s Jackson again.
“Give me good news, Jackson,” I say answering the call.
“News is good,” he replies in his typical dead-pan voice. Nothing fazes this guy. “The meeting you were trying to land with the investors at Vinyl is finally approved. They booked you a spot for coming Monday.”
My brain immediately goes into overdrive. I’ve been working on this for nearly two months to no success. Can’t wait to say “told you so” to Zack’s face.
“That’s excellent news, Jackson. You manage to make my day when I least expect you to.”
“You got it, Andrew,” Jackson chuckles before giving me a quick rundown of tomorrow’s schedule then hanging up.
I’ve wanted to take RISE to the next level for a year and a half. I started it with my own two hands once I collected myself in the aftermath of leaving the village.
When I first left, I was lost with no direction, no ambition, and no will to live if I'm honest. What does one really do once they’re ripped from the only thing they knew all their life? I lived like that for a long time, with no idea of what I really wanted to do, and no one to help me or to be my friend. Except for Zack.
It was a long time of searching for some higher meaning or purpose for life.
I started RISE to build myself up, to rise from the ashes, or at least that was the idea in my head at the time. RISE was about power, improvement, and crushing life. Zack was among my first few clients. He liked me enough to set me up with a few other people and things completely snowballed from there. That was five years ago, and RISE is still my brainchild, growing in ways I hadn’t imagined at the time.
It is now the go-to fitness brand for the top 1%. Celebrities, politicians, musicians, actors, CEO’s; the business has expanded so much in last few years that I can no longer give personal service to a decent chunk of clients that I would’ve considered a good catch when I first started out.
Now, I help the people who keep the world running.
I walk up to the window and admire the view of New York city from the 25th floor. I stand there for a while, slowly relaxing and feeling the tension of a long work day leaving my shoulders. It’s late, but not late enough to go to bed yet, and I enjoy the prospect of having the next hour or so to myself. I usually don’t get this much time to myself, but when I do, I spend it doing absolutely nothing.
My phone buzzes again which confuses me since I don’t usually get calls at this time. Jackson is always the last person to contact me with a summary of the day and a brief schedule for the next morning.
I pick up my phone from the bed and am surprised to find that it’s an email from Ashley Wang.
I open the email. It contains the same link that was written on the piece of paper she gave to me when we met.
I know you haven’t taken a look, you’re a busy man. But you should. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
“Fine, Ashley,” I chuckle and click on the link that takes me to the website.
To my surprise, I actually find myself appreciating the designs, but I reckon it’s for a very different reason than Ashley Wang might think. The website is full of designer Shomas, the traditional bear attire. I scroll to the bottom to find the face that’s behind the work.
Rose Maibach.
There’s a picture of a slender woman in a dull gray Shoma and black six-inch stilettos. Her blonde hair is loosely falling down to her shoulders. It’s not the fact that the woman is drop-dead gorgeous that makes my breath hitch. I’m surrounded by drop-dead gorgeous women all the time. It’s the feeling that she’s giving me. I’m transfixed by her, I can feel the heat rise in my body. It isn’t my human side that’s reacting to her, I have enough experience to know that for sure.
Perhaps, it’s because of the Shomas. The last time I remember seeing them was during the winter solstice festival when I was still with my clan. Maybe my brain somehow transports me back in time, showing me where I really belong. I shake my head to get a grip on myself and rest my eyes on the woman again. They travel from her eyes to her red lips, down to her chest. I stop myself once I feel the discomfort in my jeans.
There is a contact number on the website, and I notice the same one is included within the email from Ashley Wang. Without thinking, I send Rose Maibach a text.
“Hi. I’m Andrew Brehm.”
Once it is sent, I curse out loud. What’s the bright idea, genius?
I think about Ashley Wang’s suggestion again. I guess there is not much harm in at least giving the woman a chance. Perhaps, a company interview would be enough to assess whether she’d be a good fit. I might just do it out of courtesy.
The modeling request, on the other hand, is unnecessary. I don’t need to do it even if I end up hiring her for RISE. Working for RISE would be an opportunity of a lifetime for someone in her position.
I lift my chin so that I can see my face in the mirror on my cupboard. In the yellow apartment light, I tilt my head around to see if I look like model material. Despite the fact that I’d been constantly asked to model for people, I’ve never said yes. I’m not here to become eye candy.
I think about the designer’s red lips again, and the stress on my face melts and disappears. It’s a calming feeling, the kind I have never felt before. I think back to the time I last dated a girl. I was still in the village, and she was my childhood friend, we went to the same school. I didn’t even have the guts to tell her I was leaving the village. Nothing was left for me there. If there had been even a tiny sliver of anything in that place that could have tethered me to it, I wouldn’t have left. Funny, how even after all this time, I keep trying to convince myself that I did the right thing.
I push those thoughts aside and catch a glimpse of the designer again. “Rose Maibach,” I mouth out loud.
Why are my hands itching to text her again? I don’t even know how I’m going to justify that first text. I’m almost wriggling to get closer to her, what is this crazy feeling?
Begrudgingly, I text Ashley Wang.
“Fine, I’ll be the model. But you know I don’t have much time to spare, so my team will let you know about my schedule.”
I can’t believe myself. Zack is going to have a nice little chuckle about this.
Chapter 5 – Rose
I’m lying on the couch when my phone vibrates, and I instinctively reach for it since it could be a message from Ashley Wang’s staff. I’ve been getting a lot of emails from them these past few days, updating me on the Regal fashion week. The guest list,
the designers, the brand sponsorships. All that glitz and all that glam and I don’t want to miss out on any of it.
It’s a text with a few photos as an attachment. The moment I scroll through the pictures, I realize these would be the models that Ashley Wang picked out for my show. I immediately love all the female ones because I can see them pull off my designs with ease given their bone structure and face shape. I knew Ashley Wang is all that, but it’s something else when you get to experience the woman firsthand.
I browse through the pictures of the male models until my eyes get stuck on one in particular. And by stuck, I mean full brakes. My body tenses up as my eyes trail down his strong jaw, unmistakably beautiful silver hair, and hypnotizing silver eyes.
I am spellbound. I try to even my shallow breathing and place a hand on my chest to calm myself down. My feelings are way more intense than I can handle and I feel embarrassed. I mean I have literally only seen pixels of the man, and I can already hear my ovaries scream.
Woods forbid if I actually have to talk to him. I tilt my neck and bite my lip to take another look at the man’s face.
“Andrew,” says the caption.
Why are you so goddamn irresistible, Andrew?
A moan forms in my throat but it turns into a growl as it finds its way out of my mouth. This is something primal, I realize. Something primal that requires only one response. I rush out the back door and into the woods around the village without checking who’s around.
The feeling crescendos in my chest and as soon as I’m safely enshrouded in the thick forests I rip off my clothes and transform into my bear. This release hasn’t surfaced in so long, I’d almost forgotten how satiating it feels to have my bare skin come in contact with the cold forest breeze. The trees whirl past as I speed uphill on all four of my limbs.
Everything around me is clearer, the landscape sharper, I can smell everything in a two miles radius. I’ve suppressed my bear for so long that this consciousness feels like a high, and I realize only now what I’ve been missing.
