Rina was so busy for the next couple of days that there was barely any time to stop and think. She’d gotten right into work, going to the studio at the fashion house for her shoots. At first, it was awkward to repeatedly take stances that didn’t show her face. But, Rina got used to it after a while, and in fact, started enjoying it.
She loved the break-in-betweens where she got shown the images and was given the liberty to choose the ones that would get published on social media and inputted into the market. As much as O. S. N was about Joel Osteen, he still wanted to make the movement about her, so he accorded her as much liberty as the establishment could afford.
During the breaks also, she got to talk with Joel and have lunch with him inside his new office on the first floor. Since she didn’t want to be seen with him in public because of the anonymity concept of her pictures, they had to order in all the time. Neither Joel nor Rina minded, because while Rina thought it was a great way to further her career, Joel saw it as more time he got to know her better, without the interference of strangers.
In five days, he’d learned that she didn’t like pickles, and that even though she dyed her hair often, her favorite color was black, that of her natural hair. He also learned that her eyes glowed under the lights, and she had the habit of drawing circles on any surface if she was nervous.
But that was the only tell. Rina never let anyone see her nerves. She was strong and had an unwavering spirit, so much so that the media and digital team had a lot of fun working with her. And she got them snacks when they worked. It worried Joel because it was public knowledge that her husband had taken almost everything from her. But there was no stopping Rina.
Joel thought that was what got him spellbound.
They talked about random things most of the time, like the weather, politics, colors, and fabrics, and then a few times, they allowed the conversation to steer around their private lives. Rina learned that Joel had once been a model, and it made sense because of his physique and how much he would turn any head on the road at any time of the day. He explained he left the country to pursue a degree in fashion, only returning when he had become good enough to be the best in the country.
Rina wanted to know what had fueled his courage to resign from his modeling career as that would have taken a lot of guts. He laughed as he threw a piece of fries into his mouth.
“I guess I just knew what I wanted,” he answered, shrugging like it was as easy as deciding to go with a different clothing for the day. Even that was a tough decision to make for Rina. “But my parents tried to stop me. I think they were more in love with my job than I was, and I understood them because they supported me throughout my career as a child model until it became something more. But it was never enough for me.”
Rina nodded. She understood where he was coming from since she also made her debut at the young age of nineteen. But while Joel hadn’t found satisfaction in modeling, it was the other way around for Rina. She was home in the entertainment and movie industry, so much so that she never wanted to have to take a bow. But then Finn came along, with his puppy eyes and devilish smile, convincing her that she didn’t need to worry about a thing other than raising their family.
She laughed at the thought, earning an eye raise from Joel. “Now, I’ve got to know what you just thought about.”
“My husband,” Rina sighed, deciding this was a comfortable topic. “Well, ex-husband. He was the reason I left the industry in the first place.”
“Yeah,” Joel drawled. “I remember you gave a formal announcement to your fans about you needing to make time out for your family since you were married and family came first. I thought it was a really sweet thing to do.”
“Sweet thing?” Rina scoffed. “One thing I have learned over the years is that decisions like that aren’t meant to be made in the heat and throes of passion. I was young and in love, and it didn’t help that my best friend, Kayla, thought my ex-husband wasn’t wrong. I wanted to keep Finn because I was in love with him, and if sacrificing my career was the price I had to pay, I decided it was worth it. After all, Finn had promised that he was going to take great care of me. I had nothing to worry about since my reputation still got me my royalties.”
“Until it all went up in flames,” Joel murmured, with a sympathetic look in his eyes. Rina didn’t like it when people stared at her like that. It made her feel weird like she had lost too much out of life. And she knew that wasn’t true because no matter how hard life tried to push her to the ground, she had no plans of ever remaining there.
Not to make things awkward for Joel, and at the same time, cringing away from his sympathetic eyes, Rina laughed awkwardly and focused her attention on the new design board Joel had gotten.
“Yeah. That happened,” she muttered, the design board getting more interesting and prettier by the minute. “But I know I’m never going to make that decision ever again. Even if whoever I meet has everything life has to offer, I’m not giving up my job for him, or anyone.”
Joel searched her face with a curious look. He leaned forward in his seat and asked, “Does that mean you’re open to dating again?”