Eye On CameraWare -- community

**** Continued from the last issue of Eye on CameraWare!! ****
"Jenna slammed into the apartment with excited force, reverberating the walls with the sound of the door being forcefully closed.
"Ok, I am here! Tell me EVERYTHING!" she commanded with a huge smile as she plopped herself on the couch.
Lena laughed out loud at her friend's enthusiasm and sat excitedly beside her. She ran through everything quickly regarding her conversation with Mr. Jackson, leaving no detail aside. When finished, she sat back and smiled awaiting Jenna's thoughts.
"Oh my god! You SPOKE to Mr. Jackson? That is so unheard of! You rule! Wow! A whole week of fun in the sun with the bachelor of a lifetime! Can this get any better!!!" she giggled profusely.
"I still feel kind of nervous, you know. After all, he is not exactly a man with the greatest reputation and his name alone sends shivers down my spine. Well," she shrugs, "it could possibly be the greatest boost to my career one way or the other."
"Oh my god, we have to shop! Get your things, I have tons of ideas on how to dress you for success!" Jenna squealed with the anticipation of her favorite pastime.
Lena burst out laughing, "You are not going to dress me! I see your taste daily remember?"
Jenna punched her playfully on the arm.
"Ouch!"
"Ok, well, get some sleep and meet me here at 9 o'clock. We will head out to the shops, get some lunch and return to pack. I will assume his limo will be on time so our schedules must coincide for being ready."
Jenna hugged her goodnight and bounded out the door like a child awaiting Santa's arrival.
The next morning, Lena met Jenna at the door and the two headed out for some much needed splurging. Upon their return and subsequent packing of a weeks clothing attire, they were both sitting upon the couch when the knock from the door broke their chatter.
"Miss Blackstock, your limo is waiting." The driver tipped his hat, enquired if the suitcases were going, picked them up, turned and headed down the tiny staircase.
"Ooohhhh...limo!" Jenna squealed again. Lena was almost tempted to oink along with her but she decided to nudge her towards door.
The two-hour drive passed quickly as Jenna amused herself with all the knickknacks found in the backseat, including some champagne.
The limo drove up a long, winding road and Lena noticed the outlined shadow of a building--a mansion with a size unlike anything she had seen before.
"Oh my! Look at that, Jenna!" she nudged with a whisper, as the mansion walls became clearer and more focused.
"I love him! Think he will marry me?" Jenna half-heartedly teased with a laugh.
They pulled up to the extremely wide doors at the front of the mansion and out of the doors came two men and a lady. The limo pulled to a stop and the driver got out to open their door. Jenna and Lena stepped out to be greeted by these strangers.
"Good evening, Miss Blackstock and Miss Temple. I am Johnston. I will be at your service this week and should you require anything please call upon me to serve you."
"Ummm, thank you Johnston," Lena nervously stated.
"Welcome to Mr. Jackson's home. I am his personal secretary, Mrs. Evelyn. I am here to coordinate appointments and schedules and to ensure your stay is pleasing. It is also a great pleasure to meet you, Miss Blackstock. I have been a fan of your writing for quite some time," she gushed with demure prudish-ness.
"Thank you, I appreciate your compliment." Lena was at a loss for words but was doing her best to hold onto her dignity and show some control. She was still overwhelmed by it all and quite nervous at meeting Mr. Jackson.
The third man said nothing to anyone but gathered their belongings and headed into the house.
"Shall I show you to your quarters now?" Johnston offered with a wave of his hand towards the door.
"Mr. Jackson will meet everyone for dinner so you have a few hours to get comfortable in your surroundings before that time. Feel free to look around the house and if you need anything at all, please enquire with either Johnston or myself. Either of us will always be close by for your convenience," stated Mrs. Evelyn.
"Or to keep an eye on the silver!" whispered Jenna into Lena's ear as she leaned in close to her.
Lena smiled, tucked her arm in Jenna's and the two followed the path Johnston's hand was pointing.
The foyer was breathtaking. It was spacious beyond belief, filled with the most ancient antiquities Lena had ever seen. She was certain her surprised inhalation was loud enough to echo through the mansion. Jenna stood there dumbfounded, out of words to express (which was a first), and her mouth hanging wide open.
"Shall we?" Johnston smiled as he pointed the way up the thrice-winding staircase.
"Thank you, yes!" Jenna smiled as she led the way ahead of all, bounding the stairs sometimes two at a time.
The double door to their quarters was made of solid wood, detailed greatly with the workmanship of the past. As the door opened to reveal two suites comprised of two king size beds, lounges, home theatres, overstocked bars, dining room pieces and closets full of clothes, the mouths wide open was a common theme between Jenna and Lena.

