Page 71 of King of Envy

Plus, as much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. My head wasn’t in the game. Two hours into the Sage Studios denim shoot, and we’d yet to nail any of the photos. I hadn’t struggled this much during a job since I got food poisoning in Milan and vomited all over a ten-thousand-dollar gown.

“Sorry.” I forced a smile. “I’m ready. I’ll focus.”

Wentworth stared at me for a second before he heaved an exaggerated sigh. “No. Everyone, take five. Get some fresh air, bang it out in the fucking bathroom. I don’t care. But when we’re back on set, I need youallat the top of your game, you hear me? Let’s go!” He snapped his fingers. “Chop, chop!”

The crew of assistants, stylists, makeup artists, and hairdressers dispersed. Chatter filled the studio, and a few people threw sympathetic glances my way as I headed for the nearest window.

I cracked it open an inch and sucked in a greedy lungful of cool September air. I hadn’t eaten since the green smoothie I’d downed for breakfast, and I was feeling a little lightheaded from the stress and hunger. Wentworth barking orders in the background didn’t help. God, I despised that man.

He’d acted professionally so far, but his mere presence creeped me out. I’d seen and heard too many things to be fully comfortable around him, even if we were surrounded by other people.

If only Vuk were here.The thought floated, unbidden, through my head. He had nothing to do with the fashion world, but as intimidating and infuriating as he was, he made me feel safe. I was certain that if the apocalypse happened tomorrow, he’d know exactly what to do to keep us alive. He was that capable.

Unfortunately, he was also the reason I was bombing this shoot.

It’d been almost a week since Vuk left me standing on the street after I tried to kiss him. The more I thought about it, the more guilt and embarrassment ate me alive, yet I couldn’tstopthinking about it.

The way he’d looked at me, his grip on my wrist and the rough words he’d whispered in my ear…

I hadn’t understood what he said, but it didn’t matter. The memory sent a warm shiver down my spine. Every damn time.

The makeup artist approached me. “We’re shooting again in a minute. Let me touch you up first.”

“Of course.” I swallowed my turmoil and closed the window. “Thank you.”

While the team fussed over my hair and makeup, my mind drifted back to last weekend.

I hadn’t seen or spoken to Vuk since, and I was starting to second-guess my gut. Maybe he wasn’t attracted to me. Maybe the alcohol had made me delusional, and I’d simply manufactured the vibes I’d felt.

If that were true, he was probably disgusted by my shamelessness. To him, I was nothing more than someone who’d tried to cheat on her fiancé weeks before her wedding.

If that wasn’t true, and he really was attracted to me…well, that didn’t change much, did it? Unless he was willing to jeopardize a thirteen-year friendship for short-lived gratification.

I let out a soft groan. This was all so much easier when I was drunk.

The hair and makeup team finished their touch-ups, and I took my place again in front of the camera.

Wentworth looked me up and down. “Beautiful,” he said, his eyes lingering a little too long on my chest and legs. “But that isn’t enough. Let me see that famous Ayana Kidane spark.”

The sooner I nailed this, the sooner I could leave, so I pushed aside my discomfort and all thoughts about Vuk and the wedding.

If I could shoot a winter campaign in Iceland wearing a backless gown and stilettos while I was on my period, I could do this.

I took a deep breath and let the rest of the room fade away until it was just me, the camera, and the rhythmic click of the shutter. The rest of my life might be a shitshow, but this? This was my element.

For the next few hours, I posed and improvised and played off the rising energy in the room. I didn’t have to think; I just let my body flow into the positions naturally.

French electronic music played in the background, underlaying Wentworth’s exclamations of “Gorgeous!” and “Perfect!” We stopped intermittently for more touch-ups and wardrobe adjustments, but the shoot went so smoothly, we finished before sunset.

“Good job, everyone,” Wentworth said after we wrapped. “This campaign is going to be smashing.”

I changed and checked my phone while the crew packed up. I had new messages from my family and Indira—who was asking,again, whether I could set her up with Vuk—but nothing from Vuk himself…which made sense, considering I’d never given him my number.

But the disappointment stung all the same.

“Fantastic job, sweetie. I knew you could do it.” Wentworth’s voice in my ear made me jump. I jerked my head up to find his face inches from mine, and iron restraint was the only thing that kept me from kneeing him in the balls.

“We had a rough start, but it turned out well, yeah?” His smile had the opposite of its intended effect.

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