“Arabella’s right,” Charlie, the company’s president an amazing woman in her fifties, stated. “But you’re also representing Arabella. She’s our crowning angel and she is the one who chose you for this gig so do her proud or she’s likely not to hire you again.”
“Didn’t know you had so much pull in the industry still,” Elise, an upcoming superstar of seventeen, said.
“You’d be surprised how far Arabella’s influence reaches,” Charlie said sending her a pointed look. “Why did you want to become a model?” she added when Elise rolled her eyes.
“Because I wanted to be noticed,” she stated.
“Who influenced you?” Calvin inquired snapping a picture.
“Fine, Arabella did,” she sighed. “Okay smiles and flirty glances will be all you’ll see or hear from me for the rest of the night…”
“If only,” Jasmine whispered to Bella putting a smirking glint into her eyes as the host let them know they’d just gone live. The music began to play, pushing away any thoughts or fears, and after Jasmine left the stage, she waited on the edge as the host readied her introduction.
“Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever in person, please welcome Angels’ shining star, returning tonight to the runway, the one, the only, the unmatched beauty of our very own Arabella Angel…”
Bella released the breath she’d been holding and put a genuine smile on her face as she stepped out into the middle of the runway and paused. She blew a kiss at their host, a floundering movie star who hadn’t had a hit in three years, and then began her walk down to the end. At the end of the runway, she paused to pose for photos and the close-up from the camera. Just before she turned to go, she caught Tyler’s gaze, she flashed another smile, sent him a wink and then sashayed back up the runway. She turned to look back at the crowd once more sending them a wave before dashing down the side to go change.
“Arabella, that was magnificent, and that wink…you wouldn’t be hiding something about you and that spectacular piece of manliness you came with and who’s sitting down in the front row, would you?” Charlie asked rushing over as they went to commercial.
“That’s Tyler, my best friend,” she told her slipping the dress over her head and discarding the swimsuit top.
“If my best friend looked at me like that, he’d be more than a best friend,” Charlie stated.
“Tyler has an appreciation for Arabella’s figure just like ninety-nine percent of the male population. Gotta go…” she said as her cue came up on the music. The show went surprisingly well, only a few hiccups they easily covered, and as she changed into her final outfit a dress that could be considered angelic if one decided to call it that, she let the hair and makeup people do a few touchups.
“Wow, you are breathtaking,” Jasmine said with envy.
“I agree,” Calvin said snapping photos.
“Richard hair down,” Charlie stated hurrying over as he secured the curls back into place.
“But it’ll lose the neckline,” Toby, the designer of it, argued.
“Not with Arabella’s hair,” Charlie assured him. “Hair down…it will blow them away Toby, trust me.”
Richard hurriedly took out the pins and began to flick pieces into place, but Bella shook her head and bent over so her hair fell down over her face. She ran her hands through it a couple times and then straightened up letting it settle around her shoulders and then flow down her back.
“Hopefully everyone’s taken their heart medication,” Richard laughed deeming it perfection.
Bella glanced in the mirror and had to agree that she did look amazing. The dress flowed perfectly against her body, caressing the curves and showing off her tiny waist before giving glimpses of her slender legs as she walked, the extra material trailing behind her giving her the aurora of being an actual angel. She adjusted the top of the dress and flattened the straps that began in the middle of the bust and went over her shoulders before connecting to the back of the dress, well what was there of it anyway, underneath her arms. Double sided tape and a perfect fit left her comfortable in the white silk shot with silver threads and able to beam a huge smile as she made her final walk.
“Angels’ own Arabella Angel, ladies and gentlemen,” the host said as she appeared. The crowd began clapping wildly but from the moment she stepped onto the runway she only had eyes for Tyler. The intensity in his gaze almost caused her to stumble and she glanced away from him before finding herself drawn back to him.
The combination of her hair, complete with silver highlights weaved within it, and the dress made her eyes stand out even more but the look that entered them as she looked back at Tyler was a standout moment of the night and the photos that were captured in that instant were declared the best ever taken of her.
She turned to walk back to the front of the runway and halfway down she paused looking over her shoulder with the sole intent of giving them a final smile, but she found Tyler’s gaze instantly and the crowd seeing the way her eyes light with something they couldn’t explain had them on their feet before she could begin to move again. She reached the front of the runway and turned opening her arms and giving them a slight bow as the rest of the models filed onto the stage from both sides and began to walk down it, stopping at equal distances between each pair.
Charlie and Toby joined her on the stage, and she bestowed kisses on each before they sent her down the to the end of the runway and as she took another bow the fake snow began to rain down like confetti, creating a winter wonderland scene to take them back to the stage. She saw the two models closest to her reach the center of the runway and she turned to follow them.
She stopped in the center between Charlie and Toby who were beaming and blew kisses to the crowd as the other girls left the stage. Charlie and Toby followed them and with a final kiss and wave, a puff of white smoke appeared, and she slipped through the heavy drapes allowing Tristan, the head of her personal security team, to lift her down onto the floor where she was instantly swarmed.
By the time the media had left it was closing in on eight-thirty and she needed to change if she and Tyler were going to make it to Reed Financials’ Christmas party at all.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to get changed…we’ve got a party to get to,” she said grinning at Tyler who was hanging back giving her the spotlight.
“Where are you going?” Toby asked staying her hands that would have begun to undo the straps.
“Our company party,” Tyler answered stepping forward to reach her side.