Wassup, mah homes?
I've been gone for quite some time, and clearly, I don't know how to make a set or a story anymore.
I was checking out @cestlula 's page and saw her story for this RP, I think it's called, Crazy Days and Nights. And I found it really interesting. Good job, @alycat for creating another kick as.s RP.
Just want to be clear, this is not an audition piece. I was just inspired by the group and decided to write a story based on that "world" (Aly, I hope you don't mind). Somewhere in my story is nod to Lula's character as well. :] I miss RP-ing with you, gurrrrl!
If any of you bothers to read this, let me know what you think.
Oh oh oh. And this is my first time using a Filipina as a model. :D I'm so happy! I want her to be my new Ha Eun. I'm gonna clip lots of pics of her and hope that someone would use her.
Name: Anika (/annie-kuh/) Maurine Sanchez
Age: 24
Hometown: Manila, Philippines. Lived in New York for three years. Now working in Los Angeles.
Occupation: Junior Publicist for M&R Public Relations Agency
Style: Tomboyish, men’s inspired with a bit of rock ‘n roll
Personality: Sarcastic, introspective, laid back
Motto: “There’s no such thing as a life plan.”
Bio: Anika’s life is a series of unexpected turns. This Philosophy graduate would have been a university professor if not for an essay that landed her a job in Manila’s top fashion magazine. That stint somehow led her to New York where she found herself having an impromptu job interview for Bea Rodriguez—one half of the industry’s most sought after publicists. After three years of working as an assistant to Bea Rodriguez, she’s now getting promoted as a junior publicist—in Hollywood.
Model: Pauline Prieto
Cast:
Bea Madison (Heather Locklear)
Cody Harington (Josh Goudswaard)
Anika Sanchez adjusted her cat eye sunglasses, lowering her head further to avoid the violent sunlight streaming from the floor to ceiling glass windows of the M&R Los Angeles office. This office—unlike its New York counterpart—was just too damn bright. The walls were painted a glossy pearl white. The flooring was bleached sandalwood. The decor was modern minimalist. And of course, white.
Anika stared warily at the calla lilies artfully laid out in the square crystal vase sitting on top of the receptionist’s table. The office is pretty, no doubt about it. But she couldn’t help but miss the red brick walls, the exposed industrial piping, and the comfy leather couches of the M&R headquarters in SoHo where she spent the last three years of her life learning the ropes of working in PR.
PR. Two little letters that Anika has learned to live with. Two little letters that changed her life drastically.
Five years ago, when she graduated with a degree in Philosophy, she never imagined she’ll work in a corporate sphere—let alone a PR firm. But then again, she never imagined what her life would be after college.
In her own little bubble, Anika was happy. She was graduating with honors. She was in a stable loving relationship with a boy who has been with her since they met during freshmen orientation. And even though there’s really not a lot of job opportunities for a Philo major, Anika was content to work in the university. Her favourite professor has offered her a job as a teacher’s assistant while she gets her master’s degree to be a professor herself.
The only test she had to take for the job was for her to write a philosophical essay on a subject she’s not passionate about. She chose fashion.
What she didn’t know was her professor was married to an editor-in-chief of a top fashion magazine. One thing lead to another and Anika found herself carrying a business card with the title Features Editor in it.
A year later, Anika, her EIC, and their style editor flew to New York for A/W Fashion Week. That’s where she met Bea Rodriguez. She offered Anika a cigarette as they stood outside the Lincoln Center, waiting for the Marc Jacobs show.
Anika admired Bea from the get go. It’s not every day that she comes across a person who has a sense of detachment when it comes to fashion and beauty. She wasn’t vapid or too wrapped up with the glamour of it all. They shared similar views about the fashion industry, and Anika more than appreciated Bea’s understanding smile and simple nod when she claimed that she can Kierkegaard the sh.it out of an Alexander McQueen collection but no one will bother to read it.
Anika thought that was the last time she’ll see Bea Rodriguez. She already filed her in her mental Roladex as one of those randoms you have meaningful conversations with. But Anika hasn’t even stepped out of the airport in Manila when her EIC told her that she got an email from Bea Rodriguez stating how much she wanted to hire her.
“Wait, isn’t she a writer?” Anika asked her boss as they waited in line at the customs. “Why would she hire me?”
Her EIC laughed at her. “Bea Rodriguez is not a writer, silly. She happens to be a really great publicist. /Everyone/ in the industry knows her.”
Anika smirked. “Hey, don’t judge me. You guys don’t even know who Kierkegaard is.”
A collective chatter followed by footsteps coming from the hallway disrupted Anika’s thoughts. The blonde receptionist perked up in her seat and started smoothing her flat-ironed straight platinum blonde hair. Anika’ brows knitted, puzzled at the receptionist’s sudden giddiness.
