"Ms. Snow?" Juliette called to her and Caitlin looked at her assistant with a smile.
"Yes, Juliette?" Caitlin asked.
"They're ready for you," Juliette replied and Caitlin nodded her head. Today marked her 365th day of modelling, and she had made waves of progress across the board. When she had started modelling a year ago, she wasn't sure what to expect. A small-town girl, coming to New York to try and live her dream? It seemed too good to be true, yet, here she was, one of the most desired models. She took a sip of her coffee and her final bite of her salad before making her way out of her dressing room and towards the room the photo shoot was happening in.
Once there, she headed over to the director of photography and smiled at him.
"I'm Caitlin Snow," she held her hand out to shake, ever the polite woman. He looked at her hand for a moment before chuckling.
"Mark Smith, darling," he drawled. "And, if you're ever going to survive in this world, you need to be a bit more ruthless."
She frowned at him as she lowered her hand. Ruthless? That's not how she made it as far as she did. She didn't need to be cutthroat to "survive" in this world; her manners are what made her so likeable in the first place. She nodded her head tightly as she made her way in front of the camera. She was already in the fall outfit she was meant to be wearing. She was supposed to be modelling clothes for the fall and winter line and she loved the apparel they picked out for her. A cozy, grey knit sweater and skinny jeans, with a white t-shirt. Much the same of her regular wardrobe she'd wear for her everyday life.
They spent the next half hour taking photos, with the director calling out different poses for her to be in. Once they were finished, she shrugged off the sweater and handed it back to the designer.
"Keep it, it looked good on you," she murmured and Caitlin smiled.
"Thanks, Annie," she replied.
"And don't listen to Mark; there's something refreshing about seeing a model so sweet," Annie added with a quiet laugh and Caitlin grinned once more.
"Thanks," she murmured before making her way to her dressing room and rubbing the makeup off her face, sighing in relief as she did so.
Once she was makeup free, she headed out of her dressing room where she met up with Juliette, who was looking over her itinerary,
"You have a lunch with a Barry Allen tomorrow, Ms. Snow," Juliette said and Caitlin smiled.
"If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times: you can call me Caitlin," Caitlin replied and Juliette smiled embarrassedly.
"Caitlin," she amended and Caitlin laughed gently.
"Who's Barry Allen?" Caitlin asked curiously and Juliette consulted her notes.
"He's a new photographer; very interested in meeting with you to discuss the possible idea of modelling for his winter line," Juliette replied and Caitlin nodded her head.
"What time is lunch?" Caitlin asked as they made their way towards the entrance of the building, after Caitlin refilled her coffee cup.
"At one. He's aiming to sit down with you for a few hours and then you have that party to go to tomorrow night," she added with a wince and Caitlin sighed. Juliette knew that Caitlin wasn't the biggest fan of New York parties; had never been her scene. However, it was for an old friend, one of the first photographers who had used her for her line. It'd be rude to not go. She nodded her head.
"Alright," she murmured as they made their way out of the building and towards Caitlin's car. Her agent, Tim, had tried to convince her to get a driver but Caitlin was determined to hold onto the things she enjoyed for as long as she could and driving was one of those luxuries.
After dropping Juliette off, Caitlin made her way to her apartment in the Upper East side. Once there, she said hello to Robert, her door manager and made her way towards the top floor, where her studio was. After letting herself inside, she was greeted by Pepper, her three-year-old dachshund. She bent down and petted the girl.
"Hello, sweetheart," she murmured as Pepper tried to cover her whole face in kisses; she laughed gently as she scratched her behind the ears. This was her absolute favorite part of her day: coming home to her dog that loved and missed her while she was gone. She went into the kitchen to turn on the tea kettle and then filled Pepper's bowl with food, making sure to give her an extra treat for being gone so long during the day.
Once she had her cup of tea, she went to her room to change into comfortable sweats before making her way back towards her living room with her favorite book, settling into her arm chair. She got lost in the pages until it was a suitable time for dinner. After making herself a sandwich, she took it back into the living room and sat back down, with Pepper sandwiching herself between her legs. As she ate, Caitlin looked over her personal agenda, trying to find out what all she had to do this week. Three more photoshoots, an interview, and two parties. It was going to be a long week. Sighing, she got up and threw away her trash before heading to her bedroom, with Pepper following suit. She climbed into bed, snuggling into her pillows, and read until she passed out due to exhaustion.
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The next morning dawned bright and early, with a crisp feeling to the morning air. Caitlin headed into her kitchen to get her coffee going and answered emails and texts as she did so. Juliette had sent her a text to remind her about her lunch with Barry Allen and she smiled; that was the only thing on her agenda until the party.
The morning passed by quickly and soon, she found herself getting ready for her lunch meeting. She slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt she had found in a thrift shop when she was in college that she absolutely fell in love with. After making sure she had everything and had applied a light layer of makeup, she left and made her way to her car, after saying hello to Robert.
The drive to the restaurant they were meeting at was easy enough and soon, she was pulling in and parking. She made her way into the restaurant and looked around, spotting a man who looked to be in his late twenties standing up at a table and waving to her. She returned the wave with a smile and made her way over.
"Barry Allen?" Caitlin asked.
"The one and only," he chuckled, which she parroted. He held out her chair for her and she sat down as he made his way back around to his side of the table.
"I'm Caitlin Snow," she said politely as she held out her hand to shake. Unlike Mark Smith, he shook her hand with a gentle smile.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Snow," he replied.
"Caitlin, please," she said softly as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and he smiled.
"Caitlin," he corrected himself as she looked over the menu. Once they had placed their orders, they got down to business.
"I saw your work in Jane Patterson's line for last spring's collection and absolutely knew I wanted to work with you," Barry said earnestly and Caitlin smiled.
"Thank you," she murmured as she took a sip of her coffee. They talked about his ideas for his photoshoot.
"I want to do a winter theme, with the aim for it to circulate around the holidays," he said and she nodded her head. She loved the holidays, especially in New York, and knew she'd enjoy that photoshoot immensely.
"I was thinking an all-white wardrobe, with hints of red," he carried on.
"I love red," she enthused and he laughed gently at her excitement.
They continued to talk over the course of their meal, scheduling for a meeting the following Thursday, roughly, to talk about more of his ideas with his team.
"I'd love to do it," Caitlin agreed and he smiled.
"That's good, we'd love to have you. There's something incredibly humbling about a model who doesn't know how good she is," he murmured and Caitlin felt her cheeks tint pink.
"Thanks," she said softly. They finished their meal, with Caitlin giving him Juliette's number.
"Just call Juliette, my assistant, when you're ready to set up the next meeting," she said as he paid the bill. He nodded his head and hesitated before giving her his number.
"Here's my number if you think of anything else you'd like to discuss," he added and she looked at the slip of paper he had written his number on before smiling.
"Thank you," she said softly before adding him as a contact into her phone. She texted him from her phone.
"Now you have my number," she said and he smiled. They stood up with one final goodbye before parting ways.
Caitlin had barely made it to her car before her phone pinged with a notification. Looking down, she laughed quietly.
Something incredibly humbling about a model who doesn't know how good she is -Barry Allen
She drove away with a smile on her face, excited about what was to come.