Abandoned Girl (Neighpalm Industries Collective, #1)

by Winston, Lexie

  "I told you that I would work with your vision. If that's what you wish, I'll find her something to wear." She stalks off in the direction of the clothing rack, and Alexander hurries over to me and drags me back behind the curtain.

  “Strip,” he commands.

  “What are the two of you doing?” I ask as I start to take off my clothes. I’m not shy or ashamed of my body. I know it looks good. I just choose not to flaunt it regularly.

  "Shane is right. Those models were too athletic. They were great for the sports line, but they don’t fit for the lingerie. Jacinta needs sensual and sexy, not ‘I work out as hard as you do.’ We originally had another model booked for this but she’s out ‘sick’” He rolls his eyes at his words, and mutters about drug addicted anorexic supermodels. Whoa

  He eyes my body now that I'm standing in just my underwear, his up and down glance assessing. "And he’s right, that’s exactly what you are. You can see that you look after yourself, but you've got curves that make a man’s mouth water. You’re every man's wet dream, and every woman wants to be you." The look in his eyes says he likes what he's seeing, but only from a professional point of view. There is no interest there at all. Jacinta must really do it for him; he has it bad.

  "This is a way to get back at all those bitches out there, Jacinta included. They’ve been appalling to you all day, and you haven’t deserved that treatment. It's like they all decided you were fair game once Jacinta called it open season. If they knew who you were, not one of them would have put a foot out of line." He looks disturbed at the thought, and it’s kind of scary that he has a point. I wonder how much of their behavior was natural or whether Jacinta might have pushed them over the edge.

  Lindy bustles around the corner, throws a small scrap of lace at me without a word, and disappears again. Holding up the g-string and demi-cup bra, I shake my head. It's the same shade of pink as the shirt I was wearing, but it's got to be the smallest thing she has. It's like she's deliberately trying to make me feel uncomfortable, but when you’ve had your arm elbow-deep in the back of a cow, there's not much that makes you uncomfortable anymore.

  Alexander turns his back as I slip off my underwear and put it on. "I was serious about getting your number. In fact, how about Shane and I take you out for dinner after all this? We can drop you back off afterward," he tells me over his shoulder.

  "Can you do this up for me?" I ask him, turning my back, and I feel his warm hand against my skin as he does. "I would love to, but you know it's quite a drive to the Summers’ estate."

  He turns me back around and winks at me. "I know, but I've always wanted a look." Laughing, I follow him back around to the set, which is now decorated with a huge bed covered in white sheets.

  "What about her tattoos?" Lindy frowns, gesturing at my sleeve. One of the other girls had tattoos, but they’d covered them with makeup, and both guys do too. "Shall we cover them?”

  "God, no! They're hot as fuck. Leave them," Shane orders. "Okay, Harlow. I want you and Josh and Alex on the bed. You're going to roll around like you're having a threesome." He starts issuing instructions, and I follow along. Who am I to complain about rolling around on a bed with two sexy men? Closest I’ve gotten to getting laid in months, and they’re both smoking hot.

  We spend the next two hours following his instruction, and I make several outfit changes. Both guys go out of their way to make me feel comfortable, and we end up laughing a lot. Shane must be pleased because all he can do is shout praise while his finger furiously clicks the button of his camera. Jacinta and two of the models stare at me, frosty-eyed, through the whole shoot. The other one was so upset she stormed off the set and went home.

  Finally, Shane calls an end. "I think we're done guys; I got some great shots. Why don't the three of you go ahead and get dressed?"

  Climbing off the bed, I move behind the panels. The guys are kind enough to let me go first and give me some privacy, but Lindy stands just outside the whole time like she’s afraid I’m going to steal the clothes. When I hand them back to her, she just huffs and snatches them out of my hand. As I step out from behind the screen, I can see Shane and Jacinta in a heated discussion. I mean, I can’t hear the words, but the gestures make it obvious that sister dearest is definitely displeased. Alexander steps in front of me, blocking the view, and he’s already managed to get clothes on. He must have had them somewhere else or knows some secret model magic.

