The Model: A Workplace Romance

by Layne, Harlow

  “Sorry, it’s a touchy subject for me. My family doesn’t have a lot of money, and my parents are always one payment away from losing their house ever since my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.”

  “Oh my God, Ryder, is she okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, she’s in remission, but the medical bills took their savings, and I’d love to be able to help if I could. That’s why I work so hard and save every penny I can.”

  “That’s very commendable of you, but you won’t be able to help if you get sick.”

  “I know,” he huffed.

  “Listen to me. I’m wise in my old age,” I snickered. “I’ve been in the modeling world for a long time now, and if you miss a job or two because you’re sick, word will get out. It’s all about what people are saying about you. You can’t afford to miss out —”

  “I wouldn’t miss.”

  “They don’t want you on set sick as a dog either. I’m only telling you all this because I care, and I want to see you succeed. If there’s anything I can ever do to help you, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and ask.”

  “Thank you. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” The ring of sincerity in his voice let me know he wasn’t upset by what I’d said.

  “If you take the right jobs and the ones that pay the most, then you won’t have to be on the go so much. Plus, you’ll get to spend more time with your family.” I hoped he took my advice. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to be hot one season and gone the next, and I didn’t want that to happen to Ryder.

  Leaning over, Ryder kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Lexie. I promise I was listening to everything you said and took it in. I’ll be smart, and it’s nice to have someone on my side who understands how fickle this world can be.”

  Lacing his fingers through the hand I had resting on his knee, we drove the rest of the way to the airport in comfortable silence. Luckily, it was early enough that there wasn’t much traffic or many dropping off in the unloading zone. My stomach twisted in knots when I realized I was going to miss Ryder. He was right. We had undeniable chemistry, but that didn’t matter when he was half a world away most of the time.

  Hopping out of the van, I watched as Ryder pulled his large duffel out of the back and placed it on the sidewalk. “Come here.” He held his arms open wide, and I didn’t hesitate to snuggle into his chest and let him wrap me in a warm hug. “While I didn’t expect to see you here, it was the best surprise. Thank you for everything.” His large hand cupped the back of my head as he kissed the top.

  Tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I fought them back. I cried easily, and I didn’t want him to take it as something it wasn’t.

  “This isn’t goodbye, it’s an I’ll see you later.” He frowned at the thought and pulled me tighter against him. “We just don’t know we’ll see each other, but I promise to keep in contact with you. And hopefully, we’ll work together again.”

  “I have no doubt we’ll work together again, and I’ll talk to you soon.” I smiled weakly at him. We had said before we’d stay in contact, but I knew he’d be busy, and in crazy time zones, so I expected nothing.

  “I’ll message you when I land in Moscow.” He looked down at his phone, shaking his head. “I have no idea what time that will be since it’s a long-ass flight.”

  “Don’t stress about it. I know you’ll be tired when you get there, so…”

  “I said I’d message you, and I will. I always do what I say. Remember, I’m a good guy, and I’m doing it for purely selfish reasons since I have no friends on the road.”

  “Use me if you want.” I slapped my hand against his hard chest. My voice was barely more than a whisper as I got out two simple words. “Goodbye, Ryder.”

  His smile was barely more than a twitch of his lips as his Caribbean blue eyes gazed into my own and darkened. I thought he was going to kiss me breathless by the look he was giving me, but instead, he kissed the corner of my mouth. His lips lingered there as he pressed his eyes closed and held me tight before he pulled back and grabbed his bag.

  “Goodbye, Lexie.”

  I stood rooted to the sidewalk as I watched him walk away. We’d only gotten to know each other for a few days, so it shouldn’t have been so difficult to say goodbye. Instead, it felt as if he’d taken a small part of me with him.

  10

  Lexie

  2 Weeks Later

  True to his word, Ryder had sent me a text when he landed in Moscow. Since then, he’d called or texted about every other day when he got up. I wasn’t sure how he did it because there was no way in hell I could wake up day after day at three or four in the morning to go workout. Let alone with the time zones. I didn’t even work out per se; I hiked the trails around LA three to four times a week, and they kept me in shape and toned, and that was good enough for me. I didn’t want to be stuck in a gym when I could enjoy the outdoors. I couldn’t imagine how much time Ryder spent in the gym to look the way he did.

  Raine had figured out it was Ryder who called every afternoon at four, so she tried to help me out so I could take his brief calls. Today, though, we were doing business stuff, and I’d been at my desk for hours emailing, scheduling, and ordering supplies. When my phone started to ring, and I saw Ryder’s name pop up at two, I was worried something was wrong. Why the hell was he awake at one in the morning?

  I stood from my desk and answered the phone as I started pacing. “What’s wrong?”

  Ryder’s soft chuckle filled my ear. “What makes you think something is wrong?”

  Making my way up to the roof for some air and sunshine, I stopped at my apartment door. It was cracked open, but I thought nothing of it. I had Raine grab my iPad earlier from upstairs, and she probably hadn’t closed the door all the way. Closing the door, I slowly made my way up the stairs.

