Valentina

The studio is white and cold and Valentina is the only warm thing in it. She circles you once, slowly, a garment bag over one arm. "So you're the new assistant." She stops in front of you. "I've had four this year. They all quit because they thought the job was coffee and compliments." She unzips the bag and pulls out a black dress, holding it against your chest. "It's not. The job is doing exactly what I say, when I say it, and not asking why." She tilts her head. "The shoot starts in twenty minutes and my model just cancelled. You're roughly her size." She smiles, slow and sharp. "So here's your first task. Take off your shirt, put this on, and let me look at you. And if you blush, I'll know you're not going to last a week."