by Imani King
Thania knew that Daya did not want to be the only model available—this fashion show meant almost as much to Daya’s career as it did to Thania’s.
“What am I going to say to him?” Thania asked the group at large.
Again, silence.
“Ask him to help you,” Asha said, speaking for the first time in a while.
“But, how can he help me? He runs a jewelry business,” Thania said to her as sweat started to bead on her brow. She really did not want to call Vlad and ask him for help with anything, but she was getting past the point of desperation.
“Yes, he’s in the jewelry business, Thania,” Asha responded as if she spoke to a wounded animal. “That means that he most likely uses models himself for the jewelry ad campaigns. And at the very least, he knows other people in a similar business that might be able to help,” she continued, as everyone watched her take charge of Thania by helping her see through her fear.
Thania knew it was obvious to everyone at that point, that Asha was her true friend, and that they had known each other forever.
“Go ahead, honey,” Asha said to her, as she gently rubbed Thania’s arms. “It can’t hurt to call him.”
So she did.
“Vlad, it’s Thania,” she said, when he answered his cellphone on the first ring.
“Hello,” he said slowly in his gritty voice, and Thania flushed as she realized that he was not expecting her to call him.
And he probably doesn’t want you to.
Forging ahead, because she had no choice, she said, “I am so sorry to bother you, Vlad. I’m in a bit of a bind, otherwise I would never have called you.”
His silence was deafening to her, and she felt nauseated and needed to sit down.
“Today is the day of my fashion show,” she started to explain, her heart actually aching as she spoke.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Well, none of my models have shown up, and the show is supposed to begin in two hours! I don’t know what is going on, and we’ve called all of them, and no one has answered. Daya is the only model here, and there is no way she can wear all of the clothes. How unprofessional would that look? And the press is starting to arrive, and I’m freaking out…”
“It’s alright, Thania,” he interrupted her softly. “Just tell me what I can do.”
Her aching heart broke just a little more at his kind tone.
“I know that we’re not dating, but is there any way you can call around to some business associates and ask about their models, or even models that you work with yourself, and ask them to come to my fashion show immediately?”
She was hugely embarrassed to put him out like this, and her anxiety reached its zenith once more as he remained silent on the phone. She heard him breathing, so she knew she hadn’t lost the connection, and the longer it took for him to speak, the harder her chest constricted.
“Vlad? I’m sorry to have asked you,” she said, resigned to the fact that she had crossed that invisible line between friends and ‘something more’. And she definitely was not ‘something more’ to Vlad.
“No, no, it’s fine,” he quickly responded. “Yes, of course I can help.”
Hope blossomed within her, and some of the ache in her chest subsided—not the broken heart part, though.
“You just hang tight, Thania,” he continued in his deep voice. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you so much, Vlad,” Thania said, grateful beyond words.
“You’re welcome,” he replied, and she could have sworn his voice sounded almost sad.
An hour later, the models started to arrive at the studio. They all rushed in, looking frantic, and Thania could not believe what they told her.
“Very early this morning, my phone rang, and it was a woman saying that she was a model in your first show, and that you never paid her—or any of the models,” one girl explained. “She told me not to answer any calls from you or your office today. She said you’d fooled everyone last time.”
“Yeah, I got that same phone call, too!” another model said.
“Who would do that?” Daya asked Thania.
Honestly, Thania had no idea. It turned out that every single model, except for Daya, had received the same call that morning. It sounded like professional jealousy to Thania, something an immoral competitor would do in order to sabotage her career. But she could not imagine who could be so threatened by the beginning of her success, that they would go to such an extreme to ruin her business.
“How did you know to come here?” Asha asked the group of models, and one spoke up.
“I got a call from—and you’re not going to believe this—but it was from Vladislav Sakharov!” she exclaimed, clearly impressed with him.
Thania was stunned, and then completely astonished when every model started to talk at the same time, to tell her that they too, had received calls from Vlad. Apparently, he had told them that there had been a misunderstanding, and that whoever called them that morning was just playing an evil prank. He had asked them all to head down to the studio immediately, and every one of them had agreed and hopped in their cars. It was Vlad Sakharov asking, after all!
“It was so amazing to hear his voice…” a model gushed, and Thania just stood there, not knowing what to say.
“Yes, yes, I’m sure it was the highlight of your life,” Len interrupted the model in a dry voice. “Now, let’s get you all to makeup and hair, girls!” he said as he herded every model, including Daya, toward the makeup and hair stylist’s area. “Right now, y’all look a bit ragged around the edges, and I’m sure that our lovely boss is not going for a ratchet theme for her show.” Len turned toward Thania as he walked away, and gave her a wink. Something sweet bloomed inside her as she looked after him.
No matter how badly the situation with Vlad ended up, I think I’ve made a true friend in Len.