  “It’s one in the morning in Russia, and you’re a good little boy who makes sure he gets all of his sleep.”

  “My shoot was over early, and we went out to celebrate. I thought I’d call you before I went to bed since I plan on sleeping in before I do some sightseeing tomorrow. What are you doing?”

  “Working. Always working. I have a client who wants me to find the models for a big campaign they’re doing. They want me to plan everything.”

  “Is that normal?”

  “I’ve never had to do this much, but they’ve given me some of the details so I can pick a location. They want me to be creative with it and find the perfect models for it. First thing, I’m trying to find the perfect place and date that’s in the time frame they’ve given me.”

  “Sounds like a lot of work, but it could be great for you.”

  “They are paying me an insane amount of money, which I like. But I’ve only just started, and I know I don’t want to organize this much ever again. It’s so much work.” I sat down on the edge of the pool and put my feet in the water.

  “You’ll do great at it; I know you will. I can let you go if you’re too busy…” Ryder paused. I knew he didn’t want to get off the phone, so I saved him.

  “No, I needed the break.”

  “Lexie, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I noticed your door was open, and wanted to let you know.” Raine looked unhappy to interrupt my time with Ryder.

  Cocking my head to the side, I scrunched my nose at her. “Are you sure? It was open when I came up and I closed it. Let me go look. Maybe I need to send someone out to fix the door because I don’t like the idea of it creeping open.”

  “Is everything okay?” Ryder asked from the other end of the line.

  “My apartment door keeps opening today.” I sighed with annoyance. “I thought it was Raine who left it open, but I guess not.”

  Ryder yawned, and it made me smile. He was like an old man and could barely stay up past eleven o’clock unless he was working or busying doing something else. “Maybe I should let you go so you can investigate.” And so he could go to sleep, but I didn’t say anything. “It will probably be a few days before I call again. I’ll be head
ed to Rio on Thursday.”

  Another long flight. “I’m sorry we couldn’t talk longer, but you should probably get to bed before you fall asleep on the phone. Maybe we’ll talk this weekend once you get settled.” I headed back downstairs to my apartment.

  “I’ll call, Lexie. I always call.”

  He did, but I couldn’t trust how long that would last. It hadn’t been that long since we saw each other.

  “Good night, Ryder. Safe travels.”

  “Night,” he replied before he hung up.

  Placing my phone in the back pocket of my jean shorts, I opened the door to my apartment, my gaze immediately going to the window that had been replaced from when Ben jumped out of it. The cops hadn’t found him yet, but I wasn’t sure how hard they were looking. I had a feeling he wasn’t a high priority. Raine had convinced me to get a restraining order against Ben, but since no one had been able to find him, they hadn’t served him the paperwork, and a court date had never been set.

  Walking cautiously around my apartment, I saw nothing out of place. I searched the places someone could hide, and they were all clear. Thinking about Ben stressed me out. I went back downstairs to find Raine sitting at my computer, typing.

  “What do you say we get out of here and have a late lunch? I’ve been craving Mexican, and we can talk shop and brainstorm while we eat.”

  Raine’s eyes lit up. I knew I’d won her over when I said Mexican food. She loved a good burrito, and I knew just the place for us to gorge on chips and salsa while getting our margarita on. “Let’s go. I’ll grab your iPad to take notes.”

  An hour later, we were sitting in our favorite Mexican restaurant, both of us with a margarita in hand. Raine had the iPad notes app open and ready. “Where do you think this shoot should be? Mathers wants it glamorous.”

  “I’m thinking Vegas. I need to find the right hotel or hotels and see if they’ll be willing to work with us. We’ll probably be working in the middle of the night when it’s not as busy, so that means some long nights.”

  “I think if they hear that it will be for Skön and all the publicity they’ll get—”

  “They don’t need any more publicity.” I laughed and stuffed a chip in my mouth.

  “It can’t hurt to mention it.” She was right, it couldn’t hurt, but I doubted it would help. “Did you see that they want to be there for the shoot?”

  “I did; that’s why everything has to be perfect. They’re paying the big bucks and giving me creative control. If I mess this up…”

  Raine placed her hand on my arm. “You’ve got this. I know we don’t have a long time to figure this out, but all your ideas so far have been perfect for Skön.” After taking a healthy swallow, she continued. “I may have looked up who we’re working with.” Raine’s eyes widened. “Have you seen him?”

  “Mr. Jacobs?” I shook my head. “Is he ugly and fat?” I didn’t care what he looked like as long as they paid. With the money they were willing to fork out, I wouldn’t need to work for a few years.

  “More like the exact opposite. He could be a model and…” She sucked her lips into her mouth.

  “What?” I laughed at her. I had no idea what she wanted to say, but the look on her face, had me wanting to crack up.

  “He’s married to an older woman. That’s his boss.” She whispered the last part as if she was afraid, they’d hear her. I wanted to laugh at her, but I had no idea where she was going with this line of thought.

  “Why does that matter?”

