Page 39 of The Model

Raine shook her head vehemently. If no one was trash-talking me, then what was it?

“Am I supposed to guess?” When she shook her head again, I started to get annoyed. It was too early to be playing games. For the last few days, I hadn’t been able to get into contact with Ryder. Last I knew, he was in New York, getting ready to head to Australia. We had planned to talk after he was settled and got some sleep, but with the time difference, it was hard to find a time for us to talk. After not hearing from him for three days after he arrived, I didn’t know what to think.

To top it all off, Ben had been calling me non-stop since I got home from Rio. I’d blocked his number on my iPhone, but he could still leave voicemails and took advantage, leaving at least one an hour. Every day he filled my voicemail with his endless rants. They were nasty, ugly, and hateful voicemails talking about all the horrible things he was going to do to me if he ever got the chance. I’d had my security system upgraded again while I was away, but it still didn’t make me feel one hundred percent safe. I was afraid to leave my house, but I was lucky to have Raine and to live in a big city where literally everything could be brought to your door.

With all that going on, I wasn’t sure if I could handle any more. Turning her phone so I could look at it, I nearly lost my breakfast. On Raine’s screen was Ryder with Lana in his lap. Lana was holding the phone out while she kissed his cheek. Ryder looked happy with one arm around her waist. They appeared to be in a nightclub of some sort. I couldn’t tell if it was taken in New York or Sydney, not that it mattered. This must have been why I couldn’t get a hold of him.

How had I been so wrong about him?

Ryder knew how I felt about Lana, and there he was with her. I wanted to be sick, scream, and at the same time, slash his tires if he had any. While I’d been missing him since we’d left Rio, now I was heartbroken.

“Why don’t we take the rest of the day off? The hotel has agreed to our terms, and I’ve got them booked for the entire week in December, so we should have plenty of time to get all the shots we want.”

Raine looked at me with sad, puppy dog eyes. “Are you sure? We still have so much work to do.”

“I’m more than sure. You’re tired and could use some sleep, and I need to wrap my head around the picture you showed me.”

“I’m really sorry, Lexie. I didn’t know what to do. I knew you’d want to know and hadn’t talked to him in a few days, but I also didn’t want to upset you.”

It was better Raine did it than someone else who was trying to hurt me. “No, you did the right thing. I needed to know the truth. While I knew Lana wanted to get in his pants, I never thought Ryder would fall for her.”

“Maybe you should talk to him and get his side of the story. Like you said—”

“Do you think that picture is lying?” I cut her off, not wanting to hear what else Raine had to say. “What about not being able to get into contact with him? Why isn’t he answering my calls or text messages?”

“I have no answers, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and I don’t think he’d do this to you.”

I dropped my head and tightened my hands into fists. “I know you thought this was going to be some epic love story, but it was just lust and convenience. Did you really think someone as young as Ryder would go months and months without sex while we were apart? I understand being young and having needs. I was young once too, but the fact that it was Lana…” I gritted my teeth at her name to prevent myself from crying. I knew that if I started to cry, I wouldn’t be able to stop, and I wanted to wait until I was alone and could wallow in my anger and heartbreak.

Raine stared back at me with tears in her eyes. I knew at any moment they’d break free, and once she started, I was going to follow right along with her.

Hopping up from my chair, I picked up a stack of headshots and handed them to her. “If you want to be helpful, go home and get some sleep. Once you’re caught up, start going through these and see if you think any of them will work for Mathers’ campaign.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m more than sure. You won’t do me any good when you’re running on no sleep.” Picking up my phone, I started for the stairs. “When are you going to find someplace else to live? I gave you a raise, so you don’t need a roommate if you don’t want one.” Raine’s eyes shifted to the side as she bit her lip. If she was using the extra money I gave her for something stupid, I would kick her ass. “What’s going on? And don’t even think about lying to me.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.” She pointed to her phone as if that made a point. “The only places I’ve found I can afford on my own are crap and far away.”

“Are you asking for another raise?” While I loved Raine as my assistant, I wasn’t going to let my liking her sway my judgment. She hadn’t worked here long enough to make any more than what I was paying her. If she worked anywhere else, she’d be making significantly less.

“Oh gosh no, I would never ask that of you, especially after you just gave me a raise. It’s just going to take some time.”

“Perfect, you’ve got time now. Get some sleep and then scour the internet for a new place to live. Forget the headshots, your job is to find a new place to live so you can work effectively for me.”

“I can do that,” she nodded vigorously, so hard, I thought she might strain her neck and then need to go to the hospital.

Internally I rolled my eyes at myself. I hated what Ryder had done to me. I’d opened myself up to him, had started to care about him, and maybe if I was honest with myself, had started to fall for him. Now I wasn’t acting like myself, and I needed to get over him so he didn’t affect my work.

“You deserve more than those shitty roommates you’ve got. If I knew of a place you could live, I’d tell you.” A thought popped into my head, and I started back toward her. “Did you check the building I lived in before? Maybe they haven’t rented out my old apartment?”

Raine’s eyes lit up like I’d just told her tomorrow was Christmas. “I hadn’t thought of that, although I’m not sure I could afford it.”

“It wasn’t that bad. Trust me, it also wasn’t that nice. I lived there for a long time. If you want, I could give the building supervisor a call and see if it’s still open. If it is, I can give you a recommendation. That is if Ben hasn’t soured him toward me. I know he was showing up almost daily for a while.”

“Oh my gosh, Lexie, that would be so amazing of you. I would absolutely love to live there.” She bounced in her seat, she was so happy. I hoped that my apartment was still vacant, and they’d accept her as a tenant. I’d give them my best recommendation and promise that she’d have a job with me for as long as she wanted.

“Let me call Henry and see if the apartment is still available before I get your hopes up too high.”

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