Chapter 9

Itugged on the hem of my shirt, trying not to make it obvious I was out of place.

Except I was. Obviously.

For the most part, I didn't care what people thought of me, but this was torture.

"Kim! Come stand over here! The sponsors will be here in ten minutes. They asked for you specifically." A young woman with a clipboard snapped her fingers at Kim and pointed to a high, round table. Then she searched the room and found Atlas. "Atlas, two of the designers love you. Stand over by that table. Pierre loves the finger foods. That way he can talk with you and eat at the same time."

Kim and Atlas moved to their respective corners of the private room and she finished directing the other models. Their agency had rented out a trendy yet elegant restaurant for tonight's event.

"It"s a madhouse, isn"t it?"

I jumped. Holy shit, that scared me. I turned and faced a guy around my age. He wasn"t model pretty like the others.

No, that wasn"t fair. It wasn"t nice either. Joaquin and Lake were just as handsome as any model here. I guess models had a shininess to them. Like they cared a hell of a lot what they looked like and they had a whole team dedicated to making them look good.

A smirk tried to break free. What was the meme or saying from a few years ago? There were no ugly people. Only poor people.

This guy had scruffy hair and a fluffy beard that seemed more lazy than purposeful. There was also a mischievous glint in his eyes. He wasn't unattractive, he just didn't care. And that took balls. I envied that.

He raised his brows, a reminder that I hadn't answered him.

Any other time, I"d run. People didn"t talk to me. I wasn"t included.

Even now, I glanced over to see Joaquin and Lake walking away from a few guards. They stopped and huddled together. When the lady with the clipboard left, Kim and Atlas hurried over to join their conversation.

Then there was me. Along the wall. Awkwardly holding it up in my second-hand clothes.

So, this guy seemed like a good distraction. Maybe he had ulterior motives, but it was a brief way of pretending I belonged. It was more than I ever got in school.

I nodded, frowning as I faced the floor. Workers carried decorations and models were starting to congregate in closed circles. A pre-launch party seemed like a lot of stress. For the workers. Not the models. "Yeah."

"So, you"re here with the wonder boys?"

I peeked over and the guy was grinning. One of his front teeth was crooked, but it worked for him. Made him seem happier or something? I wasn"t sure. It just worked.

"You mean Kim and Atlas?" What initially was a way to not feel alone, quickly turned into a nasty pit of suspicion in my stomach.

"Yeah, I saw you walk in with them. I"m with Lisbet." He motioned to a girl in the middle of a group of male models. She was stunning. Tall, slender, with golden skin and strawberry blonde hair. An unusual combination.

Then she turned our way and I sucked in a breath. She had catlike green eyes, upturned at the corners.

I thought the boys were the only ones with the ability to stop my breathing like that. Apparently, any gorgeous person did it.

"She"s pretty." I sucked at small talk and this was more awkward than standing by myself. I let my shoulders slump. Maybe he"d take the hint and leave me alone.

"Anyway, she"s got a thing for Atlas."

I straightened back up. That hit me square in the chest and not in a good way.

"Okay..."

The guy took a few steps closer until his chest was almost brushing my arm. "Oh, I"m Bryce by the way. Lisbet wanted to see if you had any inside scoop on how she can get close to him. He"s pretty untouchable. And I thought..." One side of his mouth kicked higher. "Or hoped, that maybe we could hang out after this too." He touched my nape.

I didn"t get a chance to react.

Lake barreled into him and pinned him to the wall by his throat.

"Lake!" I gasped, cutting my gaze around the room. Models screamed as staff rushed over.

Lake was an image of vengeance in his black suit and his slicked back, white-blond hair. The temperature increased tenfold as I stood there with my mouth open. The veins in Lake's hands popped out as he whispered to Bryce, but I couldn"t make out what he was saying. There was so much going on, I couldn"t focus on anything. Except how red Bryce"s face was turning against Lake's paler skin.

