Page 41 of Plus Size Player

“I know what you’re going to say, and no,” she interjected, but her lips curled into a smile. “We’re just friends.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay.”

“I’m serious.”

I stared at her with my lips pursed until she glanced over at me and laughed.

“Well, then, who is at the top of your list?” I inquired.

“No one,” she whined. “I’m starting to think my soulmate was swallowed.”

My head fell back, and I let out a loud cackle.

Aaliyah dropped me off at home and after kicking off my shoes, I sat on the couch with my laptop.

“Here goes nothing,” I mumbled as I pulled up the email that I’d quickly read after landing.

Dear Nina Ford,

RL Fashions is a brand that is continuing to evolve from streetwear to casual chic styles. As we grow, we want our marketing to do the same. Your style caught our attention and then reviewing your stats on social media confirmed that you would be an asset to our team. We would like to invite you to be a brand ambassador model with RLF. In an official capacity, we would like to speak with you about being a model and exclusive style consultant. We understand how exclusivity may impact any current deals or contracts you’re a part of, so we would like you to review the contract attached. Please take the week to consider and then meet with our fashion scout Lori Smith on Friday to discuss further. If you accept the offer, I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely

Remedy Rose

Chief Creative Officer, RL Fashions

I had an even bigger smile on my face than I did the first time I read the email. Taking my time and absorbing the words, I was a mixture of excitement and nerves. Most of the email filled me with happiness. But the word “exclusive” made me nervous.

If I fulfilled my contracts and then went with the RL Fashions deal, I’d only have one source of income. Putting all my financial eggs into one basket felt risky. My first instinct was to decline the offer. But I didn’t know if I was operating out of fear or logic, so I pushed down my initial reservations and opened the attached contract.

“Whoa,” I breathed as the fifteen-page document popped open on my computer screen.

I spent the rest of the night going over everything in the contract, taking notes on what I read, and marking anything I had a question about. I reviewed the brand deals I had currently, and all of them required me to film fashion content for them. I still had content to film before I’d fulfilled my duties. I was almost done, so it would be about the time I’d look for additional work. But it had been a while since I’d had just one stream of income.

RL Fashions was paying well. The contract alone would provide me approximately the same amount as the five deals I had, combined. So for similar pay, I would be doing a little less work. There would be less organizational stress from running my own business, but a lot more oversight because I’d be working for someone. I would get exposure in a way that would take years to do on my own. But because of the fact that there was a no-compete clause, a nine-month commitment, and an intellectual property element, the deal gave me pause.

I didn’t know what to do.

I’d ignored all calls and texts and climbed in bed. I wanted to sleep on it before I made a decision. I spent Monday batch creating content. I went through all of the clothes that were sent to me, and I created videos until close to midnight. I started back up first thing Tuesday morning. It threw off my typical schedule, but I didn’t feel like I could fully consider the RL Fashions offer until I got things off my plate.

By Wednesday afternoon, I took a brief break from editing and scheduling my posts to return text messages from Aaliyah and Jazmyn. After dinner, I confirmed my comedy-show date with James for Thursday night. It was on my calendar, but I’d almost forgotten about it.

It’ll be a good way to clear my head before my meeting on Friday,I told myself.

But Thursday night as I drove to the comedy club, the meeting was the only thing I could think of. And since I didn’t talk about work with my dates, I picked up my cell and called my best friend.

“Hey,” I said as soon as Aaliyah answered the phone.

“Are you okay?” she wondered groggily.

My face twisted in confusion. I glanced at the clock to make sure it was before eight o’clock. “Are you asleep?”

“Yeah. I’m exhausted. Between trying to date, having these pointless-ass conversations on the app, and going to work, I’m beat.”

“Oh, sorry! Go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you. The sun was still out so I thought you might be up.”

She let out a sleepy laugh. “What’s going on with you? Is everything okay?”

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