sixteen, next to her mother’s signature as guardian.
“My career belonged to the agency. My time belonged to the customer. My body wasn’t my own. Even my fears weren’t my own. I was asked once to pose naked, wrapped in giant snakes. I just had to suck it up and do it.”
She folded her hands on her lap. “Big boo-hoo, right? Being a model and living on the top of the world. People would kill for a chance like that. It’s not like doing shift work in a factory. I was lucky.”
His face remained expressionless. “You were a kid. All that had to be scary.”
Sometimes it had been. Other times, the city and the job were exhilarating. “I met Keith in New York.”
He waited a beat. “How old were you then?”
“Eighteen. He was older, educated, sophisticated. He knew about wine and could quote black-and-white art movies.” She’d thought Keith was her knight in shining armor. “When he walked in on a client manhandling me in the hallway, Keith put the man in his place and threatened to rip off his head if he came near me again.”
Keith had been her protector. He’d been a real man, not like the boys her age she’d been partying with.
“How old was he?”
“Thirty-four.”
“He seduced you,” Joe said in a flat tone.
“It wasn’t like that. We were friends first.” He’d been kind back then, interesting, exciting. “Apartment prices being what they are in New York, I rented with three other models who were more into the party scene than I was. Drinking, some light drugs, bringing home strange men.”
She made a face. “When Keith eventually offered his plush apartment, it was like a Cinderella story come true. He wooed me, and I fell for it.”
She’d been so incredibly happy for a while. The happiest she’d ever been. But then he told off more of her clients. And then he told off her agent. He went behind her back and canceled photo shoots that he didn’t think were appropriate.
“Eventually, my agency dropped me. At around the same time, Keith’s company was opening a new office in Wilmington, and he was transferred to a more senior position here. He asked me to come with him.”
The New York fashion world was for airheaded whores, he’d told her. In a smaller city, she’d find more family-centric work. They could spend more time together. He tossed the word family around until she was dreaming about white weddings.
But that wasn’t what she got after they’d moved from New York to Wilmington. Keith became more and more controlling, and she didn’t have her New York friends for support. She had nobody she could go to for help.
Joe turned off the TV, although the news wasn’t over yet. “When you met him, you were so used to others controlling every aspect of your life, it seemed natural to give him control over everything.”
Her first instinct was to deny that, but she couldn’t. Honestly, she was just trying her best not to cry, because, by some miracle, Joe seemed to understand. Not only did he know that she’d been weak, stupid, had let herself be abused, but somehow he didn’t judge her for it. She pressed her lips together.
He pushed to his feet and strode to the window to look out, his face inscrutable. “I’ll go check on things outside.”
Okay, just because he understood her, it didn’t mean he was interested. He was probably bored with her silly story. Of course he was. This was nothing but babysitting for him. He probably had a lot better things to do, with people a lot more interesting than her.
“Won’t your girlfriend miss you tonight?” she asked from her desk. “You can go. Seriously.”
“No girlfriend. That’d interfere with my hordes of other women,” he said in a dry tone.
Oh God. He probably thought that she’d been fishing for information. “None of my business,” she rushed to say, but he was already through the door and she didn’t think he heard her.
Great. Now he probably thought she was after him.
Chapter
“My career belonged to the agency. My time belonged to the customer. My body wasn’t my own. Even my fears weren’t my own. I was asked once to pose naked, wrapped in giant snakes. I just had to suck it up and do it.”
She folded her hands on her lap. “Big boo-hoo, right? Being a model and living on the top of the world. People would kill for a chance like that. It’s not like doing shift work in a factory. I was lucky.”
His face remained expressionless. “You were a kid. All that had to be scary.”
Sometimes it had been. Other times, the city and the job were exhilarating. “I met Keith in New York.”
He waited a beat. “How old were you then?”
“Eighteen. He was older, educated, sophisticated. He knew about wine and could quote black-and-white art movies.” She’d thought Keith was her knight in shining armor. “When he walked in on a client manhandling me in the hallway, Keith put the man in his place and threatened to rip off his head if he came near me again.”
Keith had been her protector. He’d been a real man, not like the boys her age she’d been partying with.
“How old was he?”
“Thirty-four.”
“He seduced you,” Joe said in a flat tone.
“It wasn’t like that. We were friends first.” He’d been kind back then, interesting, exciting. “Apartment prices being what they are in New York, I rented with three other models who were more into the party scene than I was. Drinking, some light drugs, bringing home strange men.”
She made a face. “When Keith eventually offered his plush apartment, it was like a Cinderella story come true. He wooed me, and I fell for it.”
She’d been so incredibly happy for a while. The happiest she’d ever been. But then he told off more of her clients. And then he told off her agent. He went behind her back and canceled photo shoots that he didn’t think were appropriate.
“Eventually, my agency dropped me. At around the same time, Keith’s company was opening a new office in Wilmington, and he was transferred to a more senior position here. He asked me to come with him.”
The New York fashion world was for airheaded whores, he’d told her. In a smaller city, she’d find more family-centric work. They could spend more time together. He tossed the word family around until she was dreaming about white weddings.
But that wasn’t what she got after they’d moved from New York to Wilmington. Keith became more and more controlling, and she didn’t have her New York friends for support. She had nobody she could go to for help.
Joe turned off the TV, although the news wasn’t over yet. “When you met him, you were so used to others controlling every aspect of your life, it seemed natural to give him control over everything.”
Her first instinct was to deny that, but she couldn’t. Honestly, she was just trying her best not to cry, because, by some miracle, Joe seemed to understand. Not only did he know that she’d been weak, stupid, had let herself be abused, but somehow he didn’t judge her for it. She pressed her lips together.
He pushed to his feet and strode to the window to look out, his face inscrutable. “I’ll go check on things outside.”
Okay, just because he understood her, it didn’t mean he was interested. He was probably bored with her silly story. Of course he was. This was nothing but babysitting for him. He probably had a lot better things to do, with people a lot more interesting than her.
“Won’t your girlfriend miss you tonight?” she asked from her desk. “You can go. Seriously.”
“No girlfriend. That’d interfere with my hordes of other women,” he said in a dry tone.
Oh God. He probably thought that she’d been fishing for information. “None of my business,” she rushed to say, but he was already through the door and she didn’t think he heard her.
Great. Now he probably thought she was after him.
Chapter
Similar Books
