by Emily Bishop
My gaze drifted to the hardwood paneling of the floor, following the rich grain as Stevie continued pinning up my hair. I chewed my bottom lip, then lifted my eyes back to the mirror. “I’m fine. I just had some shocking news.”
“Word on the street is that everyone’s favorite playboy was seen comforting you after,” Stevie said. Unlike the other women in the room, she didn’t look jealous about it, only playful and interested. “That shocking news anything you want to talk about?”
“No,” I answered firmly and immediately. “But thanks for asking.”
“Boss man has you all taken care of then?” She winked, flashed me an amused smile, and reached for the small mirror to show me my hairstyle.
She’d weaved my raven strands into intricate plaits, pinned together in an elegant bun with carefully arranged locks framing my face. “It’s beautiful, as always, girl.”
“Thanks, but you make it easy,” she told me honestly. “Are you going to keep ignoring my questions about the boss taking care of you in your time of need?”
My cheeks grew hot. “Noticed that, did you?”
“It’s kind of hard not to.” She grinned.
“Bellissima.” Stefan appeared in the reflection of the mirror. His hair was wild as always, and his eyes were shining with excitement. “Yesterday’s shots are looking magnifico. We should wrap this up today.”
“Thanks, Stefan,” I muttered, but he was already gone. The man was like a ball of pure energy when he was happy, but I’d heard rumors that he was equally as intense when he wasn’t.
“You’re all done,” Stevie told me.
“And not a second too soon,” an assistant said behind her, her tone clipped and efficient. “Come along, Demi.”
I noticed that I was the last model to leave the makeshift dressing room. The others were gathered on a large patio, milling around in the spots Stefan and his assistants guided them to.
Today, we were modeling jewelry. Our luxurious surroundings were supposed to emulate the elite at a party, bejeweled in the finest accessories money could buy.
“And our crown jewel,” Stefan called, motioning to me. “You’re over here.”
His hands clamped onto my shoulders as he guided me to a cocktail table set up right in the center of the patio, beside a glimmering infinity pool. There was a low grumble among the others as I took my position, though the only one I could hear came from the redhead that had been in the dressing room earlier. “Getting all the attention. She doesn’t deserve it.”
“Right.” Stefan clapped. “Everyone, places!”
Camera flashes started going off as Stefan barked off commands at each of us, while one of his lackeys got upbeat pop music blaring through the speakers. I lost myself in the action for a while, aware only of Stefan’s voice and angling my body just right.
In the space of a few weeks, my confidence had grown more than I would have ever thought possible, and I was really starting to get into my role as a model. It was an empowering feeling.
Stefan called for a break, and I relaxed my posture. Then, awareness prickled my skin just as a low voice spoke up from behind me.
“Another job well done.” Barrett’s warm eyes greeted me as I spun around to face him. His expression was one of smug satisfaction mixed with… pride?
My heart soared. If this man, the one who had revolutionized the industry and built himself a billion-dollar empire doing it, was proud of me, then surely, I was doing as well as I thought I was. Screw what all the others had to say, or think, about it.
“Thanks, Barrett. That means a lot to me.” I spoke honestly, my heart still racing, as was starting to become its normal state whenever I was around Barrett.
“Sure,” he said, then raised a brow suggestively. “Wanna get out of here?”
My reaction to him was immediate, as if my body had a road map to follow and did so instinctively and landed right on the money. My cheeks grew hot as my mind went straight to the gutter. “Now?”
Amusement shone in Barrett’s eyes. I wondered again if he could read my mind. Sure enough, his pupils dilated just slightly, and his voice was almost imperceptibly thicker when he added, teasingly, “For lunch. Stefan’s just about to call it.”
“You tease.” I laughed, making sure to keep my voice low. We were garnering enough attention from the other models as it was. I wasn’t concerned enough about it to avoid Barrett at work. I was too selfish with any time I could steal alone with him. But I also didn’t want to add fuel to the rumor fire if I could help it.
“I didn’t hear a yes there,” Barrett said, a playful smirk on his lips. “Would it help if I told you that what I really wanted for lunch was you?”
Pure joy floated through me as a delighted giggle slipped out. “Yes, but I’ll go eat with you anyway.”
Dear Lord, who is this flirtatious person I’m becoming with him? I’d never really been shy, but I’d also never been quite so free and comfortable with a man either.
Stefan’s voice echoed out above the blaring music. “Okay, everybody. Time for lunch. Do try to have more than a few grapes.”
Barrett snorted next to me, shaking his head at Stefan’s request. The music cut out, and there was a mad dash for the dressing rooms and the elevator. Some of the models paused to shoot me looks of pure hatred as I placed my hand in the crook of Barrett’s arm and let him lead me away for lunch after I changed back into my own clothes.
“Stevie will kill me if my makeup melts too much, so not somewhere too far away, okay?” I told him when we stepped onto the busy sidewalk.
I was assaulted by the smells of the city in the summer, garbage, sweat, cigarettes, spices from food carts, and the hard-to-identify odors that came blasting on waves of hot air out from building vents.
