Etoile (The Mannequin Series)

by Olivia Besse

  “You look so tired,” she couldn't help but comment with a worried look on her face. “We did not have to meet today, you know.”

  James shook his head. “I know, but I wanted to make sure I saw you. I mean, I'm just happy that you even replied to me at all,” he said with a laugh as he rolled up his shirt sleeves. “I don't know why, but it felt like you couldn't wait to get away from me yesterday,” he added as a joke.

  “Oh, no,” she mumbled as she fidgeted with the edge of her napkin. “I was feeling...er, not very well. Sorry about that again.”

  “Why are you apologizing?” he asked with an incredulous smile. There were those perfect teeth again. “I'm just glad you're feeling better. Besides, I needed a break from eating sandwiches or Chinese food at my desk. But enough about my pathetic excuse for a day. How was yours?”

  “Fine,” she answered before reaching for her glass nervously, thinking back on her rendezvous with Tyler. “Just fine. Nothing exciting.”

  “Well, we can do something exciting together soon,” James said as he let out a long sigh. “We're presenting to this client on Friday morning, so I'm a free man after that.”

  “I think Tatiana mentioned Daniel is having a birthday party on Friday night?”

  James shut his eyes tightly and groaned. “That's right. I think they wanted to get a table,” he muttered with a pained look on his face. “Do you mind?”

  “No, not at all,” she replied, trying to hide her disappointment.

  “You're coming with me, right?” he asked with pleading eyes. “It would make it a hundred times more bearable if you would.”

  “Of course,” she told him with a small smile. If they were going to have to sit in an obnoxious club amongst an even more obnoxious crowd, at least they would be enduring it together. When he flashed his boyish grin of thanks at her, she could feel her heartbeat thumping noisily in her ears.

  “And once we get all of that over with and I finally get a good night's sleep, I'm going to take you out on a proper date,” James said with a slight shake of his head after the server had set their food down. “I mean, what is this?” he asked in a hushed tone as he motioned discreetly at the tables surrounding them.

  Elodie stifled a giggle as she looked around the room at the sheer number of business dinners going on around them. Given the restaurant's location in the ghost town that was the Financial District, the scene was exactly as one would expect it. Bankers in suits made up 90% of the clientele, with only two other bankers' wives adding to the female population. Of course, both of the middle-aged women were dripping in Cartier diamonds and clothed head-to-toe in the latest from the St. John or Armani collections. Their sullen-faced husbands sat across from them dressed impeccably in custom-tailored suits, their status-symbol Rolexes fighting to draw attention away from their receding hairlines.

  “I didn't forget about our museum day either,” James told her before taking a bite of his steak and shooting her a wink.

  She couldn't help but smile as she chewed on a piece of her mahi-mahi, thinking of how lucky she was to have met someone like James. But at the same time, she felt an uneasiness fill her as she thought of Tyler. Deep inside, she wished that one of them would show her some ugly side to his personality so that she could just make an easy choice. She hated deceiving both of them and felt terrible about meeting one behind the other's back. It honestly just felt like a dangerous game, and she didn't want to play anymore.

  “Elodie?” James asked, breaking up her distracted thoughts. He was looking at her expectantly for an answer, his tired eyelids drooping ever so slightly.

  “Sorry, I must have dazed off,” she said with an embarrassed smile. Even though she knew that he couldn't read her mind and hadn't the slightest idea of what she was thinking about, she couldn't help but notice her pulse quicken.

  “Is Sunday all right with you?” he asked with a big grin.

  “Sorry?” she squeaked out.

  “The museums?”

  “Oh, yes,” Elodie replied, trying not to seem too eager. “Sunday's perfect.”

  Thirty-four

  “So I ask him what he want for birthday,” Tatiana explained with exaggerated hand gestures. “And he say, 'You.' So I ask him what he talk about since he already have me,” she continued as a big smile spread across her tiny face. “Then he say he want me be his girlfriend.”

  Elodie gave a small nod, trying to hide how envious she felt. Tatiana had met Daniel at the same time that she had met James, but the pancake-making accountant's understanding of dating models was obviously more finely honed than that of the steak-grilling banker. As many of the Manhattan's playboys who loved to display runway-worthy arm candy could attest to, models needed to be wined and dined and snatched up quickly. The fact that James had not done the last bit yet brought doubt into her mind, causing her to think that maybe he didn't want to do any snatching.

  “So now I have boyfriend,” Tatiana said with a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. “Me! Boyfriend!”

  “Congratulations,” Elodie said as she threw her arm around her friend's shoulders. “I am happy for you.”

  Tatiana beamed at her as they walked along Hudson Street, past the fancy boutiques and towards the photo studio at which their casting had started two hours prior. As the client, whoever it was, had wanted "females aged 16-20 with blonde hair", they had both received passive aggressive text messages from their bookers requesting that they march their bony asses over ASAP. The two had rolled their eyes after showing each other their respective phone screens, tossed on the requisite casting outfits of black skinny jeans and booties with basic tee shirts, and headed over after taking their sweet time chain smoking cigarettes in their living room.

