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2022-03-04 16:20:08“Trevor’s not really a womanizer,” Mark interjected as he pushed her seat forward so he could get out of the backseat. “He’s just teasing you. He’s a photographer. It might interest you to know he’s the one who’ll be doing your campaign with Alexander. The nightgown was probably leftover from a shoot and got stuffed there because there was nowhere else to put it.”
Helen stood with her hands on her hips. She wasn’t sure she believed him about the nightgown. If Trevor was really such a chaste guy, she bet he’d have a few more buttons on his shirt done up.“You’re the model who was chosen to pair with Alexander?” Trevor suddenly asked incredulously—like he didn't know.“Yes,” Helen answered, taking Mark’s offered hand and going into the restaurant.“Is there something wrong with that?”“No,” Trevor said, before he took charge and aRelated chapters
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Model without a Cause“Okay, everybody!” Collin boomed at the front of the darkened boardroom. “As you all know, we are going to be advertising Capier's brand new line of cell phone products called Clickmark."A picture of a mauve colored cell phone appeared on the screen along with a list of features.“This is the concept I have in mind for the campaign. The setting will be an urban metropolis. We will follow a basic storyline, with four or five still pictures comprising the plot. If the layouts look good enough to impress the big wigs, we’ll start production on a commercial before the still photos are released. Hopefully, we’ll be all ready to go by the beginning of November—just in time for Christmas.”Helen shifted in her seat. For some reason, she wasn’t feeling very comfortable. Maybe it was the fact she was jammed between Dominic and Mark at the furthest arch of the oval-shaped table. She could hardly s
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After the meeting, Mark and Helen got separated. He was talking with Collin and Trevor while Helen's only route was to leave the building with Mindy. Helen wasn’t expected to work as Mark’s assistant on days when she was working as Vera, so she only had to make an appearance at work during the morning for the meeting. It was noon and she and Mindy were planning on eating lunch together in a restaurant down the street. At least, that was the plan until Dominic commandeered them.He was on the street outside Capier's building putting Alexander in the back of a limo when he saw Helen and Mindy step out of the building. Abruptly, he shut the door on Alexander and banged on the roof of the limo to let the driver know it was okay to go without him. Then he turned on his heel and approached Helen and Mindy.“Good work today,” he said to them both cheerfully. By that point, Mindy and Dominic knew each other rather well. He took Mindy with him on both his ph
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Helen’s first instinct was to ask Dominic if he was punishing her for choosing Mark over him or if he was truly a sadist at heart. If Laura hung out on the set it was going to be a thousand times worse than just an ‘awkward situation.’ First of all, her presence was completely unnecessary, because she worked in financial services and not in marketing. Second, Helen didn’t think it was professional for Dominic to invite family members on a shoot. After thinking up those two reasons, Helen’s brain short-circuited and a score of other reasons flooded and clogged the logical part of her consciousness. Mark would be uncomfortable. Trevor would be working, and if Laura hung all over him, who knew what the consequences might be—not just for him, but for the project?In the end, Helen’s eye twitched. Then she got up and said smoothly while looking down at Dominic, “You're asking for too much. It seems like you're trying to wrap up all you
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Shooting the BreezeThe photoshoot had been scheduled for midsummer and the weather outside was beastly, but because the ads needed to look like they had been taken in the fall or winter, Helen and Alexander’s wardrobe selections were extreme. Alexander was stuck wearing a dark gray sweater and a Matrix-style ankle-length overcoat while Helen was wearing thigh-high black suede boots. Trevor kept on talking about texture, so she was wearing a tweed skirt, an exceptionally shiny cream blouse, as well as an overcoat that wasn’t completely unlike Alexander’s. Trevor had seen the shots of Helen wearing the scarf and decided they needed one as a prop as well. It was boiling hot out. Helen couldn’t see how she was going to make it through without making gigantic sweat stains through her top, though she didn’t dare say anything to anyone.She sat in a makeup trailer with Mindy fluttering behind her and a gigantic mirror in front of her. Alexander was
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If Mark had a crystal ball that let him see the future, his prediction of how the day was going to go couldn’t have been more accurate. Everything happened exactly the way he said it would. It started out easy. Alexander was in the coffee shop and she was standing outside, so because they weren’t near each other, Helen couldn’t do anything to offend him. However, once they moved onto the next series of poses, she couldn’t do anything right according to Alexander. She did what Trevor told her to do, but apparently, her ‘interpretations’ of Trevor’s instructions were all wrong. It went something like the following:Trevor would say something like, “Alexander, put your forearm against the wall and lean into Vera. Take your right hand and take a strand of Vera’s hair between your fingers, but don’t let go of the cell phone. Got it? Now Helen, let Alexander pin you against the wall and look at him like he’s your entir
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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
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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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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
Last Updated : 2022-03-04
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
Whenever 40
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
Whenever 39
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
