2 Chapter 2

Francesca was so excited about her audition that she barely slept, despite her lack of sleep her energy was at an all time high in anticipation of the audition she had later that day.

She had class until two in the afternoon, after which she would say that she was meeting an old friend for her brother, which she was, she was meeting Edward Vernon, the son of the owner of Ver Industries, a small artists' agency.

Due to her excitement she barely listened in class, her professor had called on her several times and she wasn't able to answer any of his questions.

"Miss Rocci, if you will remain uninterested in my class, I suggest you leave." her professor threatened.

Francesca never had to bend to anyone else's will, she was a Rocci, not only were they powerful but they also had a significant foothold in the mafia. So when her professor threatened her she simply stood up and left.

The professor was shocked, but her classmates were not. They had all heard rumors about the stubborn Rocci children, and seeing it in action only made things more exciting for everyone.

By the time 2PM rolled by, Francesca was already outside the drab looking Ver Industries office building, waiting for Edward Vernon.

"Miss Rocci?" A handsome man who stood at least a head taller than her asked.

"Yes." Francesca answered.

"Oh, good. I'm Andres' friend, Edward, you can call me Ed." Edward Vernon said as he shook her hand. "Come in, let's talk inside." Edward Vernon said as he led her inside the office building.

As they entered Francesca was taken by surprise at what she saw, the inside was the polar opposite of the gray facade. It was modern and lively, there were also a lot of young and good looking people walking and working inside Ver Industries.

"Quite a shocker, isn't it?" Edward Vernon asked as they walked to the elevator.

Francesca simply nodded in reply.

"Wow, I have Miss Rocci speechless, if I am to take your brother's word for it, this is quite an achievement." Edward Vernon said as he laughed.

"I just didn't expect it to be so, so alive!" Francesca exclaimed.

"I'm so glad that you like it. We are excited to have you join our small family." Edward Vernon said with a wink, making Francesca blush.

"Pretty." Edward said as they walked out of the elevator.

Edward led her through the hallway to an office at the end of the hall, in contrast to the rest of the building, this seemed a little more traditional and old fashioned.

"Dad, this is Andres' sister, Francesca. She wants to be an actress." Edward said as a plump elder man spun his chair around and observed Francesca.

Francesca could feel his eyes looking at every curve and at every bump in her skin, she watched as his intense glare moved from her head to toe.

"She looks good." Edward's dad said with a nod. "Get her a manager."

Francesca saw Edward smile and nod at his father's direction, she assumed this was good news based on how Edward was acting.

"Thank you Mr. Vernon." Francesca said respectfully.

Edward's father simply waved them away, prompting Edward to pull Francesca out of his father's office and into his own.

"Amazing! My dad has never been that impressed!" Edward said excitedly.

"He was impressed?" Francesca asked, her tone full of doubt.

"Yes, dad loved you." He said as he hugged her, stunning Francesca, the Rocci family were not huggers, they didn't show any physical affection to one another at all. So even a platonic hug just like what Edward had given her was quite a lot for Francesca.

"Wh- what do I do now?" Francesca asked Edward.

"You wait." Edward said with a grin. "I need to arrange everything on my end. I need to get you a manager, book you some auditions, maybe see if you need to fix anything with your style or well, if you need surgery."

Francesca was shocked when Edward mentioned surgery, she never considered changing anything about herself physically that way. She always thought that her natural looks were enough to get into the entertainment industry.

It seemed that Edward noticed the change in her expression and laughed.

"Francesca, I doubt you need to go under the knife, but maybe a stylist would be in order. You are fashionable, extremely fashionable, but you are too high fashion. We will probably need to tone it down." Edward said as he continued to observe her.

"Why? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Francesca said as she turned to observe the clothes on her. She was wearing what she normally did to school, nothing special.

"Your heels alone cost 3 months of an ordinary worker's salary. Your pants and top are from a well known international luxury brand. Your bag is more low key, but I know that brand, one bag is already a downpayment for a car, and don't get me started with your necklace, earrings, and bracelet." Edward said, shaking his head. "You want to be an actress, you need to appeal to the masses, and looking all dolled up and rich like that will only make them hate you. Leave this to me."

"Alright." Francesca said with a smile as she listened to Edward's advice.

"Great. So you can head home for now and I'll contact you when everything has been arranged." Edward said as he walked her out. "All you need to do is to focus on maintaining yourself and keeping yourself happy. People don't like sad actors and actresses." Edward said with a wink.

As Francesca entered her car, Edward waived and called out. "Don't forget to say hi to your brother for me."

Francesca nodded as her car drove away.

When she got home she was surprised to see that only her second older brother Andres was home, it seemed everyone else had gone to some event.

"So how did it go?" Andres asked as he sat on the couch going through some papers. Andres was already working in the family business, and was five years older than Francesca.

"It went well." Francesca happily announced as she sat next to him. "Edward's father liked me and asked Edward to arrange a manager for me."

"Wow, you must have made quite an impression." Andres said as he patted his sister on the head.

"Stop that!" She scolded. "I'm not a child or a dog."

"I'm just proud of you." Andres said with a gentle smile as he continued with his work.