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39
Up the Creek
Helen 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 orRelated chapters
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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
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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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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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“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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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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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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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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