A Family Affair

by Marilyn McPherson

Chapter Four

  Two days later after her chance meeting with Jake Scott, Ellen found herself standing outside the headquarters of Satinol Cosmetics. It was a tall building in the heart of the city, probably one of the largest on the block. Ellen felt very small standing there by herself. There were people rushing in and out of the large rotating glass doors located on the ground floor.

  Ellen found a public bench outside and sat down to settle her nerves. After a few deep breaths, she stood up and took a couple of steps towards the door. Then numerous doubts started to fill her mind. What if they didn't believe she was a model? What if Jake wasn’t there today? What would she say to explain her being there? Ellen quickly turned around and sat down again. She could feel her heart beating very fast, and her chest tightening. Her breathing was far faster than normal. Suddenly the taste of something thick and sweet filled her mouth, and Ellen realised she had bitten her bottom lip. So for another five minutes she sat there, with a cut lip, without the nerve to go inside. Still more people moved in and out of the building. It seemed to be a very busy place indeed.

  Ellen tried to imagine the best and worst outcomes that could arise from going inside. The best result would be getting paid two hundred and fifty dollars as Jake had promised. The money would cover her bills for the week and allow her and Chloe to have a night out somewhere together. Being paid simply to be photographed, wear nice makeup and new clothes. The thought made Ellen smile happily and she immediately felt more relaxed. The worst outcome, she thought to herself would be if they laughed her out of the building, and she ended up in tears. But that really wasn't so bad. She had certainly been laughed at before. Ellen stood up, held her head high, and told herself she was ready for anything as she marched inside.

  She moved through the large rotating glass doors of Satinol Cosmetics and then gasped in awe. In front of her was a grand foyer like nothing she had ever seen before. Gold plated mirrors and portraits adorned the walls while marble floors stretched to a grand staircase in the centre of the foyer. A rich, sweet fragrance filled the air saturating her senses.

  Ellen soon spotted the reception desk and found herself face to face with a friendly and polite young woman at the counter.

  “Good morning. How can I help you today?” the young woman asked pleasantly.

  Ellen noticed that the girl’s hair was sleekly pulled back into a bun, and her skin appeared to be completely flawless. She wondered how long the young girl had spent getting ready for work that morning, and held back the desire to ask her about this. “I'm here to see Jake Scott,” Ellen finally replied, trying not to stare at the girl.

  “Who may I say is here to see him?” she asked.

  “It's Ellen”, she said, and then hesitantly added, “from the tram”. Ellen kicked herself. How could she have said 'from the tram.' How embarrassing!

  “Oh, wait a moment.” The girl put down the phone, and thought for a moment. Ellen Jackson, is it?” she enquired.

  Ellen nodded.

  The girl continued, “Mr Scott has actually left some instructions”. She seemed pleased with herself and then fumbled around in her drawer for a moment. “Where did I put that note?” she asked herself. “Hmmm. Oh, here it is.” She looked up at Ellen briefly and then continued, “You are to see Tina in Studio Four on the twelfth floor. She will look after you this morning, and hopefully Mr Scott will catch up with you after that.”

  Ellen was surprised that Jake would not be meeting her on arrival. He knew that she was nervous about the day.

  “The lifts are just over there.” The girl pointed her towards a hallway to the right. “Have a great day now.” The girl's phone starting ringing. “Satinol Cosmetics. Good morning, this is Julie”, Ellen heard as she walked away.

  Ellen moved away from the reception desk remembering the fear she had felt only minutes ago, and smiled to herself. Her heart was still pounding, but the apprehension had been completely replaced by a feeling of excitement and possibility. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Everything was going to be okay. They are expecting me, she thought.

  A few minutes later, Ellen found herself in an elevator surrounded by well-dressed people in fancy business suits. She could detect the low murmur of people’s conversation behind her. Ellen looked down at her own freshly ironed plain black pants and favourite green t-shirt. She felt out of place standing next to these people. Perhaps, they are too busy to even notice me, she thought happily.

  “Level twelve”, the elevator indicated. This was it.

  The doors opened to reveal a quiet area with a reception desk facing the lifts. Ellen noticed a sign which read ‘Studios One to Four’ pointing right and a long corridor to the left. A girl at the reception desk with long black hair and thick glasses beckoned to her.

  “Hi, are you Ellen?” the girl enquired.

  Ellen nodded.

  “Nice to meet you. Julie, from reception, just called to say you were on the way up. You can take a seat there.” The girl motioned towards a red couch behind Ellen. “Are you looking forward to your session today? I’m Alex by the way.”

  “Hi. I am looking forward to it, kind of,” Ellen said unconvincingly.

  The girl hesitated slightly, “I heard that you haven't done any modelling before. Is that right?”

  Ellen nodded. “I’m so not a model. Really not sure what I’m doing here.”

  Alex laughed quietly at her statement. “Well, it's always fun when you try something new for the first time, right?”