  “I thought it was interesting and since you and Ryder—”

  “There is no me and Ryder,” I interrupted her. “Ever since we got back from Hawaii, you keep insinuating something, but I promise you there’s nothing there. He’s off becoming the next male supermodel, and I’m here where I want to be.”

  Raine nibbled on a chip as she stared across the table at me. “Why do you keep talking to him if there’s nothing there?”

  She had me there.

  “I’m not saying I don’t like Ryder because I do, but we’re in two very different places in our lives. He’s young and gorgeous, and I don’t want to turn into some crazy jealous girlfriend because of all the beautiful women he’ll be surrounded by, while I only get to see him a couple of times a year. He’s a good guy, but eventually, he’ll cheat.”

  “You don’t know that. Not all men are cheaters.”

  All the ones who’d been in my life had been. “He has needs that should to be met.”

  “Didn’t you say that he hadn’t had sex with anyone else since the last time you saw him?” She threw my words from a couple of weeks ago back at me. “If you could have seen the way he looked at you when we were in Hawaii when you weren’t looking.” She rested her chin on her clasped hands and sighed dreamily. “I want a man to look at me that way.”

  “You will, but you have to put yourself out there to meet him.” Raine was such a cutie, I wasn’t sure how she didn’t have a boyfriend or a long line of them waiting for her.

  “Don’t turn this on me. We’re talking about you.” She giggled into her drink.

  “You wanted to talk about me. I was fine talking about the job and eating my weight in chips and salsa.”

  “Okay, just let me say one thing, and then I’ll drop it.” I motioned for her to go ahead. It wasn’t like it would change my mind. “Don’t rule Ryder out because he’s young and traveling all the time because you might never find someone else that you have that kind of explosive chemistry with or that looks at you like you’re the only person in the world.”

  Everything she said made sense, but I was going to take each day as it came. I wouldn’t say no to Ryder if he wanted to be in a relationship even though I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I wasn’t holding my breath either.

  “Just eat your burrito and be quiet.”

  She aimed the smile that made everyone adore her at me, and I was instantly less annoyed. “You know I’m right.”

  Instead of answering her, I finished off my margarita and looked at pictures of hotels in Vegas to try and find the right one.

  After finishing off her burrito, Raine started to shift in her seat nervously. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, but I don’t want you to miss out on a great guy.”

  Finally looking at her, I patted her hand. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but there’s no use in thinking about feelings and hormones when I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.”

  “He likes you. Of course, you’ll see him again.”

  Raine really was naïve if she thought that. Ryder could easily find his soulmate when he got to Rio or his next location. “Let’s focus on what Mathers wants because if we pull this off, you’ll be getting a big bonus.”

  Her mouth popped open and hung in an ‘O.’ “Thank you, Lexie. That would be wonderful. Then I wouldn’t have to have three roommates who annoy me to no end. I could probably have only one.”

  Maybe I needed to give her a raise. I couldn’t imagine living with three other people, especially ones that got on Raine’s nerves since she was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. Nothing seemed to bother her, and yet these people did.

  Eating the last bite of my fajitas, I patted my stomach. “I think we should get out of here before I have too much to drink and have to leave my car to take an Uber.”

  “I agree. I’ll just wait until I get home to make my own.” She sat up straighter in her chair. “That is if you don’t need me.”

  “No, I’m good. I’ll probably be on the internet searching for venues all night.”

  I paid the check, and Raine and I went our separate ways. She wanted to use the restroom before she had to drive home while I just wanted to get home. Maybe I’d swim a few laps in my pool before I got back to work.

  Walking out to my car, I deleted all the emails that were trash and had started to read a new one from Mathers. They had given me a list of models they would like to see, but ultimately if I found better ones, to hire them. At least I
knew what they were looking for. In the end, it would make my job easier.

  As I was reaching for my car door, I was pushed to the side and pinned against the window by a hard body. “You’re going to give me my shit, or I’m going to fucking end you,” a familiar voice said above my head.

  “Ben?” I tried in earnest to turn away until I felt something sharp at my throat. How had I been so wrong about him? Never in all our time together had he ever been violent. He was more of a lazy bum than anything else. “Why are you doing this? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been through all my things and didn’t find anything.”

  “Don’t play stupid. I told you this was life or death. Now, I’m giving you twenty-four hours, and then I’m coming for you.”

  “What are you looking for?” Maybe if I knew, I could get him out of my life once and for all, because after this I was never going to let him anywhere near me.

  The knife he had to my throat dug in and I felt wetness start running down my neck and into my shirt. “I know you have my drugs, you stupid bitch.”

  “Lexie?” Raine shrieked. I could hear her feet on the concrete as she ran toward us. “Someone call 911.”

  I wanted to turn to her, but I couldn’t without the knife going in deeper.

  “Fuck, you always mess everything up.” He pressed the knife harder, cutting a line down my throat before his rank breath was in my face. “Twenty-four hours for you to get me my stuff.”

  The next thing I knew, I was falling to the ground as Ben ran in the other direction, and Raine was kneeling beside me.

  “Oh my god, you’re bleeding.” Tears streamed down her face. “Don’t worry, the police should be here soon.”