It was seven thirty exactly when the group—Nicolas, Tristan, Logan, Sebastian, Hayden, Darcy, Conrad, Sosuke, Akira, and Sakura—arrived onsite, which was the Princeton Group Hotel and Resort in Honolulu, not far from where their holiday mansion resided. Jane met them in the foyer and hurriedly ushered everyone into the elevator so as to not waste any time.
As the door dinged shut, she began her speech. “We’re going be on the nineteenth floor today. Men and women have separate makeup rooms. Once we’re ready for you, we’ll come and get you. Just so you all know what’s going to happen, I’ll brief you on our schedule now.”
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Jane cleared her throat and then began her briefing. “The first session is going to be Nicolas with Tara and Alaina, followed by Nicolas with Akira and then Nicolas with Sakura.”
Hayden said, “Sounds like Nicolas is getting all the girls.”
“And so early in the morning, too,” Logan added cheekily. “Can you handle that much pressure, Nicolas?”
Everyone laughed at this comment, except Nicolas himself. “It’s what Mr. Tachibana wanted. I have nothing to do with how he arranges things. And of course I can handle it. It’s a job.”
“Yeah, we know you can handle it,” Tristan said. “You must have talked to Mr. Tachibana about getting all the girls, you sly bastard.”
Nicolas nudged his glasses up the bridge of his fine nose as he said, “Don’t lump me in with you, Tristan.”
At this point, Sakura suddenly wondered if any of the brothers had talked to Mr. Tachibana about how they wanted the photo shoot to be done and who they wanted and didn’t want to be paired with. Perhaps not.
Then it’d be up to the mercy of Mr. Tachibana to arrange their pairings, and Sakura prayed she didn’t have to be grouped with either Tara or Alaina or both at the same time. That would be her worst nightmare, hell for sure, and she wasn’t even sure if she’d be strong enough to endure it. The very thought made her stomach flutter in dread.
Jane continued. “Then it’s Sosuke and Alaina, followed by Sosuke and Sakura and then Tristan and Logan with Sakura.”
At this point, Logan put his hand up. “Wait. Why is it Tristan and me with Sakura? Do I get to have the photo shoot with Sakura alone at all?”
Jane said, “I’m sorry, but that’s how Mr. Tachibana planned the shoot.”
“Damn,” Logan muttered under his breath in disappointment.
Tristan said, “To be honest, bro, I don’t mind sharing Sakura with you. We’ll have some awesome times together. It’s a threesome!”
Suddenly, Logan’s eyes brightened like a pair of stars. “A threesome sounds amazing.”
Sakura nearly choked on her breath. “That sounds a bit weird coming from you both.”
Akira chuckled with amusement. “Yes. Very weird.”
The underlying implication of a threesome made Jane blush. Considering the fact that she had just been introduced into the world of Yaoi by the fujoshi Akira, especially where one of the hot trends was sibling love, this only fueled her imagination.
Somehow managing to stay composed in these circumstances, Jane continued with the briefing as the elevator door dinged open on the nineteenth floor and the group started walking out.
“After that, it will be Logan and Tristan with Alaina and Tara.”
Tristan said, “Oh, I didn’t know Logan and I would be having photos with that pair of mean girls.”
Logan chuckled. “Be professional, Tristan. This is work.”
Mean girls indeed. Sakura suddenly wondered if either Sebastian or Darcy were going to be slotted with Tara or Alaina. If they did, would they refuse to work and make a fuss? Though, she doubted they’d go that far. They were mature and professional, after all. Would she make a fuss if she were to be paired with the two girls?
“Then it’s Sebastian with Sakura,” Jane said, which drew Sakura’s attention from her thoughts about Tara and Alaina.
So, she was to be slotted with Sebastian. Suddenly, she wondered what the setting and scene were supposed to be. Loving? Flirty? Or simply professional?
It was then Tristan interrupted. “Just wondering. What’s the setting for that one?”
“Setting?” Jane flicked her gaze to her paper for a moment. “It’ll be an elegant living room setting.”
“And the tone?” Tristan prodded.
Jane shrugged. “That will be up to Mr. Tachibana when the time comes. He doesn’t tell me these things.”
