Page 23 of Love Me Gently

Grabbing my personal cell, I called my mom.

“Cole? Honey? What is it?” It was late, and if she wasn’t sleeping, she was almost there based on her groggy voice.

“It’s Trina. She needs me.”

A soft thump echoed. My guess was it was my mom’s feet hitting the floor, and then my mom spoke. “Your dad and I will be there in ten.”

Ten

Trina

Then

It was happening.My dreams were coming true. The sky was hazy with thick, gray spring clouds and cool wind still whipped through my winter coat. I dodged sludge puddles left and right as I hurried down the sidewalk, now a master at weaving in and out of pedestrians in New York.

The city thrummed in my veins. The noise at night my lullaby.

It’d been three months since I met Robert. His photos of me landed me two small roles at open casting calls, one for a body soap ad and the other for a juice drink. Earlier today, he’d called and said we had to meet. He had exciting news to share with me.

Which meant that the dreary, wet air had nothing on my bright mood or my overly large smile as I shoved my way through the glass doors at the Whisk Agency. I strode with purpose toward Corinne, the woman I met that first day who sat behind the main reception desk.

“Hi Corinne,” I said, breathless with anticipation. I unwound my thin scarf at my neck. “Is Robert ready for me?”

She checked my ID I handed to her every time and barely spared me a glance. “You may head up, Miss Mills.”

I tried to get her once to call me Trina. I’d been Miss Mills ever since.

I still called her Corinne, figuring at some point, I’d break through her distant manner.

“Thank you.”

She waved a hand elegantly toward the elevators as her eyes slid to someone behind me. “How may I help you?”

I all but skipped toward the elevator banks, Corinne’s dismissal unable to put a pall to my mood.

I’d been on pins and needles, bubbling with excitement ever since our quick phone call four hours ago.

“I have excellent news for you, Trina.”

“Well, what is it?” My fingers tapped a rhythm on the kitchen counter, and I flashed wide, hopeful eyes to Stella.

“I’ll tell you tonight after the shoot but come prepared and ready to celebrate.”

I hung up the phone, grabbed Stella’s shoulders, and squealed so hard she flinched.

This was it.

My moment. Good things were coming, just as Robert predicted.

The elevator doors chimed, and I stepped in, repeatedly pressing the button to take me away to the twentieth floor and my dreams coming true. He’d never called me before unless it was to change an appointment time. Eight times I’d sat for him, and now I was comfortable doing anything he asked of me.

Even today, knowing we were “stretching my limits,” as he’d suggested on the phone, didn’t make me nervous.

Robert was my catalyst to everything I dreamed of unfolding. So far, he’d shown me he was going to make good on his promises.

I trusted him.

The plush,black velvet beneath me was almost as soft as silk draped over my thighs. Every time Robert suggested I move a leg and adjust my position, it slid, threatening to expose the very last hidden part of me.

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