Chapter 9 #3
Russ slid his left hand to my hip and drew me into him. “I need to head that way.” He pointed with his other hand toward the right side of the room. With a squeeze, he put his lips to the shell of my ear. “See you soon.”
I giggled, playfully pushing him away. “Text me when you’re done.”
“Give me an hour, tops,” he said before turning and disappearing through the crowd.
Pushing my feelings to the back burner, I switched gears. I’d barely taken a step toward the DJ booth when I saw a vaguely familiar face.
“Every time I see you, you have a good-looking young man on your arm,” the older lady I’d seen on the dance floor remarked, wiggling her eyebrows. “Your boyfriend might get jealous of that one.”
Oh shit!
I forced a laugh in response as I continued on my path.
Linking back up with Russ while at the ball was not going to happen.
I’d spent almost two hours, half of that on the dance floor, with Dru and so many people saw us together.
The narrative about me would shift quickly and harshly if I walked out hand in hand with Russ.
Technically, I could do whatever I wanted to do.
But because I wanted to see where the RLF partnership could take me, I knew I shouldn’t do it.
I’ll meet up with Russ at his hotel later, I decided silently.
“And this is Nina,” Lori stated as I approached.
Four beautiful people of varying shades, sizes, and heights turned around to look at me.
“Nina,” Lori continued. “This is Taisha”—she pointed to the dark-skinned, slim-thick woman closest to her—“Jacqueline”—she pointed to the tall, slim, pale-skinned woman with blond hair.
Both women flashed bright smiles and lifted their hands in a wave. “Hi!”
“Hi,” I said back.
Lori turned and gestured to the six-foot-two-inch, brown-skinned, muscular Colombian man with the shaved head who had stuck his hand out toward me. “That is Matias.”
“How are you?” he asked, shaking my hand.
“Good, thank you. You?” I replied to the good-looking man.
“And this is Jonah,” Lori continued, patting the shoulder of the six-four, thickly built man with the close-cut Caesar fade.
“What’s up, Nina?” Jonah greeted me with a smile, showing off his dimples.
“What’s up?” I responded to the sexy man, who was most certainly checking me out.
“It’s so good to meet all of you,” I added.
“Nina is the newest addition to the RL Fashions brand ambassador team. Most of you came on at the beginning of the summer so you know the ropes. Remedy herself saw Nina and knew she would be a perfect addition to the team.”
They gave me a warm welcome and she facilitated small talk for a few minutes. I got good energy from each of them.
“The five of you will represent RL Fashions as we burst onto the scene with our first full line,” Lori told us over the music.
“The coming weeks will be busy. You’ll have appearances in addition to your other duties.
But one of the things that came up tonight with some of the people from the executive team is the idea of a group shoot, with all five of you being showcased.
So as a team-building activity, your first assignment is to come up with a photo idea and demonstrate it on film.
You have fittings on Monday. On Friday, I’ll meet with you and give you the schedule.
At that meeting, if we like what you’ve come up with in the photo, we’ll share that with marketing.
Once all that is over, if there’s time, you’ll meet the board. ”
It was a lot of information and I felt overwhelmed.
“All of this will be in an email that if you haven’t already gotten, you’ll get tomorrow,” Lori concluded.
“But I just wanted to let you all know what some of the executive team had decided about the group picture so you can all exchange contact information and plan accordingly. There’s still plenty of time left in the party, so get to know each other, mingle, have a good time. I’ll see you on Monday!”
Lori damn near danced away as the beat to the next song dropped.
“I didn’t know coming to this thing was going to result in homework,” Jacqueline complained. “I can’t enjoy myself knowing we have work to do.”
“We can do both,” Taisha responded expressively. “Let’s exchange numbers. I’ll start a group chat.”
“Is anyone available tomorrow?” Matias asked. “We could get together before I catch my flight.”
“I have plans tomorrow,” I replied quickly.
Taisha nodded. “Yeah, so do I.”
“I can only do tomorrow,” Jonah pointed out. “My schedule is kind of tight this week. But I’m free Thursday night.”
“I have a class on Thursday, but it’s over at seven,” Jacqueline mentioned.
“What if we just go somewhere and plan something out tonight?” Taisha proposed. “We’re all here now. We’re all available now. It shouldn’t take that long. Let’s finish up here and then meet somewhere to plan this out.”
“We could go to Al’s Diner,” I suggested.
Matias’s eyes lit up. “I love that place!”
“I see you have good taste,” Jonah flirted, not taking his eyes off me.
My lips curled into a smile. “You would be correct.”
“Let’s wrap up here in, say… thirty minutes?” Jacqueline looked at the time on her phone. “And then thirty minutes to get there and get parked—”
“We meet in an hour and fifteen minutes,” Matias interjected. “Some of us may need to make sure our dates get home before arriving at the diner.”
I nodded. “Okay, that’s cool. So we’ll meet at Al’s Diner in an hour and fifteen minutes.” I looked at the beautiful faces that surrounded me and smiled. “Sounds good.”
We said our goodbyes and scattered.
We all needed to use the next thirty minutes wisely before we left, to make sure we talked to everyone who was of importance and networked with the litany of guests whose successes in fashion, television, and/or business got them an invitation.
I made my rounds while also keeping an eye out for Russ. I wondered if his business worked closely with the fashion world or if he was an investor. Either way, I hoped he closed whatever deal he was trying to close.
“… and that’s why it’s important to have representation,” a woman who said she was on the board finished telling me.
I nodded politely. “Representation is important.”
She had made that same point three times.
“I hate to cut this short, but my ride is probably outside waiting for me.” I pointed to the huge clock high on the wall.
When she looked up at it, her eyes widened. “Oh, wow! I’ve let time get away from me. I need to find my husband so we can get home and relieve the sitter.”
We said our goodbyes and I headed to the door. Casting one last look around and not seeing Russ, I pulled out my phone.
Nina: A thing just popped up with the people I was meeting, but I will be at your hotel on time in the morning.
I was just about to walk into Al’s Diner to meet the other models when I received a text back.
Russ: My meeting ran longer than expected. Let me know when you make it home. It doesn’t matter the time. Good luck with your work thing and I’ll see you in the morning.
“You have a beautiful smile,” Jonah commented, startling me.
His unexpected presence forced my eyes up from my phone to meet his.
“Thank you,” I replied, slipping my phone in my bag. “Where did you come from? I didn’t hear you walk up.”
He opened the door to the diner wider. “They gave us that table right there at the window, so I saw you coming.” His lips spread into a slow smile. “And I wasn’t about to let you open the door for yourself. After you.”
I walked through the door, and I could feel his eyes on my ass.
Ordinarily I would’ve at least flirted and started the process of roster recruitment with Jonah since I had a freshly opened spot. But instead, I glanced back and smiled. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you.”
I wasn’t sure what Jonah was getting paid or what his deal was; however, I knew my contract.
And as sexy as that six-four, thickly built, mahogany-skinned man was, he wasn’t worth violating the fraternization policy.
Besides, Russ was heavy on my mind, and knowing I was going to spend Sunday with him made Jonah easy to resist.
A flashback caused my lower body to clench.
Seven o’clock can’t come fast enough.