He retreated at the last moment as he stood in front of the agency's front door. He was overwhelmed by a fear he could not explain. Furthermore, he was terrified at the thought of having to enter a place he didn't know. Into a building where strangers were hanging around.
Mark didn't like to accost people to ask anything. Even if he had a serious problem, it made him shake from the inside, and he couldn't control it. He usually made a fool of himself in such a situation, and the more he thought, the worse he came out of it.
He blinked his eyelids as he was pushed forward. Likewise, he looked over his shoulder, noticing the grimace on the face of the girl who accompanied him.
Samantha was unhappy that he had first forcibly dragged her out of the house, and now he was cowering. She had other things to do, so she didn't need to come here with him, but his pleading look made her unable to refuse him. If she hadn't been here currently, he probably would have fled this place long ago.
But she won't let him. She will make Mark braver; she will make him a real man who will be able to handle any matter.
With a nod, she pointed to the door, informing him that it was time for him to go inside. The teenager bit his lip, looking stressed. Places full of people frightened him to the point that he panicked worse than a girl during her first period.
- You will lead you there by the hand. - Samantha fixed a pitying gaze on him, feeling sorry that he was born with such a hopeless character. In private, he could show his horns, and when it came to public places, he would take the form of a frightened puppy.
- You don't have to hold my hand, but come inside with me," he announced in an offended tone.
The teenager rolled her eyes and slipped past the brunet, boldly heading for the door. She opened it wide and, with a flick of her finger, ordered him inside.
Mark hesitantly crossed the threshold, which made the girl nervous. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to speed up his step.
They approached the woman, who, after seeing a business card, directed them to where Naomi was.
- And what's so hard? - She asked as they entered the elevator. Mark turned his face away from her and hastily denied it.
The doors didn't close all the way because someone put their foot in to join them.
Samantha looked carefully at the gray-haired man, who, correcting the dark glasses on his nose, stood beside them crossing his arms over his chest. Ignoring her insistent gaze, he stared ahead at one point, in profile looking like a Greek god. His dismissive posture communicated complacency, and his handsome appearance gave him overconfidence.
However, the teenager liked exactly that. She liked men who were handsome and looked down on others. She believed that they were interesting enough to be of interest.
- I saw the devil in an angel's cowl," she spoke up, holding a finger to her lips.
Mark furrowed his brow, not quite understanding what she was talking about. Only when he turned his attention to her face did he realize he was looking at the boy accompanying them.
He felt a stab of jealousy as he measured his figure. The white boxer shorts he was wearing showed a muscular body that had cost him months of work. He looked cool enough in designer clothes to make a teenager jealous of another guy for the first time.
Alex glanced at Samantha, and a cynical smile twisted his face. He liked it when girls looked at him that way. Then he felt even more attractive.
- You are famous, aren't you? - She finally asked when he turned his attention to her. - I've certainly seen you in a few commercials. That face is impossible to forget.
Mark raised an eyebrow, surprised by her bold words. She spoke straight out what came to her tongue. She felt no shame at all.
- That face can't be forgotten? - repeated Alex, stroking his chin with his hands. - If you think so, then know that your beauty will not be erased from my mind for a long time either. Too bad you're not famous," he declared, smiling under his breath. The elevator stopped at the right floor, and the gray-haired man stepped out into the corridor and turned to face them before the doors closed. He slid his glasses slightly off his nose and let the girl's eye wander.
Samantha opened her mouth, feeling her heart jump out of her chest. She was so excited that for a moment, she forgot about the peer accompanying her.
- Such a playboy, it makes me sick. I have noticed that girls like complacent idiots because at my school such morons are most successful. They play with girls, and they still have heart palpitations. - The teenager was outraged that most of the women had no dignity and flew after boys who took advantage of this.
He shifted his gaze to Samantha, who pressed her hand to her left breast. With wide-open eyes, she stared at the door, looking like she was about to have a heart attack.
- Just such idiots," the brunet commented with envy in his voice. Although his thoughts were clearly different from his words, which were a lie. He could not admit that he would like to be in the place of the arrogant idiot who for a brief moment charmed a female friend from his neighborhood.
