A knock at the doorway caused me to jump.
"Hey new boss lady!" April chirped cheerfully, popping her head through the doorway. "When did the wicked witch die and make you the new queen?" She stepped fully into the room, a stack of papers in her hands.
As usual, I thought she looked adorable. Her hair was pulled into two little girl ponytails on either side of her head, and she wore a white tank top and a white skirt embroidered with some kind of sparkly studs. Spiked boots adorned her feet.
If there was one thing I could say about April—she knew how to dress.
I groaned. "Please don't. I'm already nauseous and the day isn't half over yet."
"Oh please, I would kill to be in that chair," said April.
I stood up and motioned to Christine's seat, which we all had dubbed 'The Throne'. "Be my guest."
April clutched her papers to her chest and shook her head, her tails shaking about. "Nope. She put you in charge, not me. Though why she did that boggles my mind."
Actually, Christine had eased up quite a bit since Tyler had shown up. She hadn't been Mother Theresa by any standards—she was Christine Finnerman, after all. But she’d started to give me a little more responsibility, like today, for example. All of the useless errands she used to put me on, she made the newer girls do. I appreciated it and welcomed the experience.
“I’m basically here to take messages, not much else. But I agree, she has been a little different.”
“Must be something in the water,” April muttered. Then she shook her head. “But you might want to sit back down, because you might not like what I’m about to tell you.”
“What?” I demanded, gripping the edge of Christine’s desk, my heart beginning to pound. I eyed the papers April held with a sneaking suspicion.
“Christine was supposed to be a panelist for a modeling audition today.”
“Huh?” I asked in confusion. I was relieved and confused at the same time, and I had no idea what April was talking about. I usually handled Christine’s schedule, and I knew nothing about this.
“The male modeling auditions for Christine’s underwear line. It’s today. From time to time, Christine sits in. I thought you knew that?”
Before I could reply, April continued talking. “Anyway, me, Gabe and a couple of our co-workers are sitting in.” She beamed at me, shaking her pony tails with glee. “And guess who is filling in for Christine?”
“Me?” I squeaked in disbelief.
April nodded, jumping up and down with excitement.
“But she didn’t even tell me this!” I protested. I’m all for the extra responsibility, but I didn’t know the first thing about judging models, especially male models. Not only that, Christine hadn't told me a thing about it, robbing me of the chance to prepare.
If I held them to the standards to Tyler, they'd probably all come up short anyway.
I had no idea why I thought of that right then.
“It’s Christine. I don’t question anything she does,” April said. “I learned that a long time ago.”
"Oh God," I groaned. This is going to be a nightmare.
"Don't worry," April soothed. “Look at the bright side, at least you get to look at some hot guys modeling underwear. There's going to be so much eye candy you'll get sick! Heck, maybe you can even find you a cute guy to have some fun with.”
"Please," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
April laughed and glanced down at her watch. "Come, let’s go. The models are going to start pouring in here in the next fifteen minutes. We need to have our butts glued to our chairs ten minutes before."
"Alright, alright!" I conceded, grabbing one of Christine's notebooks off her desk. "I'm coming."
* * *
By the time we got to the auditioning room, I was at least somewhat versed on how to judge the models.
Of course I can pick who I think has the best body, but I was told to give preference to those that were in a particular age bracket and had an edgy look. They had to be fit, but not overly muscular.
The auditioning room was large, with brick walls and clothing racks lining the perimeters. A table, where the judges were sitting, was at the back of the room, and a large platform where the models would be standing was erected in front of it.
April and I made our way to the table. I quickly greeted Gabe and my co-workers and then sat down beside April in the middle seat. After a moment of discussion, the auditions began.
"Bring them on in," April called, clapping her hands together.
"Oh, I so can't wait for this," Gabe said excitedly, wiggling in his seat.
Oh god, I thought. Gabe was going to have a fucking field day with this.