Rina remembered him from the previous night when he’d offered to take a picture of her. Without the cloak of the night hovering behind him, he looked taller than she remembered, with his hair tousled, like he had just rolled out of bed. He directed a lazy smile her way, and pulled his gaze off her, saying something to the director of media. But at intervals, his eyes found hers again, as if searching into her.
She had to change the dress she had on into the last one for the day. It was a part of the denim line and the shoot was meant to be done with the rest of the models a single shot for each of them and then a group shoot. She got handed the denim and the bodysuit that was to be paired with it, but before she could walk back behind the screen, the man from the previous night approached her. He was still in the same pair of pants he’d had on the previous night, and Rina was tempted to ask if he had really rolled out of bed.
“I was hoping for a more mind-blowing entrance but I had to settle for this since the company wouldn’t allow me to land on the roof in my private jet,” he said when he got to her. “But you’ve got to admit that it worked, even in the slightest bit. You were surprised to see me here.”
“Maybe,” Rina shrugged. “You could have said something last night, you know? I stood there trying to gauge whether you were a petty thief when all the while, you knew I was here to work for Claire.”
“I thought about it but decided that this was much better. There was a pleasant surprise in your eyes when I walked in and for the rest of your shoot. Your mind kept going back to our meeting last night, and you kept wondering if there was anything you could have said or done differently, anything that could have given my real identity away. But I am not as popular as you are. While you’ve gone global, I am still a little-known model in Hong Kong. But someday, I’m going to be like you, Rina Powers.”
“Without the drama, I hope,” she mumbled under her breath. “You sound so confident that I’d been thinking all of those things when I watched you walk in. You can’t be so sure.”
“I know because I was staring, and you were too.”
Rina scoffed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” he drawled.
“I wouldn’t call that staring. More like, I was wondering how I wasn’t able to tell right away that you were a model. I’m usually a very discerning person. Perhaps, it’s because we met at night. I would have sworn you were a photographer.”
“And you would not have been totally wrong. Because I manage my own page, I dabbled into a little bit of photography so I could take some of my pictures without needing professional help. And I’m also an artist. I paint.”
Rina couldn’t resist. “Did you by any chance just get out of bed?”
“What?” There was amusement in his eyes.
“It’s just that you are wearing the same pair of jeans from last night, so…”
“Oh!” He burst out laughing, tears pooling at the sides of his eyes. “I didn’t just get out of bed. I worked overnight at my art studio and I didn’t have an extra pair of jeans to change into that weren’t from Claire’s line, so I decided to go for these again. It’s one of the few times I wish I could appear in public with regular jeans, but the thought disappears from my mind when I stare at my closet back at home.”
“That explains it,” Rina nodded, pushing away the urge to ask him to explain the hair away as well. It was probably one of his greatest features as a model. He had great hair and he was totally aware of it.
“Hey, Adam. I thought you weren’t going to be able to make it,” one of the girls from the photography team said, stopping beside him. She batted her lashes and parted her lips slightly as she regarded him, waiting for a response. Rina could tell there was a crush in there somewhere, but she wasn’t sure if it was shared by both parties.
Deciding to make herself rare so as not to get enemies on her first day, she found an empty room to change, taking the yellow dress off and shrugging into the jeans. It fitted perfectly like it was tailored with her in mind, which could have been the case. Giving herself a once over in the mirror, she walked back into the studio, only to be accosted by the makeup artist and the hairstylist. They spent the next thirty minutes working on her face and hair, while someone ordered drinks for the house. Adam brought hers over and winked at her before walking away to perhaps start his own shoot.
Rina wondered what Zayn would do if he found out that one of the models was flirting with her. Would he act with nonchalance or would he make one of those obnoxious demands that no one could go against? A part of her thought it would probably be the former. For starters, he was ignoring her messages after asking her to send him pictures of her day.
The mere thought made Rina upset.
“Ms Powers,” the makeup artist called softly. “You are frowning. It’s going to crease the makeup.”
Rina hadn’t realized her thoughts had found expression on her face. Mumbling an apology, she made her face devoid of every expression. A mirror was wheeled to her when both of them were done, and Rina looked at her reflection, pleased with what she saw. The makeup was very natural, highlighting her already pretty features, and her hair was let down in its wealth of curls and shine.
“Hey,” Adam was back in the room. His eyes shone in pleasure as he gave a once-over, before blinking rapidly. “It’s time for you.”