"I will leave you to unpack and get comfortable. The Jacuzzi is off to the left, the hot tub is on the patio and each of you has your own ladies' room. I will return in three hours to bring you to dinner. There are clothes in your sizes hanging in the closets for your choice, should you wish to indulge yourself." And with that, Johnston closed the door behind him.
"Oh my, can you believe this place, Lena? Holy richness!" Jenna exclaimed as she bounded for the bed and bounced on it excitedly.
"Actually, yes. After all, Mr. Jackson is well known for his taste in the extreme, so this doesn’t surprise me. But we must not let go of the reason we are here--at least, I must not get carried away because I have to stay focused. I don't want to be bought and I will not be swayed by finances," Lena stated with determination and pride.
"Well, you just stick to your guns and I will show enough un-pride for the both of us," Jenna laughed as she continued bouncing on the bed.
"So, what do you want to do first? I think I will take a shower and change into something comfortable. Do you want to peek around this miniature country a bit when I'm done?" Lena enquired.
"Absolutely! Are you kidding! I am filled with nosiness! Bring on the rest of the mansion!" Lena and Jenna laughed in unison as Jenna headed toward her ladies' room.
Once changed and refreshed, Jenna and Lena wandered out of their quarters and began to explore the rest of the place. Most of the top floors seemed similar in outlay, although the furnishings were from much different time periods, level to level. They wandered down to the first floor where a sitting room the size of a gymnasium gave off the noise of much chatter. Inside were five or six groups of people, all sitting or standing, talking and laughing as if they had known each other for years. This gave Lena a most uncomfortable feeling. Jenna, on the other hand, beamed with curiosity.
Mrs. Evelyn stepped out from the crowd, walking across the floor towards them with the same prudish smile she wore earlier.
"Welcome! I was wondering when I would see you next. Please come in and meet the others!" Taking Jenna and Lena by the arm, she began to introduce them around the room.
The crowd seemed diverse in their categories. Everyone from media to stockroom boy seemed to be here. It was the most unique meeting of status she had ever encountered. She still felt uneasy and these introductions further enhanced her doubt regarding Mr. Jackson’s intentions. It truly was an odd group of people and she did not feel she fit in.
Jenna, however, was making her rounds--mostly to all the men--but at least she was enjoying herself.
"Three hours of idle chatter with strangers is not my idea of fun," Lena mentally reminded herself. Jenna turned and slowly wandered out of the room, leaving Jenna to her glory.
Wandering down the hall, she came to a room with an emblem of sorts on the front of the door. Her curiosity took over and she opened it a crack to peek in. The room appeared empty. Opening the door wider, she slipped inside. The room was majestic. The desk in the middle of the room appeared to be made of solid gold, although she could not imagine that being true.
Her hands began to trail the desk and the shelves beside it, and she began to wonder if this room was Mr. Jackson’s office. After all, it was in a very strange place, beside what she believed to be the kitchen. It seemed out of place, not exactly where one would assume a bigwig such as Mr. Jackson would hide.
Perhaps it belongs to Mrs. Evelyn, she concluded.
"Can I help you?" came a startling voice behind her.
"I...um...was just looking around," she stammered while blushing.
Turning, she came across a face she immediately recognized--Mr. Jackson’s.
"Well, if it isn’t Miss Blackstock! A pleasure to meet you! Sorry if I startled you." He smiled as he offered his hand.
He is polite, she thought to herself as she extended her hand.
"Mr. Jackson, the pleasure is mine."
"It is an interesting room, isn’t it?" he quizzed in an assured manner.
"Unique comes to mind."
"I like to call it my hideout, hence the emblem on the door. It's an old emblem dating to the thirteenth century purportedly to hide societies from the roaming witches. People would attach this emblem above their doors in order to ward off evil."
Lena wasn't sure that was something he might want to tell his potential dates.
"Like I said, Unique," she smiled politely. "Well, I do apologize for rudely intruding on your solitary space. I was curious and this room certain attracts that."
Mr. Jackson laughed as he walked closer to Lena. Lena nervously stepped aside pretending to feign making way for his walking by but he matched her step and his face came within inches of hers. She could feel his breath for a brief moment before he stepped aside and allowed her to walk past. Her heart fluttered rapidly.
"Well, it was nice to meet you. I suppose we will see you at dinner. I must go find Jenna. She can't be trusted on her own," Lena laughed nervously as she grasped the door handle.
"I very much look forward to dinner. I will see you then," he playfully smiled with a twinkle in his eye.
Lena smiled, turned and closed the door behind her. She walked hurriedly down the hall towards the room Jenna was still flirting around in. Intruding upon her conversation, she politely pulled her friend from the room and back up to their quarters.
"No way! You met Mr. Jackson face to face! And you didn't jump his bones?" Jenna teased.
"Funny! It was very awkward you know, to be caught poking around someone's office and have them walk in!" she huffed.
"I know...but still...all teasing aside, what is he like?" Jenna wanted to know.
"He is everything they say he is--handsome, charming, manly -- everything!" she confided with a rush of surprised enthusiasm.
"Well, that is good to hear!" Mr. Jackson turned and said to Mrs. Evelyn as he put the headphones down.
"It appears to be a very good start, sir"

"Yes, now if the rest falls into place, I will succeed without a hitch!" he proclaimed as they both burst into laughter.

**** CONTINUED NEXT EDITION OF EYE ON CAMERAWARE! ****