She didn’t have to wait long for her answer.
Ryan Gosling passed by the receiving area, his head bent low as he put on his military green Rayban aviators.
“Bye Ryan,” the blonde girl behind the stylish glass-topped desk cooed. The actor tipped his head lightly, offering the girl a bashful smile.
Anika stared at the door where Ryan Gosling has just left. Not that she was star struck—she never was. She has worked with the biggest names in fashion and has met a handful of actors and actresses while she was in New York and not once did she turn glassy-eyed for one of them, which is more than what she can say for Ms. Receptionist over there who looks like she just contracted the vapors.
Nonetheless, the thought of actually working here—with /these/ people that jarred Anika a bit.
It’s one thing to work in fashion—handling the PR of designers, their labels, and some models behaving badly. But it’s another to take over the lives of people who are in constant scrutiny of the media.
“I guess this is really it,” she mumbled to herself, letting the thought sink in. The finality of her move from New York to L.A. was taking form at that moment.
“Ms. Sanchez,” the blonde receptionist called, her eyes still twinkling in excitement. “Ms. Madison will see you now.”
Anika quietly gathered her things—her purse, a copy of US Weekly (Robsten drama edition), and her studded iPhone—and strode to Beatrice Madison’s office.
Anika took off her shades, slipping it casually inside her bag, and knocked lightly on the half-open door.
Beatrice Madison looked at her with furious eyes.
“What are you doing standing there?” she snapped. “Hello? I’ve been waiting for my goddamn coffee for half an hour now.” She waved at Anika dismissively, looking very annoyed. “Venti soy macchiato. And grab me the recent monitoring report on Ryan Gosling while you’re at it.”
She sat on her sleek white office chair and started typing away on her Macbook Pro.
Anika did nothing of what she asked and instead walked inside the office, stopping in front of her desk all 5-foot-10 of her towering her would be boss.
Bea Madison noticed this and stared at her with an icy glare that can make the weak-hearted tremble in their stiletto heels.
“Are you deaf or are you stupid?” her new boss asked.
Unfazed, Anika simply shrugged, “None of the above. I’m also not an intern.” She extended her hand. “I’m Anika Sanchez.”
“Seriously?!” Bea Madison exclaimed, sounding very much like Rachel Zoe at the moment. “You’re the girl Bear was raving about?! You look so young!” She didn’t reach for Anika’s hand but she motioned for her to take a seat in one of the Philippe Starck ghost chairs facing her desk. She grabbed a transparent folder bearing Anika’s resume and the best media plans she has made during her stint in New York.
“Yeah, that’s because I’m Asian,” Anika quipped humorlessly. “I get it all the time.”
Bea Madison read through her file without glancing at her. Not much of a talker herself, Anika relished the silence that hung in the air and took this time to study her new boss.
And it took her all of two seconds to realize that this Bea is nothing like the Bea she has worked with.
To the industry, the two Beas are known as the most powerful duo in the PR industry. Their firm handles practically all the big names in fashion, sports, and entertainment. Back when they started their clients would call them ‘Bea M’ and ‘Bea R’ to avoid confusion. That name somehow morphed and soon enough, everyone was simply calling them Beam and Bear.
Beam took to her name and looked the part. Everything about her is bright and golden and so...California. From her sleek shoulder length golden blonde bob to the golden tan of her skin, Beam just simply glows, a result of weekly diamond peel facials and regular lapses at her swimming pool in her Hollywood hills home as revealed in last month’s feature on her by Marie Claire.
On the opposite side is Bear. Almost at her fifties, Bea Rodriguez’s face remains untouched by cosmetic enhancement. She proudly wears her laugh lines and the wrinkles on her brow which appear every time she’s in deep thought. Her raven black hair was tinged with a streak of gray not different from X-Men’s Rouge. Anika found out later on that people would sometimes whisper behind her back and call her Cruella Deville.
Bear was imposing and intimidating but she is no Devil Wears Prada. She’s tough when she has to be but never hurtful. And in the three years Anika has worked with her, Bear became not just her mentor but also her mother.
Beam’s white Blackberry started to vibrate violently on her glass-topped desk. She stopped reading Anika’s file to answer the call. As soon as she picked up, Beam rolled her eyes unfeelingly.
“Oh for crissakes, stop being so dramatic,” she stared at her perfectly French-manicured nails, looking seemingly bored. Anika can hear the muffled sound of a person shrieking in panic on the other end of the line. “Nothing is confirmed yet. Do not release any statement. Tell her not to talk to any press. No TMZ. No Ryan Seacrest. NOTHING. I can meet with you for a late lunch and then we can discuss this matter. Bring your girl.”
