“I wonder what that was about,” Joel murmured as he stepped in through the doors. Rina had been deep in a conversation with the photographer, so he met her in the hallway. She peered at him, noting the worry lines on his face.
“Is it some of my anti-fans?” They were always up to something, so Rina didn’t doubt the possibility of them causing some trouble with Joel. It was all the more reason she needed to get moving.
“It’s Mr. Graham. I met him outside and he seemed so … I don’t know, angry. Like I’d done something wrong. Remember when we got into that contract and I told you it felt like he was constantly attacking me? It felt like we were back on that page. I was going to schedule a meeting to split the output from the fashion show, but he didn’t even want to hear it. He asked me to keep it all.”
If Joel had paid close attention, he would have seen the sudden change in Rina’s eyes, how they watched him with an emotion that bothered on pity. He would have figured out that she knew the reason behind Zayn’s acting out.
“I don’t really know him that much,” Rina started, reiterating that fact just in case Joel had any reason to think differently. “But you told me he is a very busy person from working with him, and everyone in the country knows how he hardly engages in conversations with people unless it’s absolutely necessary. Maybe this is one of those times. I don’t think it has anything to do with you. Trust me.”
It was such an irony, when in fact, it had everything to do with Joel. However, he bought Rina’s words and nodded, finally looking up at her for the first time since he’d asked her out at the diner. Things had become really weird between them, more from his end than hers. He stopped going to the runway on the last floor because he didn’t want to run into her. Her office at the end of the second floor became off-limits to him, as he became tongue-tied each time he was before her.
Joel didn’t know how to sort out the mass of feelings he felt warring within him, but he knew he was going to have to let it go at some point. That morning, he decided to take things back to the way they once were, promising himself to give it enough time before asking again. But his decision was a tad too late as Rina handed him a slip there in the hallway.
It was a white envelope, with her name and signature on the body in a cursive print. His pulse suddenly started racing as he tore the envelope open. Blood rushed through his ears and a hollow echo followed as he retrieved the perfectly folded paper and read the content in one glance. Everything in him stopped as he pulled his eyes back to the top of the page, reading it again, much slower this time.
“I was going to send a mail,” Rina began, ripping through the odd silence that had settled between them. “But I didn’t think it was right, seeing as I didn’t start working here via email. Joel, I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me. You offered me the chance to get back on my feet when I had nothing to my name, and you gave me a platform to be seen out there. But it’s time for me to leave.”
“Is this because of what I told you? Rina you don’t have to…I can take it back. Forget I mentioned it. Just, stay for as long as you want.”
“It’s not that.” Rina shook her head emphatically. “I just can’t watch you take a hit from everything going on with me. It has nothing to do with you, and you are being dragged into it unnecessarily.”
“I don’t care about any of that.”
“Your sales are declining, Joel.”
“And it doesn’t matter!” He raked his fingers through his hair. “What matters is that I believe in you, and that fact that you are innocent of every accusation being hurled your way. And even if everyone decides to leave your corner, I won’t. You can’t force me away, Rina.”
“That’s not what I’m doing,” she answered, sighing. Rina had an inkling that Joel was only holding on so tight to her because of what he felt. He might think it was more than that, but their relationship, like he’d admitted, was founded on the grounds of his crush on her many years ago when she had no idea of his existence. Rina needed to be sure that when all of those feelings faded, he wouldn’t toss her out like Finn and every other person had done.
And that couldn’t be figured out when they were in each other’s spaces.
“So, what are you doing?”
“I’m an actress, Joel.”
“And a model. We’ve modeled before together when you were still with Scottsdale.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I model too. But when I was scouted, it was for acting. And if I am to make a grand comeback, I need to be there again. Not Scottsdale Entertainment, exactly, but in the movie industry.”
He looked at her with accusation in his eyes, and Rina was scared she had made something snap in him. “You found a job elsewhere, didn’t you?”
She swallowed and looked at the photographer for help, but he raised his hands in surrender and slinked away from view.
“Not exactly,” she answered, not wanting to worsen anything. But if she was still going to take the band-aid off at the end of the day, she might as well do it now. “I got an offer at a production house, and I want to take it. When that happens, I would be too busy to be present here the way you would want me to, with all the appearances at sets and the interviews. But if you still want me around, we can work out a part-time arrangement instead, but that wouldn’t be fair to you.”
A muscle worked in Joel’s jaw. The next time his eyes found hers, there was something in there she didn’t recognize. “Do whatever you want, Rina Power.”