Chapter 72:

"Yep, just like that, d*mm, you're a natural. Ok, look forward now, hand out, yep.", the directions continued on for a few more minutes, the photographer guiding him to various poses and postures, to showcase the various items of clothing. Ace followed them to the letter, he had no idea about modelling or photography, so he would just follow the expert. Well, expert was a bit too much, he seemed to be in his early to mid-twenties, pretty much a beginner in the industry, but he had worked with the owner of the brand before, so he had been invited to do it again.

"Hey! Jones! Where the hell did you get this kid? He's amazing!", Jones laughed, and replied, "He's just a friend of a friend, he is helping us out with the campaign, and is doing all of this work pro bono.

"Wait, what? You do know how much he could go for if he had an ok agent right? Not even a good one, just an ok one."

"Yeah, I figured, which is why I am so thankful."

"Well, if you plan on having him do some more work for your brand, I'll take the photos if you like, hell, I'll do anything he's involved with."

"Good, that was my idea. I know most of you guys work freelance, but how about coming to work for me?"

"Woa woa woa, what?"

"Well, Ace here, is going to do a lot more modelling with us, so if you were to join the brand as the lead photographer, I can assure you a lot of pictures of him."

"I don't know, I would have to look at the contract, and I am going to be honest, I am good for a newbie, but nowhere near the level of others.", he seemed worried as he said this, he probably wanted to take the job, but was worried he would not do good, therefore, Ace stepped in.

"Then you'll learn. Look, Tom, I heard that a lot of the people in your area of business are a*s*oles, and I like you, so you have my full support. Plus, you will be able to learn even faster, since you will have a stable job, and will be able to work with models on a monthly basis, especially if this drop is a success. I will also allow you to post any pictures of me in your I-Gram, as long as you allow the Brand's to do the same. You will, of course, be tagged in every single one of the photos you take, and will have a link to your account in all of them.", Ace spoke with a tone of confidence and finality, as if the deal had already been taken.

"Well, this is certainly a good deal, but I would still like to look at the contract…", he had given up, knowing that he was going to end up taking the deal. Honestly, it was an awesome deal, one he had not expected to get in a million years. For one, it was actually legal, it seemed that they would not have him photograph minors nude, which was unluckily a big thing in the industry. It also seemed to appreciate his work, which was good, since tagging the pictures he took would get him a large following quickly - as long as people liked them of course.

Ace had a smile on his face as he opened a bottle of water and offered Tom another, he took a big gulp, and then put on his backpack. Well, I gotta jet, you don't mind if I take the clothes right? I'll clean and return them."

"Bah, leave it, you can have them as a gift, we will probably give you one of everything for free anyways, since you helped out so much. Have a good day, thanks for helping."

"No problem, James. Tom.", Ace nodded and walked out of the door.

He had to meet John for lunch, so he took a taxi and had him drop him off in front of the restaurant. It was a place John had recommended, a small Chinese place that apparently made amazing food. Ace agreed, he was pretty much finished with his German, so he might as well begin to learn Chinese. He wanted to learn Chinese, Korean and Japanese before the Puzzle contest. It would be a stretch, but he had a lot of time. If needed, he would just not go to school. He hoped he would be able to do it. He had already made a plan to learn each one in the fastest way possible. Russian would take a step back, but since he had finished making the deals with the Russians, it was not as important. Plus, he wanted to be able to speak to the other competitors in their own languages if he could, it would allow him to polish his skills, and would make it easier to make connections. Most of the people there were most likely part of one knowledge organisation or another, such as Mensa, so they all had pretty bright futures, it would be good to make connections with them early.

He went inside the restaurant, John was not there yet, but Ace sat down at a small table for two, and waited with his phone out. He was doing exactly what he had planned to do every time he had some free time now, he went into the Owl app [A/N: He is coming for you…] and practised his Chinese. Mandarin was a curious affair, and the sooner he got the hang of it, the better he would feel about himself. It was different from other languages he had learnt, since they were all based on the Latin alphabet.

His job, however, was not to learn how to write or read them, but to speak them. He would first learn to speak, and then, with time, the reading and writing should hopefully come. He would immerse himself in the language, and truly put his brain to the test.

Honestly, it felt exhilarating, he knew it was crazy, and yet, he would try his hardest to make it happen. He knew that challenging himself in this manner was the only way to truly improve himself, everything would be too easy if he took his time. He was an inherently lazy person, 13 years of just lying in a bed will do that to you, but his wish to improve, and his will to carry out would triumph over his nature - or so he hoped.

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"I'll be honest, this is seriously good, I mean, I had expected it to be you know, but this is amazing.", John stuffed his mouth with another dumpling, they had been eating for two hours straight. They had asked for a bit of everything from the menu, and the young waitress that had taken their order - probably a daughter or grand-daughter, had been surprised, but nodded when they said that money was not a problem. They gave her 300 dollars to prove to her that, there were no more questions asked. Piles of food in platters came one after the other. Everything was amazing, and Ace had not eaten like that in days. Funnily enough, the last time he remembered eating that well was when they stuffed their face with seafood when they went on their surfing trip.

They finished the last plate, and then asked for some of the house's tea, and they relaxed, sipping tea, and enjoying that sense of peacefulness that comes when you have eaten to your heart's content, and you don't regret a single iota of it.

"So, you are here for the week right?"

"Yep. My parents want to spend New Year's with some other family. Honestly, most important people are going to be in New York these few days, it's your grandmother's birthday."

"Yes, it is. It should be interesting, I assume the mobs are going to show up as well, so It will be funny to see how everyone interacts."

"I forgot you have never been to one of these. Well, let me tell you, it will be a fuckfest. There will be knives in the back within the first hour, and by the time it is done, I would not be surprised if a few people become slaves to others, it is the way it is. Usually, there will also be someone stupid enough to make a power play from a big family or organisation, and then they will get smoked, and have an 'accident' a few days later. Trust me, the Illuminati have nothing on us.", the last part was said with a goofy smile, but Ace understood the seriousness, all that happens when you put beats together, is that they either kill, or mate.

"Well, it should be fun."

"Trust me, it will, no one throws a party like your grandma."

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"Preparations?"

"Complete, Invitations will be sent tomorrow, all relevant people are here, except for the Kaoi Corporation, they had a family emergency."

"Ensure that is true, if it isn't, then figure out what they are doing and report back."

"Yes madam."

"Also, inform the Group, they will have to handle security in the air, and our men will handle it on the ground. I don't want any mistakes, this should be an undisturbed event."

"Of course."

"Good. You may leave."

"Thank you madam.", the man bowed, and left the room.

"So, you think there will be any problems?"

"Of course, there always is, someone will most likely try to make a power play, also, you should warn Ace that people will attempt to engage him with their daughters."

"It will be fine, Veronica. You worry too much about him, he is smart enough to realize what will happen, and honestly, good-looking enough to be able to refuse anyone, even the most pretty of ladies."

Veronica sighed, "I know, but some of these people… They don't take no for an answer."

Samantha laughed, "And what, you think I do?"