Page 85 of My Ruthless Neighbor

Give me strength, mom. I am going to need it today.

With straightened shoulders, attention directed at the entrance, I stride forward. There’s no way I am going to show them my weakness.

The immense structure and polished interior catch me off guard even though this is not my first time here.

My eyes involuntarily move toward the interactive LED wall. Like last time, it’s displaying another advertisement created by KIM Advertising.

I stare at the full-body pictures of the models posing with bags of a famous brand. They are so beautiful. The colors are so rich.

“Do you like it?” a voice asks. I turn to find Hannah’s smiling face.

I nod, smiling back.

“Soon you’ll be on there too.”

I bite my lip. “You think so?”

She shakes her head no. When my brow creases, she says. “I know so. I love your outfit.”

“Too many colors, right?” I chuckle, stroking the hot pink headband.

“It suits you.”

I start to grin but it wavers. “I’m nervous.”

“It’s natural. When Raleigh and I had to do the photoshoots in Hawaii, I was nervous as hell.”

“How did you overcome it?”

“I didn’t. I was sweating and awkward while posing in front of the professionals.” She laughs softly. “But the tension left my body as the shoot progressed. Believe it or not, the whole team working behind the camera plays an important role in your shoot.”

“How?”

“It’s all about a personal connection with the people you are going to work with. One must build a relationship with the photographer and the team before starting the shoot. It affects the journey in a great way because you are all comfortable around each other.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, the photographer we hired for your test shoot is Raleigh’s good friend, Mason.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of him. Speaking of Raleigh… how did he take the news of you hiring me?”

She types something on her phone and then looks up. “Let’s find out.”

“What?”

“I just told him.” She points to her phone.

My eyebrows go up. “You told him now? Over a text?”

“Yeah.” She shrugs.

“You could have told him yesterday. He’s still mad about me not telling him about my apartment situation.” I should’ve called him myself. But the idiot is behaving like a brat.

He says I broke our pact by choosing someone else over him when I needed help.

I let him lecture me thinking he would get over it. No such luck.

“He’s just messing with you.”

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