Chapter 161 - An Unexpected Possibility

"Oh yeah" Mrs. Pasek remembered. "Her request is very private, so the assignment does not pass through the agency. It's your private."

"Are you sure? I can pay the right percentage."

"I am. There is no point in playing with little things. I treat it as an investment. Just try hard!"

"Of course."

Andrzej did not have an arranged session for today, so he thought he would take the opportunity to make new catalogs. Recently, a few new people have joined their models. Some of them were photographed by himself, others by photographers. Each of their facilities prepared a portfolio, but there was no one willing to create a collective album. For Nowicki, whose passion in photography were portraits, he found it to be an interesting challenge. Plus, he didn't like taking money for free, so if he had time and there was work to do, he would.

The day dragged on him enormously, and all he could think about was Dominik. Pure madness, he thought, but wasn't that what love was? Madness without method?

He prepared some test prints and decided to ask his colleagues what they thought about this project. After all, these were their models too. He took them under his arm and headed for the nearest photographer's studio.

It seemed to have fled with guests from Italy. Four elegant men and one woman walked along the corridor accompanied by Tomaszek, Mrs. Pasek's assistant. It was a strong team, so the meeting will be in the conference room. Andrzej glanced at them, but gave them little attention. That's why he didn't know that one of the Italians, about his age, looked after him curiously.

When Janina Pasek entered the conference room, the Italians were vigorously negotiating something between themselves. They looked very excited and totally unprofessional. They acted like a bunch of kids on a school trip, not representatives of one of the world's most expensive cosmetics companies.

Mrs. Pasek found out almost immediately where the commotion was coming from. Immediately after the presentation by the translator and Tomaszek, the translator explained.

"As we explained over the phone, J. Acutti[1] brand is looking for a new face for its completely new range of men's cosmetics. So far, the company's representatives have visited the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. If they had not found this face in Poland, they would have gone to Belarus, then Lithuania, and so on. But it looks like they've found the perfect model. Right at your agency."

"How's that?" Mrs. Pasek asked surprised. "They haven't seen any photos yet. Did you show them something or someone?" she asked her assistant.

Tomaszek shook his head.

"We didn't even pass any by," he replied softly.

"Yes, yes," replied the interpreter with emphasis. Apparently she heard him perfectly. "In the corridor we passed a tall blonde ..."

"Nowicki," said the assistant with surprise.

Mrs. Pasek took a deep breath.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding," she said slowly. "The man you saw is not a model. He is a photographer."

After these words were translated into Italian, there was a commotion in J. Acuttii's team.

"It doesn't change anything. We can work with an inexperienced model."

"Suppose I manage to convince him to work as a model. What money are we talking about?"

Having heard the amount, Mrs. Pasek did not show how impressed she was. She only rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her intertwined fingers. Such a contract was a golden duck.

"Go get Nowicki," she growled.

"Is it wise at this stage of the talks ...?"

"I want him here."

There were no further questions or doubts. Tomaszek left the conference room. He returned after less than two minutes, leading Andrzej behind him.

Mrs. Pasek looked at the photographer with a penetrating eye. Although he was dressed a bit loosely, casual, you could say he looked very nice. Tall, but without exaggeration, with taut muscles underneath his clothes, no fat, even before thirty, and with a face that is attractive, masculine, but at the same time has something cold about him that made you stay at a safe distance. But the eyes, hazel, with deep, warm eyes, were like two magnets. The whole thing looked great, which Janina Pasek noticed in the first moment when he came to the interview. Even then, she wanted to persuade him to work as a model.

Mrs. Pasek made a presentation and asked Andrzej to sit down. He was calm, only slightly curious. Apparently, Tomaszek did not explain to him why he was invited.

So she did.

Andrzej sucked in a breath. He paled.

"But I'm not a model. I'm not interested in that," he announced.

The boss told him the amounts in which they would move.

Nowicki paled even more. He didn't answer anything.

Talks about the details of the contract began. Andrzej did not speak up in the conversations, he sat silent like a boulder. Janina Pasek was aware of what might be raging in his head at that moment, because she already knew him very well. Nowicki did not want to do it, be a model and sell his face. Even the enormous fee in question would not convince him of this. He made good money, and even before, when he got pennies, he was happy. He was not a materialist. But he also couldn't ignore the fact how much money was at stake for the entire company.

It was not too fair for him to let him know all these details, but Mrs. Pasek knew one thing - this contract would be a huge success, and Andrzej's head would not fall off if his face appeared in several magazines around the world.

The meeting is over. When Nowicki got up, an interpreter approached him.

"Excuse me, do you know English?"

"Yes," he replied.

The young Italian standing behind her, at her signal, came closer and began a conversation in that language.

"I know that it is not an easy decision for you. I would like to invite you to dinner to present the benefits for you from this cooperation. Answer all your questions. Here is my business card. On the back is the name of the hotel we are staying in and my room number in case you would like to call."

Nowicki glanced at the boss, then at the card.

"Thank you. And this is my business card, he handed him his own."

The Italian smiled radiantly.

"Would it be possible to meet today? I do not hide that we care about time."

"Yes. We can meet today."

"Maybe in this nice bar ..."

Andrzej blinked at the name. Probably soon he will become its regular guest.

They made an appointment and the Italian delegation left.

"Nowicki" Pasek stopped the photographer.

Andrzej stopped in the doorway and turned back. Tomaszek was dismissed with a gesture, so they were left alone in the conference room for twenty people.

"I don't need to tell you what this contract means to our company," she began. "You heard the amounts we talked about. Fame to the world market. But if you would agree to a contract just for the company, then don't."

"I'm sorry?"

"You are a decent, modest guy and you do not have a sneak peak at stardom. If you don't want to stand on the other side of the lens, it will come out in the pictures. They will be bad. And this will duplicate both the contract and the company. Therefore, you cannot do this for us. You have to make the decision for yourself."

"It's not that easy."

"Why? Are you attracted to money?"

"No. The problem is that if the company loses such a contract because of me, I will not be able to look in the mirror."

"Stupid. But that's why I like you. You know that I have no children and everyone in this company is like a child to me. You too. No mother wants her child to sacrifice himself. What did this Italian want?"

"Talk about the proposal. Dispel my doubts. We made an appointment for the evening."

"Well. Hear him out, talk to him. Don't force yourself to do anything, but keep your head open."

"Okay, Mom," he joked with a faint smile.

"And cheer up for God's sake. If you don't agree, it's hard. I'm not going to pull my hair out of my head for that. Just take into account that your face can be an asset to your career and money. Treat it as one of your capital."

The rumors at this company seemed to be traveling at lightning speed as he had barely left the conference room when the first smiles and inquisitive glances appeared. They were kind of friendly, but jealousy broke through them. Was this the world like? A smile in the face and a dagger in the back? It definitely didn't look promising.

[1] I have no idea if this word has any meaning in Italian. I invented it to sound in Italian. I did this to avoid affiliation with any real brand of cosmetics or apparel.