25. Tori #2
All around me were models getting ready, but any time our eyes would meet, they’d turn away. I was getting the cold shoulder from all of them—the same women who were happy to greet my husband and his family with smiles and cheek kisses. Something wasn’t right.
Judging by their accents, most of them seemed to be Eastern European, which accounted for the constant cheek kissing. It wasn’t that unusual, I supposed, considering that that was where the Zorics were from originally.
The show was going to begin shortly so we were shown to our seats, and I tried to set my anxiety aside.
I’d never been to a fashion show before, but it didn’t disappoint.
The whole event was beyond thrilling, all of the clothes exquisite and sophisticated.
It was a true honor to sit in the front row and watch these women (and a few men) walk the runway.
When the lights came back up I thought we were done, but we moved on from there to a lavish after-party, where the Veuve Clicquot was flowing and the models were mingling with guests.
I stayed close to Stefan’s side, smiling as he introduced me to people and making polite small talk.
After a while, though, I noticed that Konstantin seemed to be talking with a different model every time I glanced over at him.
I began to pay more attention to what he was doing, and realized that not only was he talking to different models, he was also making sure to personally introduce them to certain guests at the party. Most of them seemed to be men.
No, that wasn’t right.
All of them were men.
I watched a leggy young model with a platinum pixie cut get presented to a man that was probably her father’s age.
She smiled and laughed and seemed to be having a good time.
After Konstantin left the two of them alone, they chatted for a little longer and then, to my astonishment, walked out of the party together.
Staying close to Stefan, I started observing Konstantin more purposefully.
It seemed like almost all of the models he had introduced to men—most of them older men—ended up leaving the party with their new acquaintances.
Red flags were going up, but I didn’t want to judge.
People came to these things to have a good time.
It was none of my concern who went home with whom.
In fact, I wondered if the men were simply photographers or managers or other designers.
Maybe they were heading off to talk business.
Then I got a better look at the next girl Konstantin homed on—the beautiful redhead I’d tried to engage in conversation earlier that evening. The one who Luka had been flirting with.
“Where’s Luka?” I asked Stefan, tugging his sleeve gently.
He shrugged. “Probably making the most of the party. What do you need?”
“I’m fine,” I said with what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Just haven’t seen him for a bit. Thought maybe he’d stepped out.”
“You know how my brother is. Always making new friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ducked out early with one of them.”
“Yeah.” I forced a laugh, but my stomach was turning.
I scanned the room, finally spotting him at the other end, chatting up yet another of the models.
He was giving her exactly the same type of attention he’d given the redhead—and the topless model backstage—flirting and touching her, turning on the charm full stop.
This current woman, a brunette with diminutive, cat-like features, seemed more than thrilled with the attention.
She was laughing and leaning closer to him, her hand on his arm.
If he was the father of the redhead’s baby, it didn’t seem like he was very committed to her. Maybe that’s why she’d been so upset. Luka’s appetite for women wasn’t news to me, but I was shocked he would so blatantly—and publicly—snub a woman that he’d gotten pregnant.
I glanced back over at Konstantin and my eyes widened.
He was introducing the beautiful redhead to a tough-looking older man dressed all in white, with long sideburns and a cruel sneer.
I never liked to judge a book by its cover, but he looked mean.
The redhead wore a smile, but her tense body language told me she was afraid.
Her shoulders hunched a little, her arms crossed, and her body angled away from the man in white, almost as if she wanted to run.
Surely, this introduction would not go the way of the others.
But to my surprise, the redhead nodded at the sneering man and then he was pulling her through the crowd toward the exit, his fingers digging into her arm. Her smile looked strained, and it even slipped a couple of times before they disappeared from sight.
Luka couldn’t possibly appreciate his father pawning off a woman who was the mother of his child.
And he definitely wouldn’t be happy seeing her leave with another man—especially not one like that; a thug who had treated her like a piece of cargo, dragging her across the room with a self-satisfied smirk on his lips. Maybe Luka wasn’t the father after all.
Or maybe he hadn’t seen what had just gone down.
I couldn’t just ignore it. Tugging on Stefan’s arm, I led him to a relatively quiet corner and quickly told him everything I’d witnessed—Luka’s behavior toward the model who’d been crying at KZM, the introduction his father had made, the scary older man she had left with.
I expected him to be as surprised and suspicious as I was, but he barely mustered a shrug.
“It’s not our business to police the actions of our talent,” he said. “We’re their agents. Anything beyond that isn’t our call.”
“But it’s strange, don’t you think? Especially since she’s pregnant?” I asked. Especially if the baby was Luka’s. “I can’t believe she’d willingly leave with a man like that.”
“Maybe she likes older men,” Stefan said, smiling and waving at someone across the room, seeming like he was only half listening to what I had said.
“It didn’t seem like she ‘liked’ him,” I said, exasperated. “How are your alarm bells not going off? It’s obvious she was having fun with Luka before. She didn’t seem to be having fun with this guy at all.” I emphasized Luka’s name to see if that prompted a reaction from Stefan.
It didn’t.
“You’re getting too involved in other people’s affairs,” Stefan said, finally looking at me. “It’s not for you to intervene, kitty cat.”
I got a little thrill out of him using the nickname he gave me.
“But—”
“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “I’ve had enough work for one day. We’ll go back to the hotel. We don’t have to talk about anything at all.”
The look in his eyes told me exactly what he wanted to do when we got back to our room.
If he wasn’t going to be concerned about any of this, I supposed I shouldn’t either.
Maybe this behavior was completely normal in the modeling world, and I just didn’t understand how these things worked.
I mean, I had to be wrong. The baby couldn’t be Luka’s.
I was misreading the situation, and there were more important things to focus on than a single pregnancy scandal.
He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “We leave now, and I’ll take exactly one order from your lips before I tie your hands to the bedpost. Deal?” he asked.
My cheeks went hot, my knees already weak. How could I resist?
“Deal,” I told him.