ROSEAnnie. It’s got to be her. There’s no one else. Richard’s voice came out of the muffle. ‘... Rose?’ ‘Hmm?’ I flipped up to meet his eyes—those black eyes were full of concern. There was nothing in there that said that he wanted to switch me out. The kind-hearted kid has already put it all behind him. ‘I asked if you knew about this. Shit. You look like hell.’ He took my hands and squeezed them to give them warmth. ‘Your hands are cold!’ ‘I-I’m fine.’ Who am I kidding? I’m not. If Richard wasn’t going to switch me, Ms Jewel would. No hesitation. Didn’t she say so? Richard is her gem. Nothing can go wrong with this project. As long as the wrong isn’t Richard, she won’t hesitate to yank it out. All weeds must go for her garden to grow. ‘Richard. We need to go. The Director—,’ repeated the assistant for the millionth time. ‘Walk with me. Stay close.’ He clamped me to his side, his hand on his chest, his arm hugging my arm. My mind was too occupied to resist. So I followed li
KEITHEN‘You’re going up against Annie?!’ The friend replied, her voice feathered with shock. ‘Yes! Yes, it’s going to be a competition!’ Rose shrieked, and the floor thudded with her excitement. ‘Can you believe it?!’ ‘No—no, I can’t. This… this new boss of yours. She’s gonna be my new favourite person—EEEEE!’ The cheap wooden floor thudded some more. Cheering with the screams of immense joy and relief—. ‘Congratulations, girl! Now you can finally tell the world that you’re not the thief—SHE IS!’ More screams of happiness pierced my eardrums. I winced away. ‘Something wrong, Kee?’ asked Erasmos. I looked down and he was looking up with curiosity—his head still clamped in my elbow. ‘How does that help with anything?’ grumbled Magnus. ‘Any mutt given his size would pull out of that easily.’ I rolled my eyes and glared at my feet. ‘You’re missing the main point. I’ve already locked his feet down—.’ ‘So?’ Shrugged the Crystal Pack Alpha. ‘So I can just—.’ And my left hand grab
ROSE‘She didn’t like it?’ asked Richard, chewing slowly. I put down the cup of coke and observed my burger. ‘She just asked me to think if Annie would be capable of something like this.’ ‘Which is a nice way of telling you: she didn’t like it.’ Richard put down his burger and opened his palm. ‘Let me see it. I’ll give you a point or two.’ I blinked in confusion. ‘I can’t, Richard. I told you—.’ And he slapped his forehead at his own blunder. ‘Right. Miss Jewel’s orders. No one sees it except she and you.’ I giggled and took a bite. ‘But it has ruffles.’ Richard observed his burger carefully. At my horrified expression, he laughed with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. ‘Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.’ When did I reveal that? Did I slip up somewhere? ‘I won’t tell anyone!’ Richard patted my shoulder. ‘What do I have to gain from it? We’re in this together, aren’t we?’ He smiled warmly. The photos we posted yesterday on the Gram worked beautifully. His fans were all
RICHARD‘I told you it’s not going to happen!’ the young man hissed into his phone. The female voice at the other end of the line screamed curses. ‘Everyone’s been talking about your peach silver outfit—more than mine! What happened to the black jacket! You said you’d wear it.’ Richard Black rolled his eyes at his reflection in his bedroom mirror. ‘She wanted to change it. What else can I do? Say no? Has your precious Rum ever said no to you regarding his outfit?’ ‘I can’t let her win that competition,’ chanted Annie. ‘Dan’ll have my head!’ ‘I’ll get you a chopping board then.’ ‘You lying son of a bitch! You didn’t keep your end of the deal—have you any idea the sacrifice I made for that article?’‘Sleeping with a reporter instead of some big shot? You call that a sacrifice?’ Richard scoffed. ‘You’re a whore, Annie. Everyone who knows you knows that. The models—they talk. A hell lot.’‘And you think your Rose is a virgin?’ ‘SHUT UP!’ Richard shouted back, and the ugly chuckle r