  "Still want to go and have dinner with us?" he asks, putting his hand on my arm. Jacinta approaches me, her eyes locked on the hand.

  "Are you ready yet? We need to go." Her tone is impatient, and she can’t look at Alexander. If she weren't’ trying to hold onto some semblance of professionalism, I’m sure her foot would be tapping and her arms would be crossed. Hmm, maybe she’s not as unaffected as she pretends. Perhaps she’s more interested than he thinks she is. I jump up and down internally, cheering for my newest friend to find some happiness even if it’s with the ice queen.

  "Actually, I’m going to get something to eat with Shane and Alex. They'll drop me off later." Her face freezes, and she slowly blinks before nodding and turning on her heel then stalking away. Alex blows out a whistle, and I release the breath I had been holding, feeling some of the first moments of relief for the entire day.

  "Well, that went well. I think I’m going to need a couple of drinks," I tell him, and he wraps an arm around my shoulder.

  "It’s alright, princess. We'll look after you." He leads me over to Shane and makes me sit after he notices me hobbling. My knee has held up well throughout the day, but now it’s starting to throb. While Shane finishes packing up, Alex finds me some painkillers and a glass of water, and then the three of us head to dinner.

  Jacinta

  MY BLOOD PRACTICALLY boils as I watch her roll around on the bed with the two models. I know they're only acting, but seeing Alex pretend to worship her makes my skin crawl. It’s common knowledge that he has a boyfriend, and he and Shane are very open in their affections to one another, but I’ve also seen the interest in his eyes when he thinks I’m not looking. I’ve caught both him and Shane giving me heated looks in the past and have always wondered if they’re bi, not gay. There are certainly enough rumors flying around the modeling world to question it.

  Alex seems to have two personalities depending on who’s watching. There’s the supreme campy, effeminate one who flaps around a set like a drag queen who’s lost her sequins, which I’m sure is all an act. Then there’s the one who has quiet intelligent conversations with me when we both have a break. The one who is super attentive and brings me a cup of coffee for no reason or makes sure I eat during a busy fashion show. The one who touches me for no reason, a touch that brings goosebumps to the surface of my skin. Shane is very much the same when he’s on a photo set or at a runway show. He always goes out of his way to come over and check on me or give me a bottle of water or a little shoulder massage. These guys are sending me signals that I thought I could interpret as interest, but now, watching them both with her, maybe I’m not so special after all.

  And that’s another strike to the gut.

  First, she catches my brother’s eye and throws him for a loop. Thank god he discovered her true nature before anything could happen. Then she arrives and takes my place as Dad’s only daughter, and from what I can understand, she has many of the same interests that I share with him. And don't think I didn't notice the gleam of interest in my other brothers’ eyes when they first saw her. Oliver and Kai seem particularly reluctant to get rid of the tramp.

  It’s a shame, really. I had to try especially hard this morning not to laugh when she bit back at my retort about Declan’s cat, and I would love to borrow the book she was reading in the car once she's done with it, but I have to settle for remembering the name because there's no way I’m asking that gold-digger for anything. It incenses me even more to admit that I think the two of us could be good friends if the circumstances were different. Giving myself a ment
al shake, I remind myself that I have to steel my heart no matter what. Family first, always, and that gold-digger is not my family.

  I saw her disappear when we first got here, and I’d thought she was finally doing something right, staying out of the way and not drawing any attention to herself. But then Alex found her, and he couldn't leave well enough alone, too damn kind for his own good. Thankfully, Alex passed her off as an intern. I wouldn't have been able to deal with all the gossip mongers today, and then it was fun to see her run off her feet doing menial tasks for those bitchy models, though I did feel a twinge of guilt as I saw her limp now and then. In the end, though, it’s her fault, isn’t it? She could just give up and leave, and then there’d be no cause for any extra pain.

