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2022-03-02 23:45:12“Yeah, I noticed. I didn’t think anything of it, but Mark, you suck. You should have called and said you’d pay a hundred an hour,” Helen said, still thinking with her impoverished brain.
“What? Why should I have done that?”“Because then I could have got two hundred dollars an hour from dating that blood drinker!”“You really did it for the money!” Mark laughed, seeing dollar-signs fill her eyes. For one second, he looked like the Mark she knew the week before. He leaned back in his chair and looked content, but then a thought seemed to cross his mind and the mirth left his face. “Can I ask you a personal question about being an escort?”“Go ahead.”“I was just wondering how detached you are when you play ‘Vera.’ Is the real you close to the surface or do you almost forget about your true self?”Helen knew what he was talking about. Only a person who pretends to be something that they’re not will know what it is to deny yourself natural expression. “Well, when I was first doing it, there was no difference between ‘Helen’ and ‘Vera,' except in our appearances. We were the same and I was just putting forth the effort to make the man I was dating was comfortable. But, I think you’re right, as I got further into being her, my only quality as ‘Vera’ was feeling the needs and preferences of the person next to me and trying to do what would make them happy.”“That’s what modeling is all about,” Mark said. “It’s about feeling out the photographer or the director and achieving the image they want. You’ll probably make a great model, even though I’m against it.”“Why would you bother being against it?”“One other question, Helen,” he said, sidestepping her. “Did you really tell all your dates you liked them?”Helen shook her head. “Why would I do something stupid like that? It’s just a game.”“What about what you told me?” he asked her, his eyes looking specifically interested.Helen realized it was a trap. At first, she didn’t know how to answer him. Was it really okay to have an office romance with your boss? Helen had always thought your boss was strictly off-limits. He was the last person in the world you should try to date. It might look like you were trying to use him to get promoted… but Mark couldn’t promote her. He was new, too. All the same, she thought it was best to stay out of trouble. It didn’t matter whether she liked Mark or if she went so far as to think he was the best thing she had ever seen. She couldn’t get involved. “You’re too handsome for me,” she said flippantly, before excusing herself from his office.“Hey! I didn’t tell you to leave,” Mark called after her.So, she had to come back in, close the door, sit down like a good little girl, and pretend she hadn’t just been flirting with her boss.“On Friday, don’t worry about coming in first thing in the morning,” Mark said, sounding like her boss again. “Your timesheet will be the same. I was just thinking it probably takes you some time to affect your transformation into ‘Vera,' so come in at two o’clock for your meeting with Alexander and then you can go home. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to keep it quiet in the office the fact they’re even considering you for the job of modeling for that campaign. If things go well and you’re chosen, I’d like you to keep it to yourself until the last minute. I hate office gossip.”Helen nodded, seeing his point of view. She guessed ‘Vera’ couldn’t die quite yet.Related chapters
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Model ManWhen Mindy heard the news that Helen had been invited to a trial photoshoot with Alexander Figura, she was ecstatic.“It’s all because of me!” she proclaimed happily. “It’s because I’m a genius! And I get to dress you up for your meeting on Friday, don’t I?”“Of course,” Helen agreed quickly. From her perspective, she had no chance of getting the job without her cousin's expertise.“I should have gone to beauty school instead of screwing around with the escort service, don’t you think?” Mindy said, crawling into one of her many makeup bags looking for supplies.“It’s not too late,” Helen reminded her. “You can still go. Just work yourself through school while working at the agency.”“Right,” Mindy said sarcastically.After that conversation, Helen wished she hadn’t spilled the news to Mindy so soon, because she wor