  “And even though he not banker,” Tatiana continued with a pensive look on her face. “His dad is partner. Partner at top firm! So he will be make more than banker boys one day.” She finished her explanation off with a dreamy sigh, likely picturing their future multi-million dollar penthouse in Tribeca in her pretty little head.

  “That is good. But you should just be happy that he likes you so much,” Elodie told her with a laugh. “Money is not going to buy you happiness.”

  “I know, I know,” Tatiana said as she wrinkled her nose and linked arms with her French friend. “But, Lo, you need open eyes too. This no last forever, you know.”

  A small sigh escaped Elodie's lips as she nodded her head in defeat. “As everyone loves to remind us,” she mumbled as she watched a prepubescent teenager with stringy blonde hair hurl herself out of a taxi a few yards away. The girl frantically glanced at the map on her phone screen and began scurrying in the direction of the building at the end of the block. One glance at the rhinestone-bedazzled back pockets of the girl's bubblegum pink denim skirt told them that she had been newly drafted into the herd.

  “I just look out for you,” Tatiana told her as she quickened her pace to catch up to the leggy 16-year old. “Just want you be happy too. Like me! I am happy. So happy!”

  Elodie couldn't help but smile as her friend continued to prattle on excitedly about Daniel's upcoming birthday party. Tatiana had apparently convinced Sean, her go-to party promoter who had been neglected as of late, to rope off a floor of the small Euro nightclub that they oft frequented in Chinatown in exchange for her introducing him to "fresh meat". Using her extensive list of nightlife contacts, she had also arranged for a boutique vodka brand to sponsor the event, which would be featuring one of her famous socialite-cum-fashion-muse-cum-DJ friends as the entertainment. To be honest, the carefully orchestrated event seemed a bit over the top for a quiet, redheaded accountant's 25th birthday party, but it was very cute how involved Tatiana was in the planning process.

  “And I invite all his friends and all my friends,” Tatiana continued with big eyes as they stopped in front of their destination. “But not Tyler and boys. I did good, no?”

  Elodie grabbed the metal handle of the tall glass door, putting on a sad smile as she ges
tured for the young girl to go ahead of them. “Yes,” she replied hesitantly, ignoring Tatiana's glare as the cherub-faced teen thanked them profusely in an Australian accent. “But I still do not know what to do about them. Seeing both yesterday just made everything more confusing. They are so different. I wish it was a simple choice.”

  “When you know, you know,” Tatiana reassured her as they entered the elevator. “But like I say, this no last forever,” she added, peering down her pointy nose at the nervous young model standing next to her. Elodie slapped at the Belarusian bully's hand playfully and gave a small laugh.

  “What this for, anyway?” Tatiana asked in annoyance as they stepped out of the elevator. “Adam tell you? Ana never tell me anything. Just address and time and 'hurry,'” she whined as they entered the suite in which the casting was taking place. Once inside, Tatiana let out an exasperated sigh as they surveyed the scene.

  There were at least fifty other girls, all tall, thin and blonde, perched atop the sofas or slumped on the polished concrete floor. As the casting call had actually started two hours prior, these remaining girls only made up a portion of the competition. Tatiana dragged Elodie towards the intern who was in charge of signing them in, narrowing her eyes after they checked in and got their Polaroids taken. “Sixty two and sixty three,” she grumbled. “We should just leave and go coffee.”

  “We might as well stay,” Elodie moaned as they sought out an open space on the ground. Tatiana rolled her eyes and nodded begrudgingly as she positioned her bony bottom on the cold floor. “You know what this for?” she demanded from the two doe-eyed girls huddled together next to them.

  “It's for, like, um, a print ad, I think,” one of them guessed while happily snapping her gum. They must be new, Elodie thought to herself as she watched the other girl nod with a big smile. There was no way they could be so peppy otherwise.

  “I think someone said it's for Prada?” the other quipped with a glossy look on her face. “They want, like, an army of girls.”

  “Okay, we stay,” Tatiana said after she brusquely thanked them and turned back to Elodie.

  And so they did, lounging around on the floor while occasionally going back downstairs to smoke cigarettes with the neighboring pair of 16-year olds from the Midwest, who talked about little other than prom dresses and their piles of neglected geometry homework.

  When Elodie's number was finally called, she peeled her ass from the floor and marched over into the room where the casting director was looking at her Polaroid and comp card. “Elodie, Elodie,” he said with a quizzical look on his face. “I heard that somewhere. Where did I hear that before?” he asked his assistant, who shrugged at him with a frown on her face.

  He had heard of her? How? Had people been talking about her? Not wanting to seem too excited by his comment, Elodie simply stood and stared at them for further instructions.

  The assistant beckoned for Elodie to stand in front of the white screen so that she could take her pictures. “Chin down, please,” she directed in a monotonous voice. Elodie did as she was told, holding still with a blank expression on her face as the girl took a few snaps on her digital camera.

  By the time that Tatiana was done as well, it was already dark outside. “Fuck, what time is?” Tatiana demanded grumpily as they stepped out onto the sidewalk. A group of girls clad in their tightest dresses and highest heels clomped past them as Tatiana sneered bitterly. “We better get option, at least. Waste whole day. I need drink, Lo.”