  When Dad told us about her and how awful her mom had been to her, my mind flashed back to our own mom. I don't have many memories, but the few I do have are not pleasant. I remember how I could never do anything to please her. Jaxon could, he was her angel, but vivid echoes of her telling me I was useless and worth nothing to her bounce around my mind. Not to mention her insistence that I’d ruined her body because carrying twins had been a nightmare, and maybe if she’d only had Jaxon, my father would still love her. Four-year-old me didn’t really understand the words, but that didn’t stop my brain from absorbing them, and adult Jacinta certainly knows how badly our mother was trying to hurt her.

  I later found out through some stealthy eavesdropping that the woman was bi-polar and manic depressive, and she’d actually approached Dad in a lucid moment and begged him to take Jaxon and give him a good life. I’m not sure what she had planned for me, but I shudder to think of what would have happened if Dad hadn’t insisted on having both of us. I’ve got a feeling a sum of money may have exchanged hands as well since we never saw her again, but I don’t care. There’s not a single bit of me that wants to know what happened to her.

  So of course I feel sorry for Harlow, and if she was becoming a member of any other family, I would be thrilled for her and them, but I can’t and won't accept her into mine. All of us have been through too much to have our well-balanced life upset and thrown into chaos because her junkie mother finally OD’d and she discovered who her father is. Let’s face it, if the mother was still alive, we would all be living our lives in blissful ignorance.

  As I continue to watch the tramp roll around on one of the first men who has shown genuine interest in me, not my fortune or my business, I swear to make her wish her mother had never died.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Harlow

  We have dinner in a cute little Mexican restaurant not far from the warehouse. The hostess had shown us to a little corner booth out of the way, and after delivering a pitcher of margaritas for Alex and me, and a beer for Shane, the waitress takes our food orders. I study Shane and Alex across the table from me while she’s engaged with them, taking advantage of this moment where no one’s paying much attention to me. Shane is a striking man, maybe a little older than Alex, I'd say mid-thirties, whereas Alex is the same as me, twenty-five. He has dark brown hair, which is streaked with gray already, as is his neatly trimmed facial hair, and he has deep ocean blue eyes that sparkle when he smiles, especially when looking at Alex. He’s tanned like he spends a lot of time outdoors, which I guess could be true if a lot of his photoshoots are outside. I'd say he's ruggedly handsome compared to Alex's beautifully handsome.

  When the waitress has finished with them, she walks away, having taken my order first. Shane sits back in the booth and puts his arm around Alex's shoulders before saying to me, "So, Harlow, tell us about you. How did you hurt your knee?"

  "Oh, I fell off a horse," I tell him, waving off the question as I pour both Alex and I a glass of the frozen tequila drink. "Twisted my knee the wrong way. It's already much better than it was." They don’t push any further, but judging by the way he's wiggling in his seat, Alex is busting a gut to ask me more questions.

  "Look, just ask what you want to ask, okay? Better we get it all out in the open and move on." Shane looks impressed, though there’s a slight edge of warning in his gaze like I don’t know what I’ve just released. Alex lets out a sigh of relief before firing off the first one.

  "Is it true you didn't know you were a part of the Summers family, and you grew up with a junkie mother who killed herself, and now you're coming in to steal all of the kids’ businesses away from them?" His voice rushes out of him in a flurry of words, and my mind takes a moment to catch up to both the speed at which he spoke and the absurdity of that final question. Shane and I stare at him, me in amusement and Shane with a barely disguised disgust.

  "Where did you hear all that garbage?" Although his tone makes it clear that he’s seeing the nonsense in those rumors, the look he gives Alex is equal parts affection as it is exasperation. He just rose even more in my esteem.

  Alex blushes a little but refuses to shrink down under our scrutiny. "That was all the gossip on set today. Everyone was chatting about it, out of yours and Jacinta's hearing, of course," he tells me, his eyes full of sympathy. I just shrug it off.