Joaquin tried to wedge himself between Lake and Bryce, but Lake had so much more muscle than Joaquin had.

The girl, Lisbet, ran over on dangerously high heels, a look of utter horror on her face. She reached us at the same time Atlas and Kim did.

"What"s going on!" she screeched, grabbing onto Atlas" arm like he offered some kind of support.

"Release him or we have to call the cops." One of the security guards for the restaurant came over. He didn"t seem that concerned, more like this was an inconvenience of his time. "No one here wants a scandal, and if you want to keep your job, let him go."

Lake pushed away from Bryce while shoving him deeper into the wall.

"There"s no problem. Right?" Lake yanked on the bottom of his suit jacket, straightening it out. He narrowed his eyes on a coughing Bryce.

At first, I didn"t think Bryce was going to be able to talk. He coughed and sputtered while bending over, gripping his knees. He straightened, waving the security guards away. "It"s fine. A misunderstanding."

"You"re okay?" Lisbet asked, her hand still on Atlas as he watched me.

Did he think this was my fault? I hadn"t done anything.

Pulling my shoulders forward, I stepped back. I hated attention. I hated this kind of attention, especially.

"Listen up!" The woman with the clipboard strutted back in clapping. "The designers are here! The sponsors aren"t far behind them. Get back to your places! Act natural, and use that charm that got you here." She snorted. "Or just stand there and look pretty," she muttered under her breath.

"Come on, Atlas. I"m in the same area as you." Lisbet tugged on his arm.

The woman with the power started hustling around the room yelling at models and Atlas let himself be led away. Joaquin and Lake huddled up and I could only catch clips of fast, furious whispers.

Bryce gave one last wheeze. He didn"t even glance my way before he left the room in long strides. He moved like Hell was on his ass, but it was just Lake and Joaquin glaring after him.

I moved farther down the wall until I was nice and covered in the shadows and behind some kind of big leafy plant. The room was massive with tables set up everywhere and dim lighting. It wasn"t hard to find a dark pocket.

Within minutes, there was tons of laughter and glasses clinking together. It was like watching the popular crowd on steroids in a warped reality. No one in West Virginia lived like this. I didn"t think they did anyway.

There were so many snide smiles and hateful eyes. It all seemed fake, yet there was an energy in the room that was alive. It seemed like personal space didn"t exist here either.

At one point, there was a man sliding a finger over Kim"s shoulder. He smile dimmed, but he didn"t remove it.

I itched to go smack the hand away, but this wasn't school. I couldn't just punch some guy in the face. Biting my lip, I moved further behind the plant.

About halfway through, Joaquin walked fast through the center, searching for something. Then when his gaze hit me, he changed directions.

"Hey, are you okay?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Joaquin seemed stressed, but calmer than Lake, who was still moving around the floor, watching everyone and everything.

"Yep." It came out snarky and I winced.

He turned and surveyed the crowd, taking in the same level of snobbery I"d been watching all night. Scratching the back of his head, he let out a slow breath. "This was a terrible idea." Then he leaned against the wall and bent his head closer. "These things are always dog and pony shows. Atlas and Kim are pretty much treated like pretty accessories."

I raised my brows.

Since they were discovered and left our small town, I had always been so jealous and envious. They left and were making something of themselves. They were important. Loved.

But the way Joaquin just made it seem, they were interchangeable. Treated as things and not people. Was that what they wanted? It couldn"t have been.

"This blows for you, doesn"t it?" Joaquin turned his head toward me, but his attention was on Lake on the other side of the room.

"It"s okay," I rushed out. I didn"t want them to think I was ungrateful. I"d been with them for less than two weeks and I was happy to be here. Grateful. "What...what happened with Lake and Bryce?"

His nose wrinkled on Bryce"s name. "Nothing. Lake just has some issues. He"s working through them."

I followed his gaze and found Lake having a heated conversation with a security guard. He was part of the venue with Staff written in bold block letters across his back, just like the man who intervened earlier.

