Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Whoa!” Juan yanked Alina’s arm. “Are we gonna live here?”
She wriggled out of his grip, “I don’t know. Calm down!”
The driver stopped in front of the brightly lit entrance to a lavish hotel. Columns in grey marble rose from the smooth, tan floor and held up a russet marble wall on which “Imperial Hotel,” was stamped in gold font. Before she got a chance to pull back the handle, the car door swung open and a clean faced attendant stood waiting for her to come out. A small whistle slipped out of her lips when she set foot outside the limo. The glass doors that lead into the hotel revealed a spectacular yellow lobby. She could even make out the red carpet that covered some stairs all the way at the other end.
She turned her gaze to the attendant who greeted her with a smile and bent a bit at the waist. “Welcome to the Imperial Hotel Tokyo.”
She bowed a bit herself and moved forward a couple of steps. She heard Juan mutter incoherent Japanese to the man who was holding the door before what sounded like Misako ushering him away. When Alina turned around she found herself looking a group of five people. The two body guards seemed to be accompanying Misako wherever she went. It must be a real pain to have them around, Alina thought.
They followed Misako into the lobby and were themselves followed by the guards, who in turn were followed by the bellhop, who was struggling to move the massive set of bags in the cart he pulled.
The inside was even more stunning then it appeared from outside. Everything was made of lovely white marble. To their right was an elegant desk with violet and blue orchid bouquets and to their left was a large waiting room with heavily padded sofas. The rich smell of the flowers caused her chest to squeeze her heart. Back at home, whenever Alina’s grandmother stopped by their house, she always brought orchids with her as a gift to them.
When her mother and Misako finished with the arrangements necessary for the room, they were guided to the elevator and made way for the tenth floor. Juan decided it would be fun to poke her while in the platform and when she finally decided to strike him back she ended up hitting one of Misako’s body guards. The man lowered his gaze and watched her until they finally reached the floor they needed to be on.
Their room was all the way at the end of the hallway. Mariana gave Juan and Alina their card keys and asked Juan to open the door first. Alina watched as he slid the card in the crack at the door and turned the knob. His eyes went wide.
“Esta bacano!” he cried out and rushed in.
Her mother started to giggle and went in after Juan. Alina shook her head with a smile and stepped in after her. Bacano, didn’t do the room justice. At the entrance there was a mini living room area, complete with a plasma screen T.V. and a comfortable beige leather couch. Behind it, there was a redwood table with four chairs and another vase with dark red orchids. A wall beside the table, served as a divider for the bedroom and the living area. There were two large beds to one side of the room with white covers and dark blue pillows. There was a desk in front of the wide window that covered the wall perpendicular to the beds. On the other side was a large pastel green bathroom complete with a shower, two sinks, and a large bathtub. Next to the bathroom was a well proportioned walk-in closet. The walls in the room were a soft cream color and the floor was covered in a nice red carpet.
Alina noticed that the bellhop had already set their bags in the room and dreaded the moment when she would have to sit with hr mother in order to hang up and arrange all their clothes.
“Now, this place is only going to be temporary I assure you.” Misako began as she inspected the room with a careful eye. “As soon as the three months are up, I will have news of a moderate living apartment. For now this was the best I could think of for a living quarters.”
“This place is lovely.” Marina began, “I’m sorry for putting you through so much trouble.”
Misako waved a hand carelessly at the apology and grabbed Alina’s shoulder’s, “Don’t worry about it. Now, I’m just going to borrow your girl for a few moments.” She said and dragged her outside before Marina could protest.
“You and I need to have a little talk.” Misako said gravely as they entered the elevator again.
Alina frowned, “You sound a bit serious. Is there something wrong?”
“Not at all.” Misako made a face and drew closer to her “How badly do you want a job?”
Alina’s eyes widened, “As soon as possible. Why? Do you have something for me?”
“We’re about to find out.”
“What?” her eyes grew as she became alarmed. Her gut churned as she began to figure out where this was going.
“I know you are a professional in your line of work.” Misako began. “Ever since I can remember you have donned an amazing talent in doing make-up for show models and even thespians when you worked in the theater at Bogotá. That’s why I decided it would probably be a good idea if you worked parallel to your mother.”
“Uh-huh? You mean work with the same people that she will design the clothes for?”
Misako stepped out of the elevator and was promptly followed by Alina. “Exactly. Now, I’m having some serious problems. My boys don’t seem to assimilate to the make-up artists I have hired for them.” She frowned a bit as though she had remembered some sort of strange incident. “They usually end up quitting or get fired by them and it is something that is driving me crazy. So I arranged for you to meet them today as a sort of interview, I guess you could say.”
She exploded, “Why are you always making decisions without consulting us first?!” Alina cried out and lowered her voice when people stared at her with snobby eyes, “I’m not exactly presentable at this moment Misako. How can I get an interview while I look like I just came out of the Amazon.”
She was wearing a colt brown tank top and jean shorts. She desperately needed to find a store to buy some new converse. The ones she wore then were already tearing up. The only accessories she wore were the thousands of woven pride bracelets on her right and left wrists, a shell necklace, and the small ring on her pinky finger with her birthstone, an emerald. In an attempt to calm down the frizz in her wavy, chocolate brown hair, she pulled it up halfway in a clip. She was a mess.
Misako smacked Alina on the head and sprung out her index finger. “Stop being so dramatic.” She began as Alina whimpered, “ To them, the last thing that should be their worry is the way you look.”
Alina nodded and rubbed the top of her head. “Alright, alright.”
Misako nodded, “Now I’ll admit that they are hard to handle. But I get the feeling that you would probably be good for them.”
Alina began to laugh. “How old are they? Six?”
Misako frowned and looked at her phone when it began to ring. “Well, they’re here. Let’s go.” She grabbed, Alina’s bracelet defiled wrist.
“W-Wait Misako. Hold on give me a second.”
“None of that. Come on.” Misako pulled harder.
Alina tripped a few times but the way in which Misako held her wrist so tightly didn’t allow her to fall. They found themselves staring at a lovely looking restaurant beside a French buffet. Alina decided it was pointless to keep arguing and now struggled to keep up with Misako.
At the restaurant entrance they were greeted by a young waitress. Alina looked around uncomfortably at the well dressed folks at every table. She turned back around when Misako pulled her again and dragged her between seats and tables without so much as an ‘Excuse me.’
“I’ll just give you a bit of info on each of them.” Misako began. “One of them is just insane and he’s a little grouchy. Another one of them is just a cruel prankster but if you hold up for two weeks I’m sure you’ll earn his respect. Their leader doesn’t do much except work, work, and work so don’t be surprised if he doesn’t pay you much mind. And I will tell you this now so there is no confusion later on…they are ALL men, so if you ask me whether the quiet one is a woman I’ll reconsider giving you the job.” She brought a finger to her lips, “Now, I believe the one you should be the most careful around is the flirty one. Personally I think it is because of him that most of the make-up artists have left.”
“What?” Her heart sank a bit as she listened to Misako’s blunt and quick description of the band members. It almost sounded like a nightmare.
“Oh I see them. Come on!”