Given our proximity to Central Park, there was also the unmistakable stink of the ginkgo trees in the air.
Tourists might not always appreciate it, but to me it smelled like home. Like memories of picnics in the park with Gabbi and the rare occasions that I got to walk home from school. Like nights out with Mandy and pounding the sidewalks early in the morning when I’d first started hunting for a job. I filled my lungs with the scent and let out a happy sigh.
Barrett glanced at me, seeming more relaxed now that we were away from the prying eyes of bitchy models, and he twined his fingers through mine. “I’m too smart to mess with Stevie. I made a reservation for lunch right around the corner.”
“Am I that predictable that you made a reservation before you’d even asked me to lunch?” I asked, not offended at all. If anything, a bolt of happiness shot from my heart to my extremities that our relationship was progressing in this direction.
“Was I supposed to ask?” Barrett asked, flashing me that panty-melting smile of his. “I made the reservation because I wanted to have lunch with you, and I can be very persuasive when it comes to getting what I want.”
Oh my… “Maybe I should say no, then, just to see exactly what methods of persuasion you have up your sleeve to convince me”
A wicked grin lit up his face. “Yes, let’s do that.”
I couldn’t bite back my laughter. “Fiend! Did you forget the part where Stevie will kill you if you smudge my makeup and ruin my hair?”
“Hey, you suggested it,” he said, coming to a stop in front of a small boutique hotel with a packed Italian restaurant on the sidewalk outside. “Anyway, it’s too late for that now. We’re already here. Stefan swears it’s the most authentic Italian in the city.”
“I know a couple of people who might argue with that, but let’s not tell him I said so.”
We went inside, and he made a gesture as if to zip his lips before announcing to us to a waitress.
“It’ll be our secret.”
We were showed to a table in the corner of the crowded room, breadsticks and various vinaigrettes already waiting on it. Barrett pulled out my chair and waited for me to sit before shrugging out of his suit jacket, hanging it over the back of h
is chair, and taking his seat.
“At this point, though, I don’t think even an argument about his favorite restaurant will turn Stefan off of you,” Barrett told me, reaching for my hand across the table. “He adores you, you know?”
“I adore him, too,” I admitted. “I was petrified of him initially but he’s been so helpful and supportive.” I dipped a breadstick and took a delicate bite of the tangy goodness.
“Only to you, baby,” he said.
My heart skipped a beat at the term of endearment. He didn’t use them often, and I hadn’t heard him call anyone else by one since I’d known him. Well, except for Nancie, but I wasn’t counting that.
Lunch flew by, as time with him always did. Before I knew it, we were in the elevator car, riding back up to the penthouse. I chewed on my lower lip, not ready to let him go for the day just yet. “Let’s go to dinner tonight. My treat. Sort of like a thank you.”
Both of his eyebrows flew up, like no one had ever asked him out before. The corners of his mouth curled up into a slow grin. “Sure, how does eight sound?”
“Perfect.” I pressed a small kiss to the back of his hand, then let go of him and hurried back to the dressing room so Stevie could touch me up before I had to get back out there.
One of the other models, the blonde from that morning, watched me like a hawk as Barrett and I stumbled out of the private elevator he used to gain entrance to the penthouse. As soon as he was busy talking to Stefan and some of the assistants, she grabbed my arm and pulled me roughly to side before I reached the relative safety of Stevie’s chair.
Her bright green eyes burned into mine, wide and fierce. “Be careful with Barrett. He’ll love you, then leave you so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
Apprehension ran through me, but I stood my ground. “No offense, I don’t even know what your name is. So, stay out my business, okay? All you people have done since I got here is treat me like shit, so thanks for the warning, but I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust any one of you right now.”
Without another word, I spun on my heel and nearly heaved a sigh of relief when I found Stevie waiting for me at her station. At least there was one person on this set who wasn’t gunning for me.
Chapter 15
Barrett
“He’s not like that,” Nancie whined the next day, her insistent voice echoing in my office. My phone was set to speaker so I could work while she continued her tirade, outlining all of Scott’s best qualities.
“Maybe not,” I said. “All I’m trying to tell you is that you have to be careful, Nance.”
Annoyance crept into my tone. We’d rehashed this issue more than once and I, for one, had had enough. Evidently though, she wasn’t giving up until I got to know him better.
“We are being careful,” she said. “We haven’t even done anything more than kissing yet.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head as I stared at the phone in stunned silence. “What? That wasn’t what I was talking about.”
“Well, now you know anyway,” she replied. “He respects me, Barrett. If you got to know him, even a little, you’d see that he’s not into me for your money.”
“Is there any way I can be spared details like that in future?” I asked. “I’m asking my assistant to go get me pepper spray to wash my ears out after that.”
I looked up to find Adam listening to our conversation from my doorway with an amused expression on his face.
Motioning for him to take a seat, I turned my attention back to what Nancie was saying. “Don’t be such a prude, dearest Uncle. Do you honestly think I don’t know what you get up to? I mean, it’s plastered all over every gossip magazine.”
I frowned, replying darkly, “You know better than to believe what you read.”