  Ellen was going to explain that she wasn't sure exactly what her session would involve, but then thought better of it. “I really hope that I don’t stuff up, and waste everyone’s time,” she said.

  “It will be fine, so don’t worry too much. Now, there is a form here for you to fill out. It’s just contact details mostly.” Alex handed Ellen a clipboard with a single sheet of paper. It did not take long to complete, and Ellen handed it back after about five minutes. Alex seemed pleased. “Great. Have a seat again and I'll call Tina to let her know you are ready.”

  “Okay” replied Ellen, sitting down again.

  Alex dialled an extension while Ellen looked around the room nervously. Butterflies were starting to make their presence felt in her stomach.

  Alex was obviously listening intently to someone, “Yep, okay, yes,” she said. She pressed a button which ended the call. “Come with me, Ellen.” Alex stood up and moved to the front of the counter. She had a phone headpiece clipped onto her right ear, which obviously allowed her to move freely around the floor while monitoring any calls.

  Ellen was led from the reception area into Studio Four. There was a large white screen from floor to ceiling, three large floodlights, and numerous props. It all looked quite alien and intimidating. She couldn’t imagine what some of the props would be for. There was a smaller room off to one side which they entered. It was a narrow space with a long mirror running along an entire wall. There was a lady there to greet them as they entered the room. She looked up with interest.

  “Hi Tina, this is Ellen Jackson,” said the receptionist. “Her session is scheduled for eleven o’clock, so you've got plenty of time here.”

  Tina was gorgeous and well dressed, like every other woman working in the building, thought Ellen. She was older than the receptionist, perhaps in her late forties with short, stylish hair and trendy dark-coloured clothing.

  “Thanks Alex,” Tina said. “So, come on in, Ellen. Make yourself at home. I hope you have a good joke for me, ‘cause I only do good makeup in exchange for a good joke.” Tina pulled a chair out and motioned for her to sit down.

  Alex laughed briefly and said to Ellen, “Tina loves a good joke, and you'd better think of a good one, because I once saw this model who refused to tell any jokes, and well, believe me, she was not a pretty picture when Tina was finished with her.” The two of them laughed heartily, obviously remembering a shared experience.

  Alex started heading towards the door, but called out enc
ouragingly, “Catch ya later Ellen and good luck.”

  “Thanks,” Ellen replied, not sure if Alex had heard.

  “What sort of music do you like?” Tina asked, turning her stereo on.

  “Lots of different stuff”. This was true. Ellen had never been able to identify one type of music that she preferred over all the others. Tina's music was fast and electronic. “This is good.”

  Tina nodded to Ellen's reply. “I'm really into the local scene at the moment. There are a lot of great home-grown bands in Melbourne.”

  Ellen nodded, even though she didn't know much about the local music scene.

  Tina moved so that she was standing in front of Ellen. “Wait a moment. First things first. I will need you to change out of your top, and put a buttoned shirt on.”

  “Oh.”

  Tina continued, “Always wear clothes that can be buttoned off when you come to a session like this.”

  Ellen looked down at her top. It was her favourite tight green t-shirt, which definitely had to come off over the head. “Oh right. Sorry.”

  “It's okay,” Tina said in a friendly tone. “Go behind the screen there.” She pointed towards the large screen behind her. “There are some buttoned shirts hanging up. Be quick, then come back.”

  Ellen ripped her t-shirt off and quickly buttoned a simple blue shirt before returning to her comfy seat in front of the mirror with Tina. A large tray had been wheeled over to the bench near her seat.

  Bit by bit Tina started to apply various products to Ellen's face and neck. It felt nice. Tina obviously knows what she's doing, Ellen thought, and watched the mirror carefully as her face was slowly transformed.

  “Did you still want to hear a joke?”

  “Yes, go ahead,” said Tina seriously. She was obviously concentrating quite hard.

  Feeling comfortable and happy, Ellen looked up at Tina's face which was very close to hers at the moment. “So this is my favourite joke in the world,” she said quietly. “You’ve probably heard it. But it's the only joke I can ever remember, and unfortunately it's not really that funny, but I love it because my dad loves it. This joke made him laugh really hard when I told it to him.”

  “Let’s hear it then,” Tina said patiently. She was a fun person to be around and had already made Ellen feel completely relaxed.

  “How do you keep an idiot in suspense?” Ellen asked.

  “How?”

  “I'll tell you later”. Ellen smiled and watched Tina's face in the mirror, waiting for her to get it.

  Tina laughed. “That's a good one”. Both of them chuckled at each other. “I'll have to tell that one to my boyfriend. Very appropriate humour if you know what I mean.”

  It was then that Ellen noticed in the mirror a figure standing behind the door peering in. The two of them were being watched by someone. Ellen turned her head to see who it was, and found an older man looking at her with the most amazing brown eyes she had ever seen.

  After noticing Ellen's gaze, Tina also looked over. She seemed more surprised than Ellen by the man's presence, whoever he was. Tina hesitated briefly before exclaiming, “Mr Bradley, hello”.