And with that, Beam tossed her phone in her Celine tote and let out a frustrated groan, “...stupid girls getting pregnant.”
Definitely not motherly, this one.
“Problem?” Anika asked.
“That’s the manager of one of my clients. She got tipped off that People Magazine will run a story on her girl—allegedly—getting knocked up.”
“Who’s the girl?”
Beam narrowed her stare at Anika, measuring her as if to see if she can trust her with this information. “Some former Disney actress.” That was it and she was back to skimming her files again.
/Well, that was a wide net/, Anika thought, glossing over the fact that her new boss didn’t trust her enough. She didn’t even mind. She was too busy racking her brain for who that actress could be.
/Miley Cyrus? It could totally be her. That’s probably the reason why she’s so eager to get married to the less hunky Hemsworth. Or it could be Selena Gomez. Eww, though. That would mean that Justin Bieber has just managed to pro-create. How ‘bout Victoria Justice? Oh wait she’s in Nickelodeon.../
“This is a disaster,” Beam continued. “Poor girl is on her way to become a serious actress.”
Anika shrugged, “It’s not that bad. Pregnancy can be used to signal her maturity as a person, an actress. That’ll help her land even more mature roles in the future. If you want a PR nightmare, try being Kirsten Stewart’s publicist these days.” Anika lightly nudged her chin towards the copy of US Weekly on Beam’s desk—the same copy that’s now tucked in her bag.
Beam smiled, flashing a perfect set of sparkly white teeth. But her eyes remained as cold and sinister as it had been the moment she entered her office. “Unsolicited advice, how adorable. Don’t ever do that again. I’ve been in this business for twenty years. I think I know a PR nightmare when I see one.”
And at that moment Anika had visions of her golden blonde boss sporting that evil smile as she torture kittens with the heels of her Louboutins.
“Look, I don’t know what Bear saw in you,” Beam went on, tapping her nails on the glass table. “But what’s good for my partner is good enough for me.”
Anika simply listened, nodding along as Beam explains lengthily the difference between the M&R branch in New York and Los Angeles.
“...this is Hollywood, kid. There’s always something happening with our clients every minute of the day,” Beam stated. “I need you to be on your toes 24/7. You got that?”
Again, Anika nodded. She already knows all about this. It’s not like her mentor sent her out here unarmed and without any clue on. Either way, she didn’t answer back. Beam seems like the person who’s really into power-tripping.
“Bear may have train you well, but this is a different ball game. I won’t treat you as an assistant, as she did. You’ll be a publicist, alright. But—“ she pointed a manicured finger at her. “You’ll be assigned to the wannabes and the starlets—the ‘up and coming’. “ Her lips formed into a thin smile. The way she’s saying it, the ‘up and coming’ is the bottom tier in the PR food chain.
She continued. “No big ticket clients for you yet. You don’t get to do a Ryan Gosling or a Ryan Reynolds.”
“Too bad,” Anika replied, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. “I’ve always wanted to do the Ryans. Simultaneously but preferably at the same time.”
The corner of Beam’s lips twitched. And Anika counted that as her first real smile since they had this conversation.
“Well, let’s get this going then,” Beam said. “Go down the hall to the conference room and you’ll meet your first client there. And Anika...” she paused and looked at her pointedly. “Bear and I, we don’t have lots of rules except one—“
“Don’t sleep with the client,” Anika replied, finishing the sentence for her.
Beam called the receptionist and left some instructions. Without even looking at Anika, she waved her hand dismissively at her.
Anika walked down the hall and pushed the door to the conference room and without, thinking twice, reached in her bag for her sunnies.
This room was even bigger and brighter than the reception hall. The three sides of the room were fixed with the same floor to ceiling glass panelled window. It was enough to give her a migraine.
As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, she crossed the room and leaned close to one of the windows, treating herself to the view of downtown L.A. The bright blue sky, the rows of palms trees, the towering buildings, and beyond that the iconic Hollywood sign.
Anika felt herself smile just a bit. This is her new home, her new job, her new life.
She let her mind fly to the ocean, thoughts of surfing in Malibu and eating ice cream by the beach filled her head as she hummed Phantom Planet’s “California”. Her mind was so absent she didn’t even notice the person who walked into the room. The sound of a man clearing his throat finally snapped Anika out of her happy reverie.
She turned around and found a guy standing across the room, the door slowly closing behind him.
“Uh, I’m Cody Harington.” He said, looking a bit unsure.
His unmistakable Australian accent sent an inexplicable ripple through Anika’s body. Anika shivered just a little as a small flutter started in her stomach.
/That’s definitely hunger./ Anika told herself. /That’s what you get for relying on saltine crackers to get you through the day, idiot/.
“Beam told me to go here to meet my publicist. Am I in the wrong room?”
