Page 31 of Milked

“He is definitely hot,” I said, careful with my words. “There… might be some interest there. How about you? Any luck finding a job?”

“Shh, they don’t know I’m looking for another day job. The late nights and early mornings are killing me. But yes, I have an interview coming up next week with Cross Corp. It’s a general contracting firm, but it’s massive, like billions of dollars massive. They construct things like hospitals, museums, and such. Hanley Cross owns it, and his son, Hugh Cross, and his cousin, Linden Pierce, are VPs. I had to look them up. Hugh and Linden are in need of an executive personal assistant. I did that for a couple of years, and I was good at it, dammit, but the boss man was abhorrent.”

“Are you sure you want to do that again?”

“For eighty thousand a year? Yes, please.”

“With that, you can even get your own place.”

Altas reached for me and pinched my cheek. “And leave this gorgeous face? I think not.”

I brushed him away and rolled my eyes before taking another sip of coffee.

“Well, I wish you luck then.”

“I probably won’t get it. They need someone with vast amounts of experience, more than my measly two years, but it doesn’t hurt to try!” Then Atlas stood and kissed my head. “Break’s over.”

“Weirdo,” I chuckled.

“And good luck yourself with your new boy toy,” he winked.

Chapter 11

Finn

ItwaslateSeptemberwhen Casey and I rode the train together as we made our way toward New York City. We had to get ready for the high fashion season with fall and winter clothes.

I could’ve had one of Father’s drivers take me, but Casey liked the train and wanted me to go with him to keep him company. Hell, I didn’t mind the train so much, either.

There was a photo shoot with a renowned French photographer, Marc Laurent, who could make our careers skyrocket. While Casey was excited, I was apprehensive. Marc Laurent had a… reputation beyond his photography skills, and not in a good way.

Regardless, this shoot was important. It allowed us to showcase our physical appearance, posing abilities, and personalities, to expand our portfolios and get more exposure. I had a good portfolio, but Angela, the agent Casey and I shared, wanted it expanded further. She was confident that we were good enough to boost our careers.

I’d only been modeling for about a year, right out of college, and I loved it, working runway shows and the attention it gave me. It was the exhibitionist nature inside me. I loved all eyes on me, especially Father’s when I was fooling around with Ryder, knowing he was turned on as much as I was. The hours could be grueling, and you starved a lot at this job, but those things didn’t bother me. The idea that people looked at me and saw me as some beautiful object was enough to deal with the negatives of the job.

I’d met Casey Barnaby on the job, and because he also lived in Washington, DC, and had the same agent, we became friends, I guess. It wasn’t the kind of friendship one would expect. Making close connections in modeling wasn’t easy with our busy schedules and fierce competition. In fact, competition was constantly encouraged.

All in all, I didn’t really have any true friends. It was just as well because it protected my relationship with my stepfather.

Casey sat by the window as the world blurred by, leaning against me and resting his head on my shoulder as he scrolled through his phone. I often wondered if he was attracted to me, but he’d never made any move to tell me, which was fine. I’d almost asked Casey to be our third, but I didn’t like him enough. Ryder had been the perfect choice.

Ryder…

I smiled at the thought of him and his pretty hazel eyes, which periodically turned shy. He was so innocent, yet eager to learn about his sexuality. Fucking adorable. He was also so sweet, kind, and polite. I didn’t think he had a mean bone in his body. I hoped DC wouldn’t change that or eat him alive. This city could make or break you if you didn’t grow up here. It wasn’t made for the weak.

WhyhadRyder moved here? Why change your life so drastically that didn’t involve a major career change? Hechoseto move here for reasons unknown. Father believed something happened to Ryder back in his hometown, and he ran, but he had no idea what exactly.

“Angela is trying to set up a runway show with Gucci at the end of the year for me,” Casey said, interrupting my thoughts.

“Nice. I hope you get it. She’s already set up that show for me. We’ll get to work together again.”

“Oh…” He sounded disappointed. Jealous, even.

Working for Gucci was a fucking big deal. Angela got me the job easily because I was a professional and never complained or said no. The modeling industry only wants human hangers for clothes who keep their mouths shut. We were only objects to them—a commodity. It didn’t bother me in the slightest. Father loved me, and that was enough.

I could understand Casey’s jealousy, though. Everything came easy for me, growing up wealthy. Losing Mom was a blow in my life, but loving Knox helped with that. We both got through the grief together. At first, I had no intention of having sexual relations with my mother’s husband, but he was hard to resist the closer we grew.

Casey was raised by a single mom who struggled to make ends meet. The money he earned helped her, which was cool for him to do and showed an empathetic side I rarely got to see.

---