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Dominic joined Collin and looked on with interest almost as if he was partially in charge. “Since hair color is an option on Vera, do you think she would look better as a brunette?”“No,” Collin said quickly. “The thing that’s special about Vera is that we can match her hair to whatever shade we want, as long as it complements Alexander’s. Also, her eyes—a blue-eyed girl wouldn’t have filled the bill. I still haven’t discarded the idea of having everything in the photos black and white except for their eyes.”“It doesn’t matter,” Dominic said, looking at her and Alexander together. “Your graphics wizards don’t care what color her eyes are. They’ll make them the color we want.”Collin frowned and picked up his camera. “You two talk!” Collin yelled at Helen and Alexander. Then he turned to Dominic and started explaining something.Alexander turned
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Helen swallowed hard. “Does that mean you want to hire me?” she asked huskily.“At least for the still photos,” Collin said, nodding approvingly. “You don’t have an agent, do you?”Helen was about to answer ‘no’ when Mark piped up. “She doesn’t need an agent. I’ll look out for her in the place of one.”“That’s ridiculous,” Dominic rebuked. “Mark’s not qualified for something like this. She needs a real agent.”“Does that mean you want to take her on?” Collin snickered.“Well, I—““He doesn’t have time,” Alexander interrupted. “He keeps telling me what a full schedule we have and we truly do. The only reason why I was able to come here today was because of the importance of our business with Capier Inc. We pushed some other things aside to make room.”“We’re happy to
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Out of the OfficeWhen Helen got into Mark’s car, she was more relaxed than she thought possible. It wasn’t a fancy car, but an ordinary Toyota sedan, very much like the one her parents owned. The interior was almost the same.She gave Mark directions to her apartment. Partway through her discourse Mark stopped her. “Couldn’t you just give me the address? It seems like we’re just following the number twelve bus route.”Helen shuddered. They were following the number twelve bus route. She wasn’t very familiar with the city, even though she had lived there for almost a year, and she didn’t know how to get anywhere without taking the bus. She blushed and gave him the address.Mark changed lanes and look them onto a much faster-moving road. Apparently, they had really been going the slow way.Finally, he parked in front of her building. “Do you want to come in?” Helen asked nervously. She had never invi
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“Are they uncomfortable?”“They feel okay for the first couple of hours, but I can’t wear it for more than eight hours or I’ll have a legendary headache. But it also depends on how heavy the wig is. This is a heavier one because of its length. The wig is the last thing I put on before I leave for a job." Helen combed it before she put it away in its bag. “Next thing to come off is all this jewelry,” Helen said as she started stripping her ears of their dangling earrings. “None of this stuff belongs to me,” Helen explained.“Whose are they?” Mark asked.“My cousin Mindy’s. She’s the one who got me into escorting. She owns a lot of clothes, a lot of jewelry, and a lot of makeup. She could probably start her own agency just on her personal stash. The wig is borrowed from the escort service though. Mindy has beautiful hair and would never degrade herself by wearing a wig. She’s more
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“Or something like that,” Helen said clicking her tongue on her teeth. She noticed he left out what he thought of her—Helen—but she’d have to let that slide. It would be too humiliating to ask him about it twice. But she could ask him something else, “So, what was the deal with you and Laura anyway?”“Nothing much. She chases me and I keep running. That doesn’t mean I haven't got stuck going on dates with her once and awhile, because I have. It was just never as meaningful for me as it was for her.”“Why don’t you like her?” Helen asked.“I don’t know. She’s a nice person. She’s smart, successful, well-connected, and sort of pretty, but I can’t force myself.”“Why not? If she’s all that?”Mark thought for a moment before he answered, “Laura is very disciplined. She eats the way she is supposed to, works out as much as she
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Mark frowned and said, “Well, if you don’t mind having supper with the two of us, then why don’t you join us?”Helen’s heart fell as he said it, even though she knew he didn't have much of a choice. If he sent her away, it might be considered the epitome of rudeness as far as their friendship was concerned. Besides, it wasn’t like Helen and Mark were in the middle of a hot date.“I don’t want to interrupt,” she said mildly, but still not budging from her place.“You’re not interrupting,” Mark said smoothly.“Well… if you’re sure,” Laura said as she stepped into the entryway and took off her shoes.Helen followed the two of them back to the kitchen and bit her lip. Biting her lip as a reaction was mild. She wanted to roll her eyes back into her head in aggravation. She did not want to have dinner with Mark and Laura.“Hey Helen,” Mark said, trying
