Liza was lost in her daydreams as she looked around the staged setting at a local bar. It took her back a few years ago, when she had restarted her life. Sitting at the bar, dressed in youthful clothes, it made her think of her past and the playful self that emerged with the ruse. It was a 'hot set' which she was told meant anyone could drop into the shots after signing some papers. Looking at Lauren with the clipboard, it looked like she was selecting all the extras for today.
Josh had unexpectedly shown up, and right away, Shelly demanded the story from him, of how the lie was created.
He started to tell Shelly how they met. Josh had a way of holding everyone's interest with his good looks and confident way of speaking. He wouldn't have known about this unless someone called and invited him. She glanced at Lauren, the likely culprit.
Josh said he would have believed anything she said, he wanted to just keep talking to her. Liza felt taken back to that moment, when she seized that opportunity to transform herself into that person he imagined her to be. She had a flashback to that life, the fantasy of being that young woman Josh was seeing. She recalled practicing with Maggie for a few days, crafting that image for herself.
Josh continued, mentioning he was drunk and it was a dark bar. He laughed as he looked in the direction of the group of assembled onlookers, mostly reps from the clothing brand. He was making an impression on them for sure, they were eating this up, taking some photos. He looked back at Liza, seeing if she would turn his comments into a joke, which she did. Her self deprecation was all that could save her now.
Liza felt a little hurt that he said that, but covered by being jovial about their first meeting. She was always under the impression that she looked the part she was playing. Maybe Josh just wanted to flatter her after all, and then went with it when she didn't correct him. That night would have gone so differently had she not humored his misconception. But she decided to smile back as he played with her necklace and said complimentary things to her. She could get through this if she just kept pretending. That's what models do, she just needed to act like one for a bit longer. And Liza was still friends with Josh, after all.
When they were done, Josh's admirers lined up trying to meet him. The young women and even some men weren't listening to a word he was saying as he discussed his business and his new baby. They were just looking at him. Liza knew this was always going to be the case for him. Whatever happened next for Josh in life, she knew he would be just fine. He was the kind of guy who always had options. Liza waved goodbye but Josh wasn't looking her way. He was in conversation with Shelly and her coworkers.
Liza headed back to the trailer to get back into her regular clothes. She saw the flowers and the note that was left there earlier. She reread the card, smiling at Charles' thoughtfulness. He knew how difficult today would be for her. "Good luck on your first day as a model. I would stay longer if I could, just know you are on my mind today. Love you, C."
She picked up her belongings and raced to the nearest cab to find Charles as soon as possible. He was busy making calls and trying to appeal to old investors. She texted him to arrange dinner at the office for the team and help plan their next steps. After everyone else left, she told him about the interview and they practiced together what she would say, sitting together on the sofa in his office.
"Come over tonight? Please?" Charles asked as they wrapped up their practice interview.
"I don't know. I want to be with you, but what if Pauline finds out? That could be bad for you, considering she thinks I'm unfit," Liza replied.
"I don't care what she thinks. She said to come to the school event. The girls are with her tonight anyway. So she can't be that upset anymore. If you want to, I'd love for you to spend the night. But I'm not going to beg."
She touched his cheek as he looked into her eyes. "Okay, I will. I miss having you next to me. It doesn't feel right." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly.
"If anyone asks, you're my emotional support person. That's legally protected, right?" he joked.
"Like a therapy dog? Am I your emotional support Liza?" She asked, keeping as serious an expression as she could manage.
He laughed. "I love you. Thanks for cheering me up." Liza broke from her solemn look and collapsed on his sofa in giggles, pulling him down with her.
…...
As they got ready for bed that night, Liza glanced in the bathroom mirror as Charles finished brushing his teeth. "I'm glad I touched up my roots before the photoshoot. Gray hair, well, in my case white, wouldn't have been good for my image as a person who wears colorful onesies."
"What, you have gray hair?" Charles teased. He finished washing his hands, then hung up his towel as he walked past her.
"You know I do. Don't play coy," Liza said, taking his hand.
"Well, the last few years haven't been kind to me either. "
"Hmm, are you blaming me for that?" She joked, but at times she felt guilty about the stress she was putting him under since he met her.
"Not at all. All the men in my family go gray at this age. But I could pull off that 'Just for Men' look, don't you think?"
"Yep. We can go around pretending we are thirty. Run away, invent new identities-"
"-Start writing spy thrillers under assumed names," he laughed, continuing her sentence as they walked to the bedroom. "You are a good writer. I knew that since you first offered to ghostwrite, then that socialite Jade's book. And I know you basically rewrote all of Pauline's novel. She probably is more upset that she lost you as an editor instead of just losing me."
She looked at him skeptically.
"I'm serious," he said.
She hit him playfully, then walked over to her side of the bed. "I've thought of writing my story. But first I have to climb higher up the corporate ladder so it has a good ending."
"Would I be in your book?" Charles was unsure if he wanted this again. The uncomfortable questions were just too much.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't do you dirty like Pauline did. But maybe some version of you could be in the sequel if my first one sells."
"I like how you think," he said, climbing into bed under the covers.
"What about yours?" She asked, thinking back to his unfinished book.
"Probably not going to happen. I closed that chapter in my life. No reason to open Pandora's box now."
"True. It was really good though."
Liza hoped one day she could convince Charles that his story was worth finishing.