"Do you want us to get you out of here? I can"t leave, there"s too much elbow rubbing left for me to do, but I can call a car for you and give you the keys. There"s no need for all of us to have to sit through this hell." His lips twitched and I gave him a slight smile.

They"d kept to themselves so much since I"d been here, this was nice. To have a conversation. Maybe friendships just took time.

"I"m okay."

"You"re sure?" He opened his eyes and it gave him a boyish look. I"d never seen him look boyish before. He always seemed so saucy as he was taking other kid"s money.

"Joaquin," a man said in a nasally voice as he stopped next to him.

His entire demeanor changed from the boyish vibe to something darker and angrier.

"Matthew," he returned, pulling his hands from his pockets and straightening to his tallest height.

Matthew"s mouth did some weird thing where his lips didn"t press together but wrinkles appeared above his top lip. "We need to discuss the next contract. The brand has some demands and we"ll need to negotiate."

"I expect to be part of those negotiations." Joaquin"s tone was firm, confident.

Wow, he really had changed since we were in West Virginia.

"It"s not necessary, I assure you." Matthew blinked a little too hard as his gaze swept down Joaquin"s body.

I checked him out too. What was he looking for? Joaquin"s clothes were just as nice as the others. It was even pressed. I was the one who stood out. Except here, I didn"t stand out, I blended in with the wall and plant.

Invisible. I couldn"t lie, I liked it better this way.

If people had been staring at me, I would have tripped or something.

Across the room, a waiter did trip. I caught it out of the corner of my eye, and as I faced the accident, a tray of red wine flew through the air, splattering Kim and the two people closest to him.

The woman screamed, outraged that her white outfit suddenly had maroon blotches.

Kim grabbed a couple napkins on the table, and started blotting her shoulder, smiling ruefully and speaking softly.

I couldn"t hear what he said. I couldn"t read lips and even if I could, I could only see the side of his face. But whatever he was doing, the lady calmed down, practically melting under his attention.

"Excuse me, Matthew. I need to check on Kim." Joaquin nodded his head at Matthew in dismissal. But he didn"t walk away. He turned to me, dipping his head close.

The scent of his cologne tickled my nose and flipped my stomach. It smelled expensive. Foreign. Not what a boy from West Virginia should smell like.

What was I thinking? That was ridiculous.

"This might be what we needed. Stay here." Then he headed over to Kim. Lake joined him along the way, and Atlas was already by Kim"s side. Lisbet was two steps behind them.

The entire room seemed to focus on their group. They talked to the models and adults around them. People laughed, and hung on their every word.

And here I was. In the corner.

I liked it here. It just...

Was coming with them a mistake?

Kim stepped back, bowed his head gently, then left the group and came straight to me. There were only a few people milling about and they parted easily enough for him.

His smile broadened when he got close. He didn"t say anything though. He reached out, hesitated, then took my hand. Staring down at our entwined fingers, he seemed lost in a daze.

Matthew chortled behind him, talking to another man who probably worked in the same field. They gave off the same entitled energy, like they were lording over the attendees.

Snapping out of it, Kim led me out of the private room and through the back entrance. The staff stopped and said hello as we passed but no one tried to stop us. At the end of the back hallway, Kim pushed on the emergency door.

Cool air wafted over my face and I sucked in a deep breath. It hadn't felt stuffy in there until I came out here.

A car pulled up to the curb, and the same driver who brought us here jumped out and opened the back door.

"Thanks, Stan," Kim said as he stepped to the side, but kept tugging on my hand to let me know to get in the car ahead of him.

The back of the car was cool, like the driver had turned the air on ahead of time. How could he have known? Did he just sit with the car running in case one of the guys needed to leave?

I moved in to the other side and Kim slid in after me, leaving the entire middle section between us.

What had seemed normal on the way out, was now suddenly awkward. Both of us faced forward. Neither of us spoke.

