requires.â
âBitter much?â I say and she smiles at me, her nose wrinkling, and I canât help but notice the freckles running across the bridge of her nose and spreading outward.
âI was bitter. Iâm over it, mostly. I get a flash of it every once in a while, and I have to hold myself back from standing up and giving a big speech.â
I kind of want to ask her more about what happened and why she bailed when everything had been going so well for her, but part of me doesnât want to know. I like her like this. Eve, the college girl. The photographerâs assistant.
âHow are you holding up so far?â
She sits up straighter and smiles again. âYou know, itâs actually been pretty awesome. I screwed up a couple of things right off the bat and Janessa doesnât like people who have their heads up their asses, but sheâs also not above listening to my thoughts.â
âOr maybe she listens to you because youâre actually good,â I say. âYou have a huge advantage in this setting. Youâve been on both sidesâthe one taking the direction and now the one giving it.â
She beams at me and then it fades to a more skeptical look. âI donât know if I can believe you or not. You could just be sucking up to me because I know all your secrets now.â
I roll my eyes. âFine, donât believe me. But donât act like you know me or something just because Iâm in the tabloids this week.â What I donât say, though Iâm sure she hears it, is you of all people should know better than to make non-fact-based assumptions about people.
The skin under her freckles turns pink. âOkay, I donât know you, and I was going to say that I know your type, but thatâs totallyâ¦â
âHypocritical?â I suggest, then stand up before she can answer. âI should get back to work.â
Truth is, she probably does know my type, but maybe I donât want to be my type anymore.
Chapter 9: Eve
God. Iâm such a bitch sometimes. He was probably trying to be nice. Itâs just so hard knowing whoâs putting all those words in Alexâs mouth and getting him jobs like this one, and to not lump him together with lying agents like Wes and arrogant models likeâ¦well, almost all of the ones Iâve met.
Not that Alex isnât arrogant. He totally is, and itâs the first thing I noticed about him at the last shoot, but today he seems subdued, like heâs not in his own skin.
And holy shit. I never expected him to admit to the fake relationship thing. I wasnât even 100 percent sure until I saw his face. He needs to do a little better if he plans to keep up the story for more than a few days.
âEve?â Janessa calls.
I scramble to my feet and head over to where Alex and Elana will be shot together for the first time today. Elana looks stunning getting out of the safari jeep parked smack dab in the middle of Columbus Circle in her slim cheetah-print minidress and a green linen safari jacket. Elana was made for these clothes. Thereâs no denying that a part of me was happy being in the spotlight. Itâs intoxicating.
âIâm having trouble getting the positions I want and still have all the clothes showing,â Janessa says to me once Iâm beside her. âIâm not used to that being an important factor.â
I scan the set, looking Alex and Elana over, head to toe. âDo we need shoes in the shot?â
âApparently itâs a must.â Janessa nods toward Jacqueline, the stylist.
I almost laugh at Janessaâs reaction. Iâm sure she thinks that the concept and the angles should be most important. But this is fashion. Shoes are essential.
âI have an idea?â I say like a question because I donât want to overstep my boundaries.
She holds her hand out as if to tell me to go ahead. I walk closer to the costars and take