She smiled after him, her first true smile of the morning. She still could not believe that Vlad had managed to save the day, and her fashion show would move forward, and be on time. It was wonderful of him to make such an effort, and she wondered why he had.
And who was behind canceling the models to begin with? That was just unbelievable, and it made her so angry that her blood practically boiled. But she did not have time to think about any of that now; the backstage area teemed with models and stylists, and she could hear the crowd as the seats began to fill up on the other side of the stage.
This is it. This is the real turning point in my career.
And she intended to enjoy every moment of it.
10
Vlad
Vlad sat in the front row of Thania’s fashion show an hour later, pride swelling in his chest at what she had accomplished. The show was magnificent, she was magnificent, and the entire thing went off without a hitch. No one in the audience would ever know that it almost did not happen at all.
He watched Thania take the final walk down the runway, holding the hand of her last model, who was wearing a different, but equally beautiful gown than the one Thania had worn to the gala. The crowd gave her and her models a standing ovation, and she had a huge smile on her face as she waved at everyone.
He noticed that her cheeks were flushed, and it brought him back to their one night together. His cock twitched and hardened, much as it had every single time he’d had a single thought about Thania since that night. Which meant he was basically in a perpetual state of arousal.
He still didn’t understand why she had pulled away from him like she had. Even on the phone earlier, she had said ‘I know we’re not dating’, and hearing that from her was like an axe to his chest. He had known, of course, that she wasn’t interested in seeing him again, simply from her behavior, but to hear her say the words aloud had actually stunned him. He had needed a minute to respond after he’d heard that.
Of course, he knew who had attempted to sabotage Thania’s fashion show—Irina. One of the models he’d called earlier in the day had mentioned that th
e female caller had an unusual accent, and immediately, he had become almost murderous with rage. But only on the inside, because he would do nothing to ruin Thania’s day any more than it already had been.
But as soon as he was able, he was going to track Irina down. He would make sure that she understood that she was never to bother Thania again, or to attempt to interfere with her career. He was livid at what Irina had done, but for now, he just allowed his pride for Thania to wash over him.
A half an hour later, Thania sought him out in the thinning crowd. She looked so beautiful that his heart twisted. He wanted her so badly, and for the first time in his life, he was broken-hearted.
“Congratulations, Thania,” he said with a smile, as he kissed her on the cheek. Her scent almost overwhelmed him, and he longed to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
Just take the hint and move on.
“The show was incredible,” he told her, and the flush traveled down her neck into her cleavage, and he dug his nails into his hands to keep from touching her.
“Thank you,” she replied, as she looked him in the eye for the first time. Immediately, the pull was there between them again, and he wondered how she didn’t feel it like he did. “And thank you for everything you did to save it. It would never have happened if you hadn’t stepped in. I still can’t believe that you called every one of the models yourself! They were all quite star struck,” she said with an amused smile.
“You needed help,” he said, as if it were that simple.
Their eyes connected again and her smile faltered. Suddenly, he couldn’t stop himself anymore.
“Why did you pull away from me, Thania?” he asked, almost unable to believe that he had brought up the topic. But, he needed some answers if he ever wished to move on from her.
“Pull away from you? What do you mean?” she replied, a genuinely perplexed look on her face.
“I mean, I called you several times after our night together, and you never contacted me back.”
“I…I…I have been working very hard this week,” she stammered, visibly upset.
“I know, and I’m sorry to have brought this up here. I don’t want to upset you,” he said gently.
“No, no. I’m just surprised, that’s all,” she said, as she searched his eyes.
He wondered what she was looking for. “Surprised about what?”
“Surprised that you would say that I’ve pulled away from you.”
Now he was the one who was confused. “Now you need to tell me what you mean,” he said, as he took a step closer to her. His heart beat picked up as hope filled him.
She paused for a long time, and just looked at him without answering.
“I thought you had made it very clear that night we were together, that you were not interested in anything beyond that,” she finally said, her face aflame and her arms crossed in front of her.
Hope burst into full bloom for him then, and he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her arms away from her chest. She looked up at him warily.
“No, Thania. No,” he said as he looked down into her eyes. She still looked confused so he decided to be blunt. “I didn’t just want you for that one night. I want you for every single night.”
She smiled and took the final half step necessary in order to push their bodies together.
“Really?” she asked him.
“Yes. Every. Single. Night,” he said, and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.
He clutched her tightly to him and kissed her, falling into her just like he had before. He was so happy that he felt weightless, as if a gigantic boulder had been lifted from his shoulders. He pulled back slightly from the kiss but didn’t let her go.
“So, you want to be with me, too? Me and only me?” He figured they’d had enough misunderstandings between them, and some clarification might be a good idea.
She laughed softly and smiled at him again. “Yes, Vlad. I want to be with you, and only you,” she whispered, and he leaned down and kissed her once more, lifting her off her feet and turning in a slow circle as they kissed.