“Oh.” Tristan looked disappointed.
Logan asked, “What about our setting?”
“Yours will be at the bar across the restaurant.”
Logan nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
“Next…” Jane continued. “It will be Hayden with Sakura and then Hayden with Tara and Akira.”
At this point, Sakura was sure Mr. Tachibana was making full use of her. She also knew without a doubt that she was going to be dead tired by the end of the day, considering she was going to be in most of the pairings.
“After that…” Jane continued, as they passed a horde of staff busy with their jobs setting things up. “It will be Darcy and Sakura’s turn and then Conrad, together with Sakura and Akira. In the evening, when the sun is setting, there’s going to be a group shoot in the restaurant.”
Sakura said, “That sounds exhausting already.”
Conrad chuckled. “For you it is. I can chill until the end of the day.”
Darcy nodded in agreement since his turn didn’t come until the afternoon.
After the briefing, Jane showed everyone to their respective makeup rooms, which were directly opposite each other across the corridor.
Before they parted ways, Jane said, “If you need anything, just tell me. I’m here to help.”
Sakura thought Jane was very energetic today, and she was certainly professional and very confident in her organizing skills, ensuring that the staff members were doing their jobs to the best of their ability and the models were well taken care of.
“See you later, darling sis,” Logan said before the brothers, along with Sosuke, headed into the men’s makeup room.
Sakura chuckled as she waved at them.
Once she and Akira stepped foot into the women’s room, Sakura noticed that both Tara and Alaina were already there getting dolled up. They were being attended to by four makeup artists.
Avoiding eye contact with them, Sakura headed toward the empty chairs, along with Akira. Thank God Akira took the seat closest to Tara, which left Sakura on the far right nearest the window. She silently thanked Akira since she wanted to make as little contact with both Tara and Alaina as possible.
Jane, who suddenly appeared at the door, said to the makeup artists, “We can start on Akira and Sakura now. Though, we need to make sure Akira is done first because she is scheduled before Sakura. Okay?”
The makeup artists nodded in understanding.
For the next hour and a half, Sakura found herself sitting there while at least two women worked on her hair and face. By the time she was done and was allowed to stand, she found that her bottom was numb, her back was stiff, and her neck and shoulders sore. She groaned, which drew both Tara’s and Alaina’s attention. She ignored their frowns as she moved her body about.
Akira chuckled and suggested, “Go for a little walk. It’ll help with the stiffness.”
Sakura nodded. “I’ll do that.”
Tara, who was doing something on her cell the whole time, snorted and said, “What an amateur. I can’t believe Mr. Tachibana hired somebody so short and not even a model. I’m sure the magazine is going to fail miserably.”
Alaina didn’t say anything as she continued to read her fashion magazine. In fact, she was ignoring everyone in the room entirely. For that whole hour and a half Sakura was there with them, she had not heard Alaina talking to Tara once and wondered what was going on. Usually, the two would chat and gossip nonstop, and if Sakura happened to be around, they’d pick on her. But not today, and it nagged at Sakura because she knew something was up.
Akira said loudly, “Sounds like somebody is jealous.”
It was then that Jane turned up and called out for both Tara and Alaina. “Are you two done? It’s time to go. Fifteen minutes.”
Tara and Alaina, along with two of the makeup artists, left the room a moment later with Jane, which unsurprisingly made the atmosphere lighter, brighter, and of course, easier for Sakura to breathe.
Akira leaned toward her and asked, “Is something wrong with those two? Usually, they’re like this, aren’t they?” She entwined two fingers to indicate what she meant, which was best buddies.
Sakura shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Kay, one of the two makeup artists who was still left behind and currently working on Akira’s hair, said, “Apparently, they’re on bad terms.”
Sakura blinked. Tara and Alaina on bad terms? That just seemed impossible.
The other one, Keri, said, “They don’t even speak to each other anymore. It’s that bad.”
Sakura absorbed this information silently, wondering if that had anything to do with the argument Alaina had with Daddy James yesterday.
It was fifteen minutes later when Jane appeared again, this time to fetch Akira for wardrobe. The two makeup artists left with Akira to help.