Page 40 of Touch in the Dark

“Try to get some sleep. I’ll be okay, I just needed to talk to someone who knows. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hang up and lie down, worried as hell about Remi’s state of mind. He may come across as strong, but I know deep down his self-confidence isn’t what he actually portrays.

Damn, why do relationships have to be so hard.

Chapter Ten

“I know you’re taking a break, but I figured this is something you could be interested in. It’s nothing to do with BreakNeck, it would be your own thing, and they’re really interested in talking to you.”

“How did you hear about this?” I take a swig from the orange juice carton and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. I’ve built up quite a sweat in the gym this morning. I wasn’t expecting Janie to show up at my door. As far as I knew she’d gone back to L.A. for the holidays.

“A friend of a friend who is working on the campaign knows I’m your assistant. They were floating the idea of approaching BreakNeck. It makes her look good if you sign on with it. So she asked, and now I’m asking you,” Janie shrugs. “It’s actually a pretty good deal.”

“Me, a model?”

“You do it all the time.”

“That stuff with the band isn’t modelling, it’s just having pictures taken.”

“Nope. It’s modelling and,” she waves a hand. “Well, have you seen you?”

I’ve never got an attraction vibe from Janie, it’s why we work so well together. She’s like my annoying little sister, if I’d had one, Janie would have been how I imagined her. I think she feels the same. Despite eyeing my naked sweaty chest, it’s more about facts than ogling.

“I feel so objectified,” I tell her, putting the OJ back in the fridge.

“It’s an underwear campaign, they’re not gonna want some guy with saggy tits and a beer belly.”

A laugh bursts out of me. “Underwear? Like regular underwear?”

“Is there any other kind of underwear?”

“Well, yeah,” I wink and her cheeks pinken. “I’m not sure, Janie, I don’t know if I’m what they’re really looking for.”

“Stop with the fake modesty. You know you can do it and I’m pretty sure that now she’s floated the idea of being able to get you, they really want you for the campaign. You could make a pretty penny off of it. Plus, they’re going all out with this, they’re lining up a lot of celebrities, not models, it’s the whole point of the campaign. I have it on good authority that Bastian Halko and Hamish Morgan are taking part too.”

“Really?”

“When my friend said there could be a possibility of you being available, they told her to get you, by any means necessary.”

Bastian is Finnish and in a rock band of his own and Hamish Morgan is a well-known soccer star. I only know that because Archer is obsessed with Major League Soccer. Well, it will keep me busy I guess and she’s right, it’s nothing I haven’t done before.

“Okay, set up an initial meeting,” I say with a shrug. It could be something to keep me occupied, and like Janie says, it isn’t a BreakNeck thing. It’s a Nick Chambers thing. Underwear modelling. Shit, the guys are gonna have a field day. “What is the underwear like?” I ask as she is gathering her things.

“I thought we discussed that.”

“Last thing I want to do is tie myself to some weird Underoo catastrophe brand.”

“God,” she rolls her eyes and fiddles on her phone, then passes it to me showing images of men in tight underwear and women in provocative, yet normal looking underwear. These guys are real models. I scratch my chest.

“You’re the least self-conscious person I know,” Janie says. “You know how to model, and you know how to act in front of a camera. Do it or don’t, but if you do, I’ll love you forever.”

“You already love me forever,” I point out.

“That’s true,” she pulls on her coat. “But I only love you for your money, not your body.”

“That’s what they all say.”

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