“Well, isn’t this…cozy.”
He pulled away from the kiss and set Thania down as he turned toward Irina.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said to Irina quietly as he linked his fingers with Thania beside him.
“No, you shouldn’t be here,” she replied loudly as she swayed slightly. “None of you should be here,” she continued, and he felt Thania stiffen at his side.
He squeezed her fingers softly to reassure her.
“I knew it was you,” he said, and Thania gasped and flung his hand away.
Surprised, he looked warily at her. But she wasn’t angry with him. Thania walked up to Irina.
“You’re the one that tried to sabotage my show?” she asked Irina in a deceptively casual voice.
“Thania, let me talk to her…” he started, but he trailed off when Thania lifted her hand in a ‘stop’ signal to him.
Okay, then.
“I want to know her answer,” she said pleasantly, without looking away from Irina.
“Of course, it was me, you stupid bitch,” Irina said, causing several people surrounding them to turn and stare.
“What have I done to be called such foul names?” Again, Thania was poised and quiet.
“You stole my boyfriend!” Irina yelled, and after that a crowd formed around them.
Some members of the press were taking pictures, and Vlad even saw one man openly videotaping the argument. But he didn’t dare try to intercede again; it was clear that Thania wanted to handle it herself.
“I did no such thing. You and Vlad have been broken up for more than six months. I didn’t even know him six months ago.”
“That’s a lie! We’re still together,” Irina insisted with less vehemence that time.
Thania looked back at him and raised her brow in question.
“No,” he said loudly. “Irina and I are not together. We broke up six months ago, and she refuses to let go.”
Irina looked as if she wanted to argue, but Thania started to speak.
“Listen up, Irina,” Thania said very softly. “If you ever try to interfere with or sabotage my business again, I will have you arrested. You are extremely lucky that my event went off without a hitch today because I would have sued you for every damned cent you have. And let me be clear: your time with Vlad is over. It is done. He wants nothing to do with you, whether I am in his life or not. Having Vlad as your enemy seems like a really bad decision to me. Seems like you would be better off leaving him alone, rather than risk his wrath. You’ll probably never be able to book another modeling gig if you don’t stop this right now.”
“That’s not true,” Irina whispered.
“Yes, it is,” Thania insisted. “And one more thing—from one woman to another—get some help for your drinking problem. That sure as hell is not a good look. Oh, and please remember: if you ever call me a bitch again, I will break you.”
Irina gasped in outrage as Thania turned away from her. Vlad looked on with astonished pride—Thania had handled Irina beautifully. She had never raised her voice, or called the other woman names. She had just told her how it was going to be from then on.
Look at her. That beautiful woman is mine.
Thania walked up to him and grabbed his hand. They turned to walk through the gathered crowd, much like they had at the gala. Vlad glanced back to make sure Irina hadn’t moved, and she was still standing where Thania had left her, looking a little broken as everyone around her pretended she wasn’t there.
11
Thania
“So, that is the entire story about Irina,” Vlad finished as they stood outside of the studio in the sunshine.
Thania leaned up and kissed him, thrilled that she now could do so whenever she wanted. He immediately pushed her up against the outside wall of the studio, gently cradling her so that her skin and her clothes only touched his arms. Soon, they were ki
ssing like teenagers, not caring about the rest of the world.
“I’m so glad that we talked today and ironed out our misunderstandings,” he said after pulling back slightly.
She ran her fingers through his thick hair and he hummed in appreciation.
“Yes, me too,” she agreed emphatically and then kissed him again. She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off him, and Vlad responded in kind.
I can’t believe how happy I am. We’re together! Hopefully, someday, he’ll want a future with me like I do with him.
She was done pretending to everyone, but especially to herself, that she wasn’t in love with him. She was head over heels, madly in love with Vlad, and it felt incredible to be in his arms again.
“Will you come and spend some time alone with me?” Vlad asked, his eyes so green in the sunlight that they looked almost iridescent.
“Of course.” It wasn’t even a question that needed to be asked, as far as she was concerned. All she wanted to do was be alone with him.
They went back inside to gather her things, and shortly after, they had arrived at a posh hotel downtown. As Vlad handed his keys to the valet, she asked him what was going on.
“How come we didn’t go to your house? Mansion, estate, castle, whatever.”
He laughed and looked at her oddly before grabbing her up in his arms once more.
“My house is too far away. So, while you grabbed your stuff, I made a quick call to the hotel and reserved a suite for us. You don’t like it?” He nuzzled her neck while he waited for her response.
Oh, he feels so good. I can’t wait to be alone and in bed with him.
“Oh no, I like it,” she answered, and he took her hand, grabbed a room key from the waiting concierge, and strode over to the elevator banks, gently pulling her along the entire way.
“Do I need to carry you again?” he asked with a smile, as they entered the elevator. He punched in the necessary code for the penthouse and the elevator started its ascent.