The driver had the window up so we couldn"t see him. Hopefully he couldn"t see us either. I hated attention at the best of times, but someone having the ability to watch me, study me where I couldn"t do the same to them, made my skin crawl.

We took a rough turn and I fell into Kim"s side. He laughed under his breath as he steadied my shoulders.

"How bad did you hate that?" He grinned, like he already knew the answer.

I shrugged. Was I supposed to tell him the truth? I hated lies and I"d seen just how Megan and her husband constantly lied to each other. It was slimy.

"Come on, you can tell me."

Pressing my lips together, I debated what I wanted to say. Honestly, I wasn"t sure. The whole time I"d been with them was surreal. I"d never had any experiences like these, and it was nothing short of surreal.

"It wasn"t the most terrible."

He laughed a little louder, and I pressed my lips tighter together to stop from smiling. It didn"t work.

"It was terrible. And I smell like a winery."

Who even said winery? "I mean, yeah, you smell."

We both laughed this time, and it echoed around the space. Weird. I had never laughed with anyone like this and the sounds of our voices together, like they belonged together, in such a small space was nice.

And I was pathetic.

"Can you believe the lady next to me? She"s been an alcoholic for over a decade but stopped because she can"t control her obsession with geckos when she drinks. Even for the fashion world, it"s really weird. And now I bet she"s going to fall off the wagon." He grinned, but it suddenly died.

"What"s wrong?" The way his personality dropped so quickly made me nervous.

"Nothing." He looked out the window.

This silence was different. Cutting.

Clearing my throat, I tugged on the collar of my shirt. "I think the worst thing is how different I feel here. I mean, I was always different at school. Even at home. Which is typical for foster kids, right? You never really feel wanted. I expected that here, but there"s so much...money, maybe? I don"t know how to describe it. It makes me uncomfortable."

Kim"s head turned slowly as he listened to me talk.

"And I feel even more invisible. You guys all fit right in." I started to grin, but shit. That might sound weird, like I was comparing them to the people I was complaining about. Was I? "Not in a bad way. People just gravitate to you guys. They want to talk to you, be around you. It"s really different from back home."

I winced. Why was I referring to that place as home?

"It"s all fake. You know that?" His dark eyes glittered in the passing street lamps.

"You mean, you guys don"t really like them and they don"t like you?"

He slowly nodded. "In a way. It"s not so much about like. The fashion industry, and a lot of others, is about who can help you get further in your own career. A designer could hate me, but if my name sells, they"ll use me. Same for brands. And how we interact isn"t real. It"s all fake, small-talk stuff. We smile because we have to. We flatter each other, raining down compliments like it"s our jobs since that"s the way we get ahead too."

That was really depressing and sounded exhausting.

"You don"t like it?"

I scrunched up my face. "No, not really. It"s cool if you guys do, but I want something simpler for myself. I just want to be able to pay my bills, enjoy the things that mean something to me. And not be treated like I"m a disease to be caught." I tugged on the frayed hem of my sundress. I"d put on the same one I"d graduated in because I didn"t have anything better.

"We don"t think of you like that." His voice grew a little firmer, so different from the softness he usually spoke with.

"Yeah, but those people back there do. Everybody but Bryce gave me a wide berth." And I hadn"t seen Bryce come back after he left. Kim opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but I shook my head. "It doesn"t matter to me. I don"t care about them. I was just kinda lonely in the corner."

His lips turned down on the side. "I"m sorry, Beasty. I"ll talk to the guys and make sure you aren"t separated like that anymore."

"It"s okay," I said to shrug it off, but my heart swelled on the inside.

I had been feeling pretty alone. With just a few words, Kim reassured me that he didn"t think I was on the outside. My chest was so tight, but in a good way. I dropped my hand to the seat beside me, the urge to fidget no longer burning.

He slid his hand over and touched his pinky to mine.

It was so small. So innocent, yet goosebumps rose on my arms and fireworks exploded over my head. I stood on the edge of so much of what I hoped for as a kid. This was what happy felt like.

And I think he liked me.