ROSEBANG, BANG, BANG!I stared at the door, unable to breathe. Unable to stop the tears. Unable to shut him out. ‘OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, ROSE!’ thundered the Alpha King. ‘YOU BETTER GIVE ME AN EXPLANATION RIGHT NOW!’ Hands clamped my ears. My head kept shaking in disagreement. My chest screaming: go away! Please, go away! ‘I know you’re in there! Open the fucking door!’ The banging continued. The same hands now clamped my mouth. To stop me from telling him to stop. Stop the noise, or someone will report him to the police. You’re a fucking celebrity! Stop it, Keithen!‘I’m counting to three. No open door, and I’ll fucking shift right here! Hear that, Rose? Footsteps! People are coming out. They’ll see me—.’ The hands were back on my ears. Shutting out his voice. My feet shuffled back, away from that enraged door. Hide. Go and hide, my mind told me. And I did. I scampered back to my room and slammed the door shut. Locked it. Then backed away, towards my bed. The second my calves bum
RICHARDA day before the styling competition… ‘Go right in. She’s wrapping up the conference call,’ said the lovely PA of Miss Jewel. The young man in his stylist’s midnight blue shirt and grey bubble pants grinned sweetly and nodded. ‘Thank you, Celia. You look lovely today.’ And the PA gave her usual polite smile. Richard entered the glasshouse of an office and settled himself in the same chair he’d always been in whenever he’s here. A minute turned to three… and then it felt like ten. Richard’s fingers began to tap with impatience. He thought of checking his phone for an update from the private investigator he’d sent to tail Rose. The thought of Rose brought a grin to his glossed lips. Miss Jewel must have called him in to talk about Rose’s resignation, and he was prepared to sacrifice his precious time and help the agency convince Rose to retract it. There is no way the CEO wouldn’t agree to his one and only condition: that Rose stays as his stylist for as long as he’s wi
KEITHEN ’CUT!’ The director’s frown was as clear as the blue sky outside. I could tell that he’s been trying to hold it in. But the shit’s about to explode. ‘Rum.’ He forced a smile. ‘Are you sure you’re not unwell?’ I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this: ‘I’m fine.’ ‘Then what’s the problem?!’ The older guy grabbed his hair, about to go crazy. I stared at the line of the script that was shoved into my view. Instantly, the clog in my throat grew real. As real as the reality I’m about to face in an hour’s time. ‘Maybe Rum’s upset that this is all going to end for him soon.’ I looked up and a pair of kind eyes smiled back at me. Sherry patted my shoulder as that sweet smile turned into a sympathetic one. ‘I bet he misses all this. Don’t you, boss?’ I chuckled dryly and looked down again. ‘I’m not your boss, Sher. I’ve said it many times.’ That’s it. No matter how hard you try. You can’t fight reality. You just can’t. You can stay hidden around her. It won’t ma
ROSE‘... the winner of this styling face off is—.’ The emcee’s eyes rolled left to right repeatedly as he read the card. His brows knitted as a mutter of disbelief spilled from his mouth, ‘Annie from B.A.D.’ My insides sank to the deepest parts of my spirit. ‘YES!’ Annie shrieked out victoriously. With a smugful grin, she cast a look of condemnation in my way. ‘I told you she’s a fake! She can’t style at all! Extraordinary—ha!’ That was… … unexpected. I thought I had a good chance. I really did read Miss Jewel’s comments wrongly. ‘Oh! The main judge has something to say!’ The emcee shoved Annie aside to make way for the retired supermodel, Jinda Avengelistford, who gracefully took the centrestage at an astounding height of six feet. ‘Based on the styling standards, Miss Annie has met every single one.’ She turned to the head of B.A.D.’s styling team and flashed a warm smile. ‘It was exciting—your unexpected. There is still a difference between professional and personal styling.