“No you’re in the right room. Take a seat,” Anika replied. He crossed the large room in about three strides and pulled the chair right next to her.
Anika stuck out her hand. “I’m Anika Sanchez, by the way. I’m your new publicist.”
Cody took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright emerald green eyes that looked half-surprised and half-amused. “Wow, you’re really young.” He said, shaking her hand.
Anika smirked. “Disappointed? We can arrange something with Beam if you’re not—”
“No, no!” He cut her off. “I was just surprised that’s all.”
Anika took the time to study her new client. She may not be into pretty boys, but she’s not impervious to gorgeousness. And Cody is definitely just that.
He is good looking, for sure, but he doesn’t have that Hollywood sheen to him. He was deeply tanned and strong. But there’s something rugged about his built that tells her it’s not the result of spending hours in the gym. He’s also tall—6’2 by Anika’s estimate. His dark blond hair is somewhat tousled as if he absently raked his hand through it before he entered the room. There was no sign of gel, moose, wax or whatever junk guys put in their hair nowadays and Anika took that, and the fact that he’s not wearing skinny jeans, as a good thing.
But it was really Cody’s beautiful green eyes that are his best asset. And standing so close to him, her hand still in his, made that even more startling for Anika.
“Look, I know I’m supposed to know who you are,” Anika started, pulling her hand away. She wiped it on the side of her shorts as if to wipe away the warmth of Cody’s touch still tingling on her palm. “But I don’t. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a movie or TV show.”
“That’s because you haven’t,” he grinned. “I’m Australian—“
“You don’t say.”
Cody half smiled. “I’ve been in a lot of TV shows and some movies back home,” he added. “But this is my first time doing a project here. I think I’m what Beam calls an ‘up and coming’.”
Anika opened her mouth and then closed it again. Choosing instead to pull her face into a trite smile as she fights the strong urge to make a bawdy statement about how she could really make him UP and COMING.
/Get a grip/, Anika counselled herself. /Now is not the time to scare your client away/.
“So how’d you get here?” Anika asked, clearing up her throat and her thoughts. “I mean, Hollywood is a long way from...?”
“Melbourne,” he filled in.
“Right, Melbourne.” Anika nodded.
“I got a call from my agent months ago and he asked me to audition for this movie,” Cody leaned forward, his eyes, Anika noticed, have tiny streaks of black in them. “I flew to L.A., did a series of auditions, and here I am. Apparently, I got the part.”
“That’s awesome. Congrats.” Anika stated. “What movie is this again?”
“It’s a young adult book that they turned to a movie. Kinda like Twilight.”
Anika cringed, not even bothering to hide the disgust etched on her face.
Cody simply laughed. “I know, I know. But it’s cool. The book’s called ‘Fallen’. Do you know it?”
“I try to stay away from that side of the bookstore.” Anika replied. “What role will you be playing?”
“I play Daniel. I’m an angel.”
Anika raised an eyebrow, a smirk appearing on her lips.
Cody smiled mischievously back at her and for a moment none of them said anything.
He really didn’t need to say anything, Anika thought. He may look like one, but Cody is no angel at all.
“You hungry?” Cody finally asked, his green eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Famished,” she answered, smiling. Both of them stood from their seats. Cody slipped on his sunglasses and looked out the window, admiring the view just like Anika did a few minutes ago.
“Man, the weather is great. I wish I could go surfing right now.”
“You surf?” Anika asked, hooking her bag to her shoulder.
Cody nodded. “It’s a pity though. I’ve been here for two weeks now and I haven’t even been to the beach. Ever.”
“Tell me about it,” Anika replied with a half-groan. “No offense, but I’d really rather be surfing right now than being stuck in a meeting.”
“None taken,” Cody laughed. Anika smiled at him and started for the door when she felt his hand on her arm.
“Wait,” he said. “Why don’t we just ditch the lunch meeting and just head out to the beach?”
“What?”
“I have a car,” he explained, dropping his hand and shoving it to his pocket. “We can drive by my apartment grab a couple of surf boards and drive down to Malibu. My friend has a beach house there.” He looked at her expectantly. “I mean, as long as it’s okay with you.”
Anika stared at him, choosing her words carefully. Anika’s mind raced with so many questions. /What would Bear do? What would Beam say?/
Anika looked past Cody’s broad shoulders and into the great view, and let out a puff of air.
Cody shifted in his stance. “Hey, tell me if we’re breaking some rule here and I’d drop the offer.”
Anika finally found her voice. “No, I guess were not. It’s just surfing. Besides, we only have one rule.”
“What is it?”
Anika smirked and headed for the door, Cody following behind her. “Never mind. I have a feeling I’ll end up breaking it anyway.”
Also tagging you, @etchasketchinlola just because. :]
---
M
