The Collection (Contemporary Reverse Harem 5)

Chapter 26

RAND

Ifound out about Kealy’s break-in from Cross the next day at a shoot for Ralph Lauren. As usual, it was hot as hell under the lights, which was melting the makeup I already hated so much. They had to keep stopping to mop me up.

“Dude, how is it you always sweat so much?” Cross whispered. There was a female model between the two of us, but she didn’t speak English.

“I know, right? Sometimes I wonder how I even keep getting these jobs.”

The makeup guy slathered another layer of powder on my face. If the shoot didn’t end soon, the stuff would start to landslide off my face in chunks.

Just then, the stylist brought over a nice, heavy winter jacket for me to wear on top of my already too-hot Fall ensemble.

Were they out of their fucking minds?

But I just nodded and shrugged the jacket on. It’d be over soon, and I’d walk out of there with a fat paycheck.

I just had to keep reminding myself of that.

Plus, my mind was full of thoughts of our girl. I couldn’t wait to reach out to her and hear her voice. I know she was okay because my buds had stepped up to the plate and taken care of her, but I had to hear it with my own ears.

Christ, I was turning into a pussy.

Another wardrobe change had me in a tux with the same non-English speaking woman as before, who was wearing a silk gown cut to her navel. She was stunning, no doubt, but like all female models, far too thin for my tastes. I wouldn’t have minded seeing that dress on the beautiful Kealy.

In fact, maybe I could get it for her.

The moment the shoot was over, I was in the makeshift dressing room for the male models and called her.

“Sweetie. Holy shit, Cross told me what happened,” I said.

“Can you believe it? I can’t even stay in my place until the landlord repairs the wall. And Fantine’s parents want her to move home.”

“I heard they got your sewing machine.”

“Yeah,” she said in a shaking voice. “I’m trying not to think about it.”

God, it sucked to hear her unhappy. I wished it had been me who’d been robbed.

“Hey,” I said, looking at my watch. “I just finished my morning shoot. How ‘bout I come by the office and take you to lunch?”

“Oh, that sounds great,” she said, perking up a bit.

Not twenty minutes later, I was in the lobby of Kealy’s building, cooling my heels and watching the lunch crowed stream out.

“Rand!”

I looked up to see none other than Muse, the bowtied dickhead who screwed over Kealy, grinning in my face like we were buds. For a moment, I thought of decking him, the way we’d handle things back in my Bronx days, but time and maturity had taught me there were much better ways of getting even with the fuckers of the world.

So, I stuck out my hand.

“Oh, hey. How’re you doing?” I asked.

“Heading out for lunch. It’s that time of day, you know!” he said cheerily. “Speaking of which, what are you doing here? We’re not having fittings this week, are we?”

I shook my head. “Nope, no we’re not.”

I debated telling him I was there for Kealy, but thought better of it.

“Well, it was good seeing you, Muse,” I said, looking past him to let him know he’d been dismissed.

He stood before me smiling for a moment until it sank in that our conversation was over.

“Well. Okay. I’ll see you around.”

He disappeared out the door and onto the crowded Manhattan sidewalk.

I watched dozens more fashion-types walk by since I was in a building full of designers and their teams, nodding to the folks who looked familiar from the show circuit. But when a warm hand landed on my arm, it was like no one else was around.

Kealy popped up on her toes to lay a hungry kiss on my lips.

I knew how she felt. When things got rough, it was normal to crave physical closeness. ‘Course I hoped she’d crave physical closeness with me, regardless of whether or not her apartment had just been broken into…

“Just saw your buddy, Muse,” I told her while I wrapped my arms around her and buried my nose in her delicious hair.

“Ugh, that creep,” she said as we unwound ourselves from each other.

Damn if she wasn’t adorable in some wide-legged pants with a small bib on the front. Reminded me of a sailor or something like that.

“What sounds good for lunch?” I asked.

She looked around and then up at the day’s beautifully clear sky.