Chapter 73

Adrianna came out of the mall with ten new outfits, five new shoes, and three new bags. She kept telling Ayanna to stop buying her things but Ayanna refused and wouldn't take no for an answer. It was clear that the girl had too much money in her hands.

Adrianna took a taxi later that day to the studios of Abad TV Network. When she got to the studio there were already five other women dressed in white outfits. She had expected to see more people.

When the producer approached her Adrianna asked if she was too early.

"Miss, this shoot is only for the top ten. We don't like mixing the sisters with other people. Plus we treat the top ten with a unique level of prestige." The producer explained to Adrianna.

"Eww Carmen, isn't that the cousin of that Asia girl! The one that got pregnant on purpose!" A tall foreign looking woman commented not so silently as Adrianna passed.

"Shhh, Francesca! Didn't you hear she hangs out with the sisters." A woman, Adrianna assumed to be Carmen, told her companion.

"I don't really care, didn't you hear the rumors that the Reyes heir likes her? And she's married. What a shame." Francesca said, shaking her head.

"Let's just get our hair done, we won't be seeing her around anyway." Carmen pulled her friend away.

These women were not exactly strangers to Adrianna, she had seen them on magazine covers and interviews on TV in the past. Francesca Rocci was an Italian - Filipino model that had been on the rise the past five years. She had been on the 30 under 30 list for the past three. She was a favorite model at the Milan and New York fashion weeks and had even acted in some Hollywood films. Her companion was Carmen Evangelista, she was famous for establishing her own cake shop franchise across the country at the age of 20. She was also a sought after pastry chef that has cooked for a lot of individuals, including the families of the five princes.

Adrianna was led to a changing room and assigned a make up artist. The theme of the shoot was black and white, a theme Adrianna felt was used so often in shoots like these. She took out the white suit and pants and black top that she had bought with Ayanna and the other girls.

When she sat to have her makeup done a middle aged woman smiled at her.

"First time?" The woman asked.

"Yeah." Adrianna nervously answered.

"Ignore the comments you heard earlier. Those girls were brought up to live a very difficult life, and they have. So they aren't too nice." The woman advised.

"They were talking about my cousin, I don't really like her that much, so it's alright." Adrianna explained.

"They'll shut up when the sisters get here. Plus they become nicer. Who wouldn't want to get a chance to get a little bit closer to the five princes." The makeup artist explained.

"I don't. I mean, businesswise I wouldn't mind working with them, but the other kind, I don't want that." Adrianna said.

"You're one in a million miss. Maybe even rarer." The makeup artist laughed.

Someone came in to check if Adrianna was ready to do some test shots. Adrianna quickly changed and followed the staff member to take some test shots. When she arrived the five other girls were already there and were talking like they knew each other quite well.

"Francesca, I heard you have a new suitor." A woman who looked extremely fit said to Francesca. This woman was Beatrice Cruz, national team captain for the women's volleyball team that had just made history by winning in the Asian Games.

"Oh, it's nothing serious." Francesca blushed.

"I heard that you're going to have dinner with a certain Mr. Alexander Sebastian tomorrow night." Beatrice teased Francesca.

"It's just dinner, it's not a big deal." Franceca said.

"It's your chance to get cozy with his sister, Katerina." Carmen suggested to her friend.

"Miss Katerina has always been cold and aloof during these shoots. Trying to get close to her might just get me embarrassed, Carmen." Francesca said with a grin. Of course Carmen was trying to get her to embarrass herself, taking down one threat and bringing her closer to getting to know the sisters.

"Oh look Veronica is here, wanna guess which prince she might be dating now?" Beatrice said, nudging Carmen.

Veronica came into the studio and smiled at Adrianna then left to go to her dressing room. When Veronica was out of earshot Beatrice resumed her gossip.

"She was seen arriving at Nationalia several Wednesdays in a row with Ram Abad. And we all know what those Wednesdays are." Beatrice told the other girls.

"She's so lucky the sisters like her. I bet she's even met the mysterious Anna Abad!" Carmen said. Most people were unaware that Anna and Veronica were the same person. The Abad family had long told everyone that Anna was studying abroad.

After Adrianna was done with her test shoot Ayanna, Nicole, and Katerina all arrived together, all dressed and ready for the shoot. The other women had mostly ignored Adrianna and only spoke about her to gossip about her sudden rise to the top at Island's Inc. and to talk about how Asia had tricked Mark Chu into getting her pregnant and marrying her.

"Hi ladies, I'm the new reporter for this segment. My name is Jon Santos and I was a reporter for three stars until Mr. Abad hired me. We will be taking some shots and videos for the report and the magazine, then we will have a group interview then my assistant will schedule a one on one interview with you." Jon the reporter announced when he saw all the girls were ready.

They were asked to sit and stand in various places with Ayanna in the center and Adrianna to her left. All of the other girls were jealous, to stand next to Ayanna Reyes meant you were one of the most successful women that were influencing how society and business worked. They wouldn't accept the fact that this new newcomer to the list was getting such an honor. On top of that most of them wanted that chance to see if they could meet the Reyes heir.

"Ignore them." Ayanna whispered to Adrianna.

"That's easy for you Adrianna. They would all kiss your feet just for the opportunity to work with your company. I on the other hand need to build relationships just to get to work with them." Adrianna sighed.

"Something tells me that soon they will be chasing after you." Ayanna grinned and returned her attention to the shoot.