“Maybe so,” Nancie argued. “But you’re no angel. Don’t try to lie to me.”
“I’m also an adult, and I know how to take care of myself,” I countered, supremely uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking.
Adam chuckled, clearly enjoying the hell out of my discomfort. “Hey, Nance. You tell him, girl.”
I glowered at him, especially since Nancie’s voice was immediately less defensive when it came over the line again. “Uncle Adam! I haven’t seen you for ages. Please tell Barrett to stop acting like an ass to my boyfriend.”
“Ass, Nancie. Really?” I raised a brow, even though she couldn’t see me. I used to be her damned hero. Now I was an ass? Raising teenagers sucked balls.
“Yes,” she replied. “Ass. I call it like I see it. A wise man once told me to call a spade a spade.”
“And I will never stop regretting that day,” I groaned, my eyes pleading with Adam for help.
He shrugged. “Give him a break, Nance. He might be an ass, but he happens to be a very protective ass.”
Nancie’s laughter tinkled over the phone. “This is true.”
“Stop teaming up on me,” I grumbled, unable to believe that I could easily command the attention of some of the most powerful men and women in the industry and bend them to my will. But my own niece flat out ignored my wishes.
“Stop being a protective ass, then,” Nancie answered without hesitation.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt, Nancie,” I told her, going for the sincere angle. “There are a lot of people out there who think the rules of common decency don’t apply to people like us. We’re an easy ride to them, and that’s it.”
“I know that but Scott isn’t one of those people. He didn’t even know who I was when we met. It doesn’t matter to him.”
It occurred to me that I didn’t actually know how she met him. “How did he not know who you were?”
“We met while I was at the arcade with Nicole and the girls.”
Nicole was one of Nancie’s best friends, a scholarship student at their exclusive school who took no prisoners and fit right in among them, despite her status.
“Were you still in your school uniforms?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then he knew it was a good shot that you had money, Nancie,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back in my chair as if that was the end of it. I should’ve known it wasn’t.
“Nicole doesn’t,” Nancie was quick to point out the obvious flaw in my reasoning. “He came over to help us when one of our bowling balls got stuck in the machine.”
“He sounds like a nice guy,” Adam interjected, smirking at the crawl into a corner and die stare I shot him.
“He is,” Nancie said. “He really is. Please just think about it, Barrett. We’re going to prom together. Wouldn’t you feel better if you knew the guy I was going with a little?”
She had a valid point. If my own memories of prom served me correctly, I was going to have to put the fear of god in the little shit before he stepped into any limo with my niece. “Fine, I’ll think about it.”
Nancie squealed. “Thank you! Finally. I’ll need your answer ASAP.”
“Don’t push your luck,” I growled, my resolve crumbling when I heard how happy her voice sounded at my small concession. “I’ll talk to you later. I need to get back to work. Right after I wash out my ears and scrub my memory with steel wool to erase your little confession earlier.”
Nancie laughed, a genuine laugh, straight from her belly. The sound made me smile. “You’re such a prude, but sure. I’ll let you go. Bye, Uncle Adam.”
“Cheers, Nance,” Adam called out as Nancie hung up the phone. “You know, if there was one thing I’d never have thought you would be accused of, it’s being a prude.”
“You’re telling me,” I muttered, staring at the skyline beyond my window, trying hard to think of the fact that before I knew it, Nancie would be all grown up and living her own life somewhere down there.
“Why are you giving her such a hard time about this?” Adam asked, smiling like he was the cat who ate the canary. “Lord knows you’re no stranger to all things of the sexual persuasion.”
Adam’s eyes grew contemplative. “True, but is it entirely avoidable? I mean, she’s not a baby anymore. When is the point when you just have to trust that you and Bex raised her right and let her spread her wings and see if she’s ready to fly?”
“When she’s fifty,” I replied firmly. “Maybe fifty-five.”
Adam laughed. “You know you’re only thirty-two, right? By all rights, that means that you should be tucked in early every night with a hot cup of cocoa for at least the next eighteen years. We both know that’s not going to happen.”
“It’s different.”
He arched a thick eyebrow and gave me a pointed look. “Careful, Hart. Your inner chauvinist is showing.”
Sighing in exasperation, I ran a hand through my hair. “It’s not like that. I just want to protect her from assholes like us. I mean, do you have any idea how many hearts we’ve broken over the years?”
“Are you growing a conscious in your old age all of a sudden?” Adam asked, amused incredulity in his voice. “Weren’t you just fucking the new face of the company in this very office like, a couple of days ago?”
“Demi’s a grown up. She knows who I am. It’s different.” Despite my protests, I was starting to see the point to his argument.
“True, and it sounds like Nancie knows who this Scott kid is,” Adam argued. “Maybe just invite him over to dinner and see how it goes.”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “No way.”
“Okay, look. I understand your reluctance. We’re not exactly the best guys but think about it this way. There are plenty of guys our age who have been married to their high school sweetheart for more than a decade and are great fathers to their spawn.”
“And they’re cheating on their wives with the head of the cheerleading squad from way back then and jerking off to the chicks we shoot every day.”
