Behind the Scenes, Part 1

Behind the Scenes:
karriejj@hotmail.com

The following is a fictitious account of the 'goings on' behind the scenes of
a Smoking Video Production Company. In no way was a real company chosen to
model the story after. Any similarities and use of names are strictly
coincidental.

Part I:

Monica smiled at the waitress and thanked her as she poured the coffee. She
shifted nervously in the booth and reached into her backpack and withdrew her
pack of Marlboro Kings and lighter. She surveyed the cafe as she
instinctively went through the routine of flipping the box lid, shaking a
cigarette into her hands, placing it in her lips, and lighting the tip. It
was so common an act that she could do it blind folded if needed. 

She drew deeply and inhaled the rich smoke deep into her lungs. She felt her
chest expand as she inhaled it very deeply. As she held it, she brought the
steaming mug to her lips and began to softly blow the surface to cool it
slightly. Her exhale replaced the swirling steam on the rim and she finally
sipped.

She turned her head towards the large glass window and exhaled the rest of
her drag.  She drew again quickly in an attempt to calm her over active
nerves.

"Monica?" a voice asked.

She turned to see a somewhat handsome and slightly overweight figure standing
next to the table.

"Paul?" she asked back, confirming who he was. She turned her head and
quickly forced the rest of her exhale up and away from him.

"Yeah, nice to finally meet you," he offered and sat opposite her in the
booth. "Thanks for coming, I appreciate you taking the time out of your
schedule." He lay a Mead portfolio on the table between them as the waitress
came and filled his mug with coffee.

"Hey Paul, how you doing?" she asked with a smile. She turned towards Monica
and nodded. Paul simply blushed a bit and thanked her for the coffee.

Monica took a quick drag and began to crush her cigarette out in the ashtray.

"No!" Paul almost shouted, making Monica jump. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle
you, its just that I want to watch you smoke, study your style, that's all.
Please finish it."

Monica shook her head in a laugh and rolled he tip in the ashtray in an
attempt to straighten the end.

Paul sipped from his coffee as he watched her bring the cigarette to her lips
and draw. He was struck by her soft skin and full lips. She wore little
makeup and was still very striking. His mind raced as inside he was planning.

"So, did you have a chance to view the site?" he asked, getting down to
business.

"Yeah, I did," she replied in a milky exhale. "You cater to some strange
characters. I never knew that this 'fetish' existed."

"We'll it does exist, and fortunately, I have the pleasure of helping bring
that to the people who desire it. You don't have to accept it or even try to
understand it to work for us. Our models make good money working for us. They
can make VERY good money if they are well received and popular with our
audience."

Monica nodded as she listened to Paul's little speech.  Her ears perked when
he mentioned VERY good money.

Paul paused and watched Monica take her final drag. It was long and her
cheeks hollowed as she pulled on the browning filter. She pulled it from her
lips and opened her mouth slightly. A ball escaped which she then re-inhaled
up her nose. She began a normal exhale as she crushed the spent butt out, and
then did a few tight smoke rings that drifted across the table. One of them
crashed against Paul's shirt and dissipated.

Paul shifted and cleared his throat. Beneath the table, he was hard and
aching and above the table, he fought hard to conceal his excitement. Monica
smiled and pretended to not know what affect her smoking was having on him.
She decided it was fun to tease him in this way.

"Here is our standard contract," he said as she opened the notebook and spun
it so she could read it easily. "I'll let you go over it, but in a nutshell,
it explains our company, and your rights. Behind that is a small survey we
ask all our models to complete. It gives us an idea what your habits are,
what you may be willing to do for us, what you wont do, etc. And finally, the
last page details the pay structure you can expect if you decide to do some
work for us."

Monica sipped her coffee again and slid the portfolio closer to begin reading
the material. She unzipped her backpack and withdrew a pair of glasses, shook
her hair a bit, and put them on. She again thoughtlessly drew out another
cigarette and lit it as she read.

Paul studied her every action as she read the contract and other paper work.
She would draw deeply for 3-4 seconds, and then inhale, holding it for an
equal time. After inhaling, she would always tap her ash, keeping it neat.
Then she would hold it near her head, propped up and away, but close. She
sometimes chewed lightly on her thumbnail. Her exhales were casual and much
different when she was in deep thought.  They would simply flow from her body
with her normal breath. Sometimes pointed, sometimes cascading, but it always
took 3-4 breaths to fully empty her lungs.

Two cigarettes later, Monica looked up from the paper work and took off her
glasses, folded them and placed them back in her backpack. Paul sat across
from her with his hand folded neatly on the table, smiling.

"Well?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.

"I don't like the verbiage of the Exclusivity Clause," she said matter of
factly.

Paul looked shocked and his eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"I'm studying Pre-Law by the way," Monica said smartly with a smirk, and then
explained. "The first part of this refers to me as a 'Contract Employee', on
a job by job basis. In the Exclusivity portion you are trying to tell me that
if I sign, I can't pursue work with other companies offering the same
products or services. That's like telling a carpenter that if he does work
for you, he can't do work for your neighbor. It's not like you guys are
'Vivid Video' or some other outfit. You'd have no way to enforce that."

Paul was impressed and understood where she was coming from. He didn't want
to lose her and butting heads at this point would be non-productive.

"I can have our legal advisors have a look at that," he said like a salesman.
"Other than that, what do you think?'

Monica took a final sip of her coffee and slid out from behind the booth. "I
like your pay structure and lord knows Pre-Law isn't cheap." She paused to
sling her backpack over her shoulder. "Make the changes to the contract and
I'll do it. You have my address?"

"I do," Paul said standing, and offered his hand. "I'll get these back to you
as soon as I can."

Monica took his hand and shook it lightly. She placed sunglasses on her slim,
oval face and chuckled.

"I can't believe I'm going to get paid to smoke!" she said in a giggle.

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