It felt as if it had been the longest day of my life that I'd had on the job site in a long time. I was irritated. Even minor things were bothering me way more than they normally did. I was even pulled aside by my father late in the morning because I'd disagreed with one worker and he’d complained.
"Dad, I’m going to take off," I said, approaching my father at the end of my shift.
"Okay, son, see you at home," he said, continuing on with the conversation he was having.
I drove through the city, not bothering to go home first to shower. Instead I made my way over to Jessica's house. She hadn't messaged me throughout the day, but I hoped that by the time I got to her house she would at least speak with me. I had given everything she had said a great deal of thought while I had worked throughout the day, and I realized that I hadn't really been fair, so I hoped that we could come to an agreement.
A police car sat in her driveway, and I frowned as I pulled in next to it and shut my car off. I hopped out and ran to her door, checking my pocket to make sure the ring was there before I knocked on the door. I wanted my girl to have what she deserved. I wanted to make sure she knew I supported her in what she wanted to do, and I was excited to tell her that I would start looking for a job outside of the city.
With a smile on my face, I reached up and knocked hard on the front door and waited. When the door wasn't pulled open with the usual speed, I reached up and knocked again. Finally, I heard the locks unlatch, and the door opened. Jessica's mom stood there, her cheeks tear streaked and her eyes red.
"Ben, thank God. Perhaps you can help us," she said, pushing the door open and signaling for me to step inside.
"What's wrong?" I questioned, that familiar burn in my chest coming back.
"We didn't know what to do, so we called the police. Jessica's gone. All she left was this note." She leaned over and handed me the single slip of paper. I slowly read the words printed in Jessica's beautifully neat handwriting, and that was when the tears built behind my eyes. I had driven her away. I was the only one to blame.
Chapter 4
Jessica
I lay on the lumpy mattress thinking about what I had gotten myself into. I'd been in California now for six months, and I missed home something terrible. Over that time, I found that there had been little truth in the letter I had received. Instead of having a flat all to myself, as promised, I was sharing it with eight other girls. It was nothing special. They furnished it with crappy furniture, and we had little to no privacy, but it was free. That part had been right. The modeling aspect hadn't been what I thought it would be, either.
Right from the start they barked orders that we all needed to lose weight, eat better, and exercise more. Most days there were people who followed us around yelling at us about our posture. During the entire first month of me being here, someone had reminded me of the fact that I was not perfect as these people picked me apart over and over. I'd concluded that they wanted us all to be a healthy anorexic chick, and that was what I was becoming.
Today we were meeting with some agents, and I sat in the waiting room with twenty other girls, tired and exhausted. I had signed two small deals since I had been here, nothing huge, but today was the day of truth. It was the day that these agents were making their picks. It helped that I'd already signed two deals, but if I wanted larger deals, I would need an agent.
I laughed to myself as I wondered how I had gone from wanting this so badly to sitting here silently praying that they wouldn't call my name. In the past few months, I had learned more than ever that Ben had been right all along. This wasn't for me, and I yearned to be back in the safety of his arms and my childhood bedroom. I couldn't wait to leave this meeting, get a bus ticket, and head back to that boring tiny town.
The longer I sat there watching these girls get called, the greater the itch to go home became. I was one of the last people in the room, and I was just about to get up and leave when a door opened and a man called my name. He was an attractive-looking man, with steel-grey eyes that popped against his black hair.
I swallowed hard and stood, keeping my back straight. His gaze skimmed my body as I crossed the room and greeted him. There was no talk. He just stepped to the side, allowing me to pass, and then I felt his hand land on my lower back as I walked into his office. "Take a seat," he said, closing the door behind him to give us privacy.
I did as I was told, but silently I prayed that he would tell me I wasn't good enough and just send me packing. I was tired. Tired of all the working out, makeup sessions, primping sessions, and photo shoots we had done, along with all the diet restrictions. No one—not one agent—had called upon me. I had given up.
He sat down across from me, shuffled a few papers around, and then clasped his hands on the desk in front of him. "Jessica, I have your photos and wow. You, my dear, have such potential. I'm honestly surprised no one has grabbed you already."
Instantly, I perked up. Apparently, there was still a part of me wanted so badly to believe that all of this had been for nothing. I wanted my break, but I was so torn. Part of me was secretly praying that I could just go back to my insignificant life, where no one knew me, and sleep in my bed, but there was an enormous part of me praying that my big break would come.
"I'm Kendrick Hayward." He held his large, powerful hand out for me to shake. As my hand slid into his, a shot of lightning flowed through my body, and as soon as my eyes met his, I felt a tremor in my tummy.
"I know many people, Jessica. I can get you deals with all the big names. It takes time, but I have a lot more pull than many of the agents you've encountered, and I'd be thrilled if you would be my pet project, if you will."
I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips. I also couldn't help the nagging feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach. Kendrick was an extremely attractive man, and before long, I started having thoughts that I probably shouldn't be having about a man who was nearly double my age.
"What do you say?"
"Why me?" I laughed nervously. "I mean, I know it sounds like I'm not confident in my ability, but the others are so much more experienced than me."
Kendrick stood and poured us two glasses of water, then handed me mine and walked back around and sat down behind the enormous oak desk. "Well, I see something in you I don't see in the others. You’re—and please don't take this the wrong way, but I've been watching you. You're special," he said, winking at me.
I couldn't help but feel the excitement building in me at his words. His calm demeanor, his charming voice, instantly put me at ease. What would I tell the other girls when they asked? Would they be jealous that I got discovered and they didn't? Would they hate living with me now?
"Tell you what, I have to be at a party tonight. Why don't you come with me as my guest? There will be many people there, the right people, and this will give me the opportunity to introduce you to those people."