Page 121 of Plus Size Player

“I’m in,” Taisha said quickly.

Jacqueline nodded. “Yeah, so am I.”

My face crumpled apologetically as I thought about Aaliyah’s party. “I can’t make it. I’m unavailable on Saturday.”

Remedy nodded. “Okay.” Turning to face the other two, she continued. “You two will receive an email and Angelica will work with you on your outfits later this week.”

The two of them squealed excitedly.

“Russell, did you get what you needed?” she asked, causing all three of us to turn around. “You left and I didn’t hear back from you.”

Looking pointedly at his sister, he approached the group. “I did.” He adjusted his jacket, looking like the pulled-together professional that he was. “And the table to the fundraiser has been secured.”

Remedy pumped her arm. “Yes!” Seeming to realize we were still standing there, she dismissed us. “Have a good rest of the week,” she told us.

We turned around and walked away. I glanced at Russ. And even though a flashback flutter churned my gut, I did my best not to stare.

“You are available on Saturday, aren’t you?” Remedy questioned.

“No, I’m not available on Saturday,” he answered. “Why?”

“Flavor Magazineis having an event…”

Walking out of the studio, I missed the rest of what Remedy was telling him.

“Did you hear that?” Taisha whispered excitedly as soon as we got outside. “We’re going to be going to aFlavor Magazineevent!”

Jacqueline clapped. “I need to call my cousin!” She gawked at me. “Are you really going to pass up this opportunity?”

I nodded. “It would be cool to go, but I can’t cancel my plans. It’s important.”

They shook their heads in disbelief and then we said our goodbyes.

I didn’t think saying no to the event would negatively affect my standing with RLF. I also didn’t think saying yes to Russ would negatively affect my work with RLF. And although I didn’t regret either decision, I had a nagging feeling both would come back to bite me in the ass.

18

Wednesday, 10:47P.M.

Russ: I’m sorry it’s late, but we should talk. Are you still awake?

I’d gone to bed thinking about him. It was sexy and exhilarating to have him fuck me in the middle of a shoot, and the feeling of him coming inside me replayed in my mind every fifteen minutes.

Squeezing my legs together, I let the thought consume me once again before I responded to his text message. I knew I needed to be strong and not let that man get under my skin. We hadn’t actually had a conversation and there was so much we needed to discuss.

Thursday, 7:41A.M.

Nina: Good morning, I was knocked out. I agree, we should talk. Are you free now?

“Russ,” I answered my phone ten minutes later. Clearing my throat, I greeted him again. “Hi.”

“I only have about ten minutes before I have to jump on a call, but I just…” He paused. “I wanted to hear your voice.”

I bit my bottom lip as warmth spread throughout my body. Turning onto my side, I rubbed my feet together. “Really?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Well actually, yeah.”

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