  Elodie took her phone out of her Céline Trapeze bag to check the time, only to be greeted with a notification on her screen.

  “Who is it?” Tatiana asked with a sneaky smile after observing Elodie's smitten face, illuminated by the dim glow of her phone screen, as she typed back a reply.

  “Tyler. He said they are all going to Electric Room,” she told her, referring to the swanky lounge located inside of the trendy hotel around the corner. She tried to wipe any sign of giddiness from her face, not wanting to seem too enthusiastic. “Did you say you wanted a drink?” she asked casually. Please say yes, she thought inwardly, surprised by how badly she wanted to see him.

  Tatiana peered at her friend with an unamused look on her doll-like face. “I do not know my boyfriend will like that,” she sniffed. “But we can if you want,” she continued with a knowing smile.

  Elodie paused, trying her best to play it cool. Tatiana raised her eyebrows at Elodie suggestively, causing her to laugh at the ridiculous look on her friend's face. Even though she knew what her answer would be, she furrowed her brow and pretended to contemplate her decision for a few seconds before answering.

  “Well, I mean, it is right here. What is the harm in just dropping by?”

  Thirty-five

  “Let's go back to my place,” Tyler whispered into Elodie's ear, tickling the tiny hairs and causing her to shiver. He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist as he sidled up more closely against her. “I'd rather spend the rest of the night with just you.”

  “It is Theo's big day,” Elodie said with a little smirk, wriggling slightly from his grasp. “Try to be a good friend.”

  A slew of genetically-gifted giants had gathered at the hip lounge to celebrate the fresh-faced Canadian teenager's newly secured Dior Homme campaign. The excuse was lame and she knew it, especially since Theo booked huge deals all of the time. Naturally, he celebrated each new job with wild nights out, as would be expected from a heavily-tattooed, potty-mouthed, drug-addled 18-year old boy, so this occasion wasn't particularly special. But that was the best reason that she could come up with to avoid leaving with Tyler, so she was sticking firmly to it.

  Tyler scrunched his nose at her like a little boy on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum. “You know exactly how to drive me crazy,” he said quietly to her in a seductive voice before shooting her a cheesy grin. Elodie laughed as she pushed his face away, only to have him wrap his arm around her shoulders and muss up her hair. After she let out a little squeal and dissolved into giggles, the two turned to see Theo and Gabriella, his pretty little Brazilian conquest for the night, eyeing them suspiciously.

  “Dude,” Theo said with a confused look on his face. “What's with you two?”

  “Yea, what are you two?” Charlie added in an obnoxious voice. He leaned across the table from where he was sitting in between Erik, one of his roommates, and Tatiana, who was watching Elodie with a bemused look on her face. Heddi sat on the edge of the sofa's arm, attracting the attentions of Marten, who she had known from her agency in Copenhagen, and Ben, a hot new import from London. Nowhere to be seen, Jelena had disappeared with one of her teenaged minions approximately one and a half bottles ago.

  “Nothing,” Elodie said defensively, just as Tyler replied, “Married.”

  “Honey, don't say things like that,” Tyler said as he turned to her, pretending to be offended. “You're going to hurt my feelings.”

  Theo shook his head slowly with a vacant expression on his face. “Wait, what,” he commented while staring blankly at Tyler.

  “Thank you for making an honest man out of him,” Charlie joked as Elodie felt herself get hot. Tyler rubbed her knee as he clinked glasses with Charlie and laughed. Theo remained seated with a dazed look on his face as his eyes shifted back and forth from Elodie to Tyler, while Gabriella texted on her phone with a bored expression.

  Elodie knew that her protests would be for naught, so she leaned forward to grab her glass of champagne instead. “Cheers with me, Lo!” Tatiana chirped as she extended her flute across the table. Elodie laughed at Tatiana's adorable drunken behavior, which she hadn't seen much of since before Daniel came along. Would everything change now that Tatiana was infatuated with an actual boyfriend instead of partying and lounging around?

  Tyler's hand reached around her shoulders as she settled back into her seat, pulling her closer as he kissed the top of her head. She felt herself blushing as she turned to him with a playful scowl, noticing the drunkenly pleased look on his fac
e. Charlie and Tatiana's resounding “Aw”s could be heard from across the table. “What,” Theo repeated as he observed the affectionate scene.

  As Elodie turned back to face Tatiana, she noticed that her roommate's happy face had clouded over. When she turned in the direction of the cause, she felt her own smile dissolve instantly.

  Caroline Matheson was headed over in their direction, accompanied by Amanda, one of her equally annoying friends who happened to have walked for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and Tyler's friends, Soren and Milos. Trying not get caught staring, Elodie quickly turned around, dreading the obligatory interaction that was to come.

  “Erik! Charlie!” she heard that unforgettably high-pitched voice chirp. “Oh my God! Marten! When did you get back?”

  Heddi turned to look at the source of the ruckus. Her face automatically assumed an annoyed expression, her grimace deepening when Marten patted her on the shoulder to excuse himself mid-conversation. In spite of the absurdity of the situation, Elodie tried not to laugh as she saw Heddi and Tatiana exchange a look while the boys tried to contain their saliva.