Closer

“No thank you, that will be all,” he says, giving the model a glance before turning to Rebecca and me.

The model pauses and looks to us for clarification before we nod and she exits the room. Once the door is closed Rebecca turns to Lucas.

“You didn’t even give her a chance to talk. A lot of this is based on personality. I asked you to come give me your advice, not take over.”

His eyes flicker to me then back to Rebecca. “Rebecca, you asked me to help you. This beautiful line you’ve created is size inclusive. Which means every size, right?”

“Of course,” Rebecca says to him with pride in her voice.

“I’ll stay quiet if you want me to, but you need to remember who this is meant for.”

He turns his eyes on me again, but this time he doesn’t look away. Under the power of his gaze I wiggle in my seat. Does he want me to say something because I’m plus size? I want to agree with him that the face of the campaign should represent everyone, but that’s not my job today. I’m in charge of presenting the models who have been sent through agencies and to answer questions when I’m asked.

“Let’s continue,” Rebecca says, oblivious to her brother staring a hole into me. “This time, Lucas, can you try to keep your opinion until the end?”

He finally looks away from me and nods at her. I watch out of the corner of my eye as he crosses his arms over his chest and leans back in his chair.

I announce the next model, who is similar to the one before, but she’s blonde rather than brunette. Rebecca asks her a few questions and we take a photo before she leaves. As the door closes, Rebecca turns and gives me a questioning look. I shake my head and she nods.

“Yeah, me neither,” she says.

Lucas remains silent.

For the next three hours it’s the same thing. It’s daunting to have the same reaction, but I’m starting to think Lucas was on to something. I could tell by the first three steps they took into the room that they wouldn’t be what we were looking for. Maybe Rebecca should have specified more curves from the agencies when she sent out the requests.

“I did,” she says when I quietly ask her about it. “I told them I wanted all shapes, sizes and colors. But I swear it’s like they sent a Xerox copy of the same woman fifty times.”

I feel Lucas’s eyes on me again, but I ignore it. He’s driving me crazy since he decided to keep quiet. All I want to know is why he keeps looking over here.

“Let’s take a break. I’ve had lunch brought in, so get something to eat and then we’ll finish the rest of the models afterwards.”

As soon as I stand up, he’s on me. He holds out my chair and steps close as I stand up.

“Thank you,” I say as I go to walk past him, but he doesn’t move.

“I need you,” he says, like he’s gotten his words twisted. He shakes his head and tries again. “Go out with me. Tomorrow.”

There’s no question in his words, just a statement telling me what I’m going to do. I can’t help but laugh a little. “What?”

The thought of going on a date with Lucas is crazy sauce. Why would he ever ask to go out with someone like me? He could have that hallway full of models and they’d probably be okay sharing even a piece of him.

“I’m sorry. I’m not doing this right. Would you go with me to the Stein Gala tomorrow night? I’d like you to be my date.”

Oh shit, he’s actually serious.

“Um, I don’t know,” I hedge, needing a moment to process this.

First of all, he’s asking me out. Holy shitballs. Second, I know I don’t have a single thing that’s appropriate for a gala or whatever the hell that is.

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Rebecca says as she walks back over with a plate of food. “Our mom has been on him about taking someone, and Lucas lied this morning and said he had a date already when he didn’t.” She rolls her eyes and smiles at him like this is his normal behavior.

The idea that he’s asking me because he needs to cover his lie to his mom makes me feel so stupid and a little pissed off. I might not be on the same level of women that he’s used to, but I’m worth more than that.

“No thank you,” I say as I brush past him and make my way over to the food table.

Suddenly I feel like I want to cry. I’m mad at myself for momentarily living in a fantasy world and getting my hopes up. What was I thinking? Of course a guy like him wouldn’t want me.