Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

Alan walked onto the main stage. He cleared his throat and suddenly put on a friendly smile. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

“I deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused. Especially to Fenella, who has acted very professionally despite the unexpected changes during her performance. Applause for her.”

Alan’s palms opened, gesturing for the audience to clap. I smiled with flushed cheeks. I clasped my hands in front of my chest, bowed briefly, and whispered my thanks to Alan and the audience.

“We’ll take a 15-minute break. After that, we can continue the show with the models who haven’t walked yet. Thank you.”

Alan then walked off the stage. He approached me. “You’re amazing, Fenella. I never expected you to have developed into such a professional model. You didn’t even flinch when the music changed,” Alan praised me.

“Well, I guess hard work and experience have disciplined me.” I smiled and shrugged. I tried to downplay it, of course.

“Good.” Alan smiled broadly and then walked back to the meeting room.

“Oh, Mr. Schmidt,” I said, gently holding Alan’s arm, and he turned to me. He glanced briefly at my hand on his arm. I immediately realized it was an impolite gesture towards a boss. Quickly, I released his arm and made my request.

“I just hope you won’t be too harsh on him. Maybe it’s just a technical error.” I was referring to the operator.

“Of course,” Alan replied shortly, then he walked back into the meeting room.

“What did he say, Fenella?” Jessy rushed over to me.

“Nothing. I just asked him not to blame the operator entirely,” I told Jessy.

“Oh. Yeah, I think this is too strange. No one noticed anything during the event, and no one paid attention directly to the operator’s laptop,” Jessy said, massaging his temples.

“Yeah, it might be a technical glitch like an automated ad playing,” I shrugged.

“By the way, you were amazing, darling. I think you’ve really absorbed my lectures on discipline and professionalism into your brain. I almost passed out when I heard that song playing.” Jessy squeezed my arms briefly.

“I wasn’t bad, was I?” I tossed my hair back with one hand.

“Not bad? Oh, you’re being too modest. That was extraordinary,” Jessy exclaimed with joy.

I then walked to the buffet and grabbed a glass of water. Slowly, people started approaching me. They praised me and gave positive comments. We spent our break time speculating about what had really happened behind the scenes.

Most people blamed the unfortunate operator, but some expressed suspicion of sabotage. Speculations grew wilder, and we could only wait for Alan to come out of the meeting room.

***

Ten minutes had passed. Suddenly, the door of the meeting room opened. Alan and the operator came out with serious faces. Alan walked back onto the main stage and clapped his hands to get our attention.

“Thank you for waiting. Although I’ve drawn conclusions about the recent incident, I feel there’s no need to prolong this issue. It’s just a technical mistake due to the negligence of the operator.”

We began to fill the room with low murmurs. The bustle returned. It seemed people were still curious about what had really happened. I was curious, too. What really happened? Why did Alan seem to cover it up?

“Okay, models, can we continue this fashion show?” Alan smiled broadly as electronic music started playing again.

I knew other models were still curious. It felt like something was gnawing at our hearts, and it wouldn’t go away just with Alan’s words-he was even a newcomer we couldn’t fully trust yet.

I sensed the atmosphere of the party was now turning darker than its initially vibrant start. Nevertheless, I forced myself to watch until the end. Alan stood on the circular main stage again.

***

“Thank you so much to everyone who attended. I’ve seen all of you, and I feel that Gene Talent Management has nurtured many exceptionally brilliant talents. I’m confident that this year, you will shine even brighter under my leadership. Let’s all work together well.”

“Remember, my office door on the third floor is always open to all of you who need me, and you have my number in the group.” Alan smiled crookedly.

“Next up, about the chosen model as the new face of Gene. I will discuss it with the agents first. I assure you, whoever is chosen will sign a contract with various extra benefits. I hope you all look forward to my call.”

“Thank you.”

Alan smiled broadly, waving his hand to all of us. The room resounded with applause again. The event was finally over, and we all began to disperse to mingle at the party until lunchtime.

“Fenella,” Jessy approached me with a tense face.

“Yes?”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“Alan called us to his office. It’s about the incident earlier,” Jessy whispered in my ear.