  “How did everyone know who I was?” Jacinta never introduced me to anyone, and I certainly didn't say anything. My eyes narrow in on Alex. He was the only one who knew who I was today, and he must have shared it with Shane. Did he share it with everyone else? He sees where I’m going with that line of questioning and quickly holds up his hands.

  “Oh, no, they didn't,” he assures me. “They were just gossiping about the situation. I promise no one knew who you were. They would have been groveling at your feet if they had, not treating you like dirt.” Giving him another moment of close scrutiny, I decide to take his word for it and think back to what his questions were.

  "Alex, I’ve been talked about my entire life in one way or another. My mom made sure of that little detail. I’ve become immune to general gossip, but I’m worried about what the Summers family thinks," I explain to them. "No, I didn't know about Brad. My mom kept it from both of us. I only found out when I had to dig through her belongings after she overdosed. And that’s the answer to your next question. Yes, she was a junkie. Apparently, she managed to stay fairly clean while pregnant with me, but it was a downhill battle after that until eventually, I was moved into foster care." I deliver all of this as factually as I can, keeping a tight lid on any latent emotions so the parts of me that are still a tiny bit raw aren’t exposed.

  Tears well in Alex's eyes, the big softie, but I wave them away. "No, don't be upset. My foster family is amazing. You hear all sorts of things about foster care, but I didn't suffer at all. My life was so much better than it would have been had Mom retained custody. In fact, my foster dad is best friends with Brad Summers. It's how my mom met him. Grace and Howard Summers were regular visitors in our house, and I've always felt a connection with them. It was awesome finding out they're my grandparents for real."

  Shane's looking at ease, accepting the well-adjusted front I'm putting on and probably thankful he’s not dealing with a crying, screaming mess. I've learned how to fake it with the best, but I can see that I’m not fooling Alex. Maybe there’s a kindred spirit there; he seems to be affected more than someone who was raised in a normal, well-adjusted family would be.

  I take a sip of my margarita, enjoying the cool frozen goodness with the kick of tequila and lime. "And the business one?" Shane pushes, his curiosity getting the better of him. I just about snort my drink through my nose as I laugh, putting the glass down carefully on the table and looking him directly in the eye.

  "Quite frankly, Shane, I couldn't give a fuck about any of their businesses. I have a career, or the start of one anyway. I came out here looking to make a family connection. None of Brad’s kids have shown any inclination toward wanting one, so I'll spend a little time making Brad happy before heading back to Connecticut and getting on with my life."

  They both look a little skeptical at my words, but I don't hold it against them. Most people would be. It almost sounds like a
fairy tale that someone could find themselves to be related to the Summers’ wealth but not want any of it. "Look, from the small snapshot I got of that family and listening to the conversation going on around the dinner table the other night, none of them seem particularly happy. They’re all stressed over one aspect of the business or another and had nothing else to talk about except that. I didn't hear anything about hobbies or likes or dislikes; it was all business. That's not a way to live. Where's the fun and joy in life?"

  Both of them stare at me wide-eyed like I’m a creature they've never seen before. "But, but, surely all that money..." Alex stammers.

  "Money doesn't make you happy, Alex. The Summers prove that. It just makes you paranoid and gives you trust issues." The table is quiet as they contemplate my words, and I sip my drink, the silence becoming awkward until Shane shakes his head and changes the subject abruptly. It's like he realizes how uncomfortable I've become and has decided that we need to try and save the rest of the night.

  "So, what is it you do?" he asks me. “Because I could get you booked for a whole heap of modeling work while you’re here if you want. You were amazing." The frown clears from Alex's face at Shane's words, and an enthusiastic look blooms in its place.

  "Girl, you were hot; those shots are going to be amazing!" This time he’s bouncing up and down in his seat in excitement, and I can’t help but smile at his energy. There’s something about him that just feels so friendly and welcoming, almost like he’s a puppy stuck in the body of a hot male model. "I'm sure you could get representation. I’m represented by Neighpalm..." He trails off, and I snort with laughter.