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Into His CarHelen stepped onto the pavement outside Mark’s apartment complex and looked around for Dominic’s Jaguar. It wasn’t hard to find because his car was the only one on the street with its headlights on. Helen went up to it and peered through the windshield at the driver. Yeah, with those shades, it couldn’t be anyone else besides Dominic.She reached for the car handle, but the door was locked. He had to be that kind of jerkwad, didn’t he? She tapped on the window with her knuckles and Dominic unlocked the door. With that, she dropped her bag onto the backseat before getting into the passenger side herself.“You really are the devil,” Helen said nonchalantly as she hooked up her seatbelt.Dominic took off his sunglasses and turned his body a whole ninety degrees to get a better look at Helen. “Vera, is that you?”“Of course, it’s me,” she answered, flicking him an annoyed expres
Last Updated : 2022-03-03
Latest chapter
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A RoleAfter all was said and done, Helen and Mark were back in the office on Monday, making eyes at each other across her desk. Two days later, Helen got fed up and moved her computer so it faced a different direction. How were they supposed to get any work done if they could see each other so easily? And because they were really part of the public relations department and not models, they had to do press releases and meet with members of the marketing department to make sure the launch of the new phone went well.It was weird. When they went to the meetings where the pictures from their ad campaign were shown, everyone immediately recognized Mark and commented. No one recognized Helen. The first time it happened, Mark went to her rescue and told them she was the model he posed with, but afterward, Helen told him he didn’t need to do that again.“It looks like the company can’t afford real models. Just let them think I’m a glamorous overpriced
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After Mindy was finished, the two girls went and put on their clubbing gear. Mindy wore a gold-colored top and black pants. She looked like a panther. Helen wore a light green dress that gathered over one shoulder and hung loosely over the other. Little beads were sewn artfully across it like a fairy had lost her balance over Helen’s head and dropped stars all over her. As she looked into the mirror in the bathroom, she thought she looked better than she’d ever looked for a date before. Even though she was dressed like Vera, she could still see herself peeking out through the facade.When she and Mindy came out of the bathroom, Mark was waiting for them. To Helen, his expression was unfathomable, but Mindy seemed to think something when she saw him. If anything, it was as though Mindy understood something Helen did not.“You look nice,” he said to Helen as he took her arm and led her toward the elevator.Mindy hung outside as the doors closed,
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Breaking it up“How did it go?” Mindy asked Helen when she stepped into their apartment very late that night.“Badly,” Helen said as she dropped her keys, bag and shoes in the entryway. She came into the living room and threw herself into Mindy’s recliner. “I hate everyone,” Helen said expressionlessly, even though that wasn’t how she was feeling.“Well, I warned you,” Mindy said, shrugging in her more-experienced-than-you manner. She leaned forward and asked, “So, what’s the verdict? Do you get Mark, like you wanted?”“I’m not sure I want him anymore. Did I tell you that he got offered a job in London?”“No,” Mindy gasped. “Bloody Hell! Is that what this is about? You were trying to get him to stay?”“Not exactly. I was trying to get him to like me properly, but you were right about that, too. He’s never going to like me t
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“Goody for you,” Helen said sarcastically. She didn’t care two straws if Dominic owed Laura favors. “When’s the wedding?”“It was yesterday. I think they’ll announce it at your wrap-up party.”“Oh? Really? And why are you here now? Is Alexander bummed about missing out on the shoot?”“Why would he be bummed about that? Like he cares if he blows off Capier! In his mind he was only doing it as a favor to Laura.”“And in your mind?” Helen asked, thinking of Dominic’s face when Alexander walked off the set.“They were important clients,” he admitted wearily. “Any paycheck is better than none, which is where he’s headed.”“And you?” Helen asked suspiciously. “Did you decide to blow him off?”“Soon, Vera, soon. It won’t be long now before he isn’t offered anything new. He ran off the set.
