Facade

Then they’ll walk the runway in quick succession, and you can say which of them appeal to you.”
    “They don’t have to appeal to me, Tanna, they have to appeal to Nicky and to the public.” Evidently she wasn’t joking!
    “I know that, Jonas, and so does Nicky, but he says he keeps picking the same guys and wants a fresh look on the catwalk the day after tomorrow.” She looked compassionate and a little amused. “He still has the final say. We’ll pick more than he needs, and that way he can do the final cut.”
    Jonas nodded reluctantly and let Tanna wind her arm around his as she led him out into the crowd of young and quite tall men.
    She whispered something in the ear of a quirky, oriental, androgynous-looking possibly male person, who stepped on top of his chair and shouted, “Everyone inside. Look your best, girls! This is for Nicky’s show at the museum!” in a thick South London accent.
    Tanna tugged on his arm and dragged Jonas through the wall of male bodies toward the back. It became a bit easier to move once they all spilled out into the hall at the rear of the office, but Jonas was still amazed at the number of boys and men that had shown up.
    Luckily, Tanna seemed to know her way around, and he found himself following her like a puppy, afraid he’d lose her and never find her again. Jonas wasn’t a short man but he hadn’t felt this vertically challenged since Clay had taken him backstage at a Lakers basketball game.
    “Watch and learn,” the short, skinny, androgynous man told him. “Our Tanna’s a pro at this and such a charm to work with!” He Façade
    49
    was carrying a stack of numbered cards and gave half of them to Jonas. “Hand one of these to every guy that gets a ‘yes’ from her.” Jonas nodded as the men lined up around them without being told. Obviously the models all knew what was going to happen even if Jonas didn’t have a clue.
    Tanna looked at him and winked; then she returned her gaze to the men and pointed her finger at each of them, stating either “yes” or “no.” Jonas was amazed at the speed at which she made decisions; the two of them had great difficulty keeping up with her as she made her way around the room. “No, no, no, yes, no, no, yes, yes, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, yes, no, no, no, yes, yes, yes….” Slowly the men who were not selected filed out. A smaller group carrying numbers stayed behind and began to get their résumés and head- and-body shots ready.
    Tanna sighed and called Laurent, who came scurrying in carrying water bottles. She grabbed one and took a long drink. “Now that’s over, it’s your turn,” she told Jonas, and then she turned to the short man. “Tau, dear, can you collect the ’folios and get copies to Nicky? Then let the boys strut their stuff?” She wound her arm around Jonas’s again and pulled him closer.
    “I don’t know what to do here, Tanna. What do I know about choosing models? I don’t even know what they’ll be wearing.” Tanna gave him a motherly look. “Nicky didn’t ask you to do this because of your expertise, Jonas, but because of your taste in men. Listen, all the guys I chose will do just fine. It’s up to you to find the ones with sex appeal, with charisma, and that doesn’t take any sort of experience.”
    Jonas sighed. “So how do we do this?”
    At that moment, Tau, the pint-sized organizer of the casting call, came in with a stack of portfolios with numbers attached to them and two clipboards, which he handed to Tanna and Jonas. He placed his hands on the lapels of Jonas’s jacket and stroked down, a gesture that felt quite intimate coming from a stranger, but Jonas 50
    Zahra
    Owens
    resisted the temptation to step back. The man’s effeminate voice and posture made Jonas cringe when he said, “Do pick our Nicky some nice butch boys and let the losers down gently, Mr. Hunter. And you can send the hurt ones my way, because we all know what Nicky will do with the winners.” He winked at Jonas and then left.
    Tanna must have read his face because she leaned closer and whispered, “Tau loves to promote Nicky’s image of being insatiable where men are concerned, and I do the same for the women. Of course you know the truth.”
    Jonas was a little unsure what that truth was.
    Tanna straightened her back and instantly became the ray of sunshine she usually was. “Now let’s look at how these guys walk.” About an hour later, after letting all the guys walk the makeshift