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Devilish LaughThe photoshoot in the subway was pretty fun. After the previous photoshoot, Helen didn’t believe Trevor could have more poses up his sleeve, but miraculously, he did. He did these crazy shots with Helen standing on one platform while Mark stood on the opposite one and the train sped between them. At least, that was what Trevor said they would look like once he was finished with them.Helen and Mark spoke briefly before Trevor started taking pictures.“How are you feeling?” Mark asked gently.Helen looked him up and down. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn for the shoot the day before. So was she. He still looked absolutely mouth-watering and Helen was positive she was right to do what she could to try to win Mark even though her shoulders ached. Essentially, she’d worked from early morning and all day to try to make herself ready—not for the photoshoot—for him. He couldn't even see everything she'd done
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Helen sat quietly for a second, thinking. Mark was leaning against the counter examining her expression and waiting for her reply.It was going to tear her apart to say ‘good-bye’ to him, but she couldn’t stop thinking about their relationship. It always felt like he liked Vera far more than Helen, and she couldn’t tie him down if the one he liked wasn’t her true self. She had always thought he was more than she could handle. Why would a guy like him want to be with a plain-Jane girl like her?“Mark,” she said quietly. “It sounds like a great opportunity. I think you should probably take it.”“You don’t want me to stay?” he asked as he turned around and started scrambling the eggs crossly.“Of course I want you to stay, but I also don’t want to hold you back. You know, it’s a delicate balance, but…”“But what?”“But,” Helen swal
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A Makeover for the AgesHelen eyed Mark on the other side of the set. There was quite the bustle of people coming and going with equipment and extension cords. The talk outside the trailer was all business.The second photoshoot was scheduled for one o’clock in the morning; technically, two days later. The pictures were to be taken in the subway, and since they were to include pictures of the train, they needed to be taken after hours.Helen asked Mark if she should come to work the day before the shoot, but Mark said there was no need. He wasn’t going to work that morning either. Apparently, he simply took over Alexander’s contract, with the exception of pay. Mark wasn’t worth as much as Alexander. She overheard Trevor offering him less than a quarter of what they were going to pay Alexander. Trevor apologized for the cut, but Mark shook his head and said it was part of their agreement that he would model for Trevor whenever he needed him, so
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Helen turned to Mark and said, “This photo was up on my friend Shellie’s wall when I was still in junior high.”“Really?” he asked, looking completely aghast.“Yeah, really. Don’t blush, Mark. You looked hot.”“Which is why I want him to take Alexander’s place,” Trevor said. Helen stared at Trevor. “Can you do that?”“Well, since I can’t seem to get in touch with Collin, I guess I can do whatever I think is best. It would be a hassle to have to rebook all the locations and to rehire the temporary staff. The best thing is just to dress Mark up like Alexander—sans turtleneck of course—and to just get on with it.” Trevor added, “Mark looks terrible in turtlenecks.”Helen couldn’t believe what Trevor was suggesting. Switching Alexander for Mark would make the photoshoot fun, the opposite of hell on earth. Her pulse was already racing at t
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Up the CreekHelen and Mark didn’t tell Trevor where they were going for lunch, which was why they were so surprised when he showed up at their restaurant. He dropped himself into their booth, threw his bag across the bench and stretched his legs out so far Helen was positive he would trip a waitress… but maybe that was his plan.“Hey kids,” he said casually.Mark gave him a funny look, but managed to be polite enough to ask without an attitude, “What are you doing here?”Trevor shook his hand at Mark like he didn’t realize he was interrupting a date. “I’m angry,” he said simply.“Of course you are. A whole morning wasted! What exactly happened with Alexander and Dominic anyway? Helen’s convinced Alexander refused to pose with her,” Mark explained.Trevor nodded. “Sorry, Helen. Try not to take it personally. I don’t think it had much to do with how you modeled or