They got off at the next floor. Samantha asked passing people about Naomi's whereabouts, and eventually, they came upon a person who led them to the model.
They knocked on the door and when they received permission to go inside, Samantha warned her friend and was the first to stand in the threshold. She noticed that the model glanced at her with her eyes, as if assessing her appearance. It must have been her habit to compare girls she didn't know to each other.
- Who are you, and why did you come here? You don't look like a stylist, hairdresser or makeup artist," she spoke up mockingly, thinking the teenager looked tacky.
The teenager snorted under her breath, preparing an insult toward the vain girl, but Mark walked past her, poking her with his shoulder. He realized that her character would not allow her to take a punch, so he interjected:
- It's me. Yesterday, you asked me to come here. You know... uniform," he said, nervously massaging the back of his neck.
At the sight of him, Naomi's eyes momentarily lit up. She rose from her seat and walked closer to him so she could look at his face. She was enchanted by his princely features, so she did not allow herself to think that a boy with such looks could be someone ordinary.
Furthermore, she believed there was something about him and wanted to get to know him better. All this couldn't be a mere coincidence.
He was made for her.
The model grabbed him by the shoulders and led him deeper into the room. She seated him in an armchair, which clearly surprised the already abashed boy. He opened his eyes wider and bit his lip, watching her every move.
The teenager noticed that Naomi was interested in her neighbor, which seemed a little strange to her, since she was not an ordinary girl, but a famous model. Her face expressed intrigue, so Samantha easily guessed that Mark had caught her eye. What's more... she was so fascinated by him, as if she had just met Prince Charming.
Didn't Mark see that? Was he so stupid that he didn't notice that this girl was even devouring him with her eyes?
- Can you get out of here and leave us alone? - The teenager stuck a puzzled look at the model as she brazenly asked her out.
- I beg your pardon?
And at this point she was already sure that Naomi wanted him for herself. She acted as if she had suddenly become obsessed with him in some way.
Mark fixed panicked eyes on his friend, as if he was even begging her to stay with him. I think he noticed that the beautiful model's behavior was starting to get strange.
- I told you to get out of here. I want to talk to him in private. I don't understand why you even came with him," she pronounced with a hostile attitude.
- I came with him because he is my boyfriend. - Samantha's words made Mark look more surprised than Naomi herself, who only laughed artfully. - I would like to keep an eye on him.
- I'm not surprised at all. If I were you, I wouldn't take my eyes off him either. Oh, sorry. I put it wrong. I also intend to keep an eye on him.
These words were so rude that if the teenager had no lied and Mark really was her boyfriend, she would have undoubtedly pulled out all her hair at that moment. And she wouldn't have cared that she was a celebrity in whom appearance is primarily a calling card in her career.
- Brave words, but don't think that if you're famous and people lust after you, you can afford anything. Well, no. Mark is mine, and he is the type of man who will never be interested in a girl like you. Do you know why? Because these are the kind of people he hates the most. He is your complete opposite, so give him the money for the uniform and let's go from there.
Naomi snorted with laughter and put her hand to her mouth, clearly laughing at her. She did not at all take in the words of the younger girl, who wanted to shine in her eyes. To her, she was a worthless git who she simply intended to eliminate.
- Kid, if you're done, then get lost because in a moment I'm going to lose patience and ask my powerful guys to throw you out of the building.
Alex entered the room. Sensing the chilly atmosphere, he intended to retreat, but his attention was caught by the elevator girl, so he stayed. He wanted to find out what his friend had messed up this time.
- Do me a favor and take this ninny with you. I can't talk to my guest in peace, and I owe him something.
Alex leaned over the brunette, but this time it did not make any impression on the girl. She was furious, so she ignored the handsome man she sighed at in the elevator earlier.
- You must be a threat to her if she wants to get rid of you at all costs. She hates pretty girls," he declared with a roguish smile. Samantha looked him in the face and, despite everything, couldn't stand it, as the corners of her mouth lifted upward. - But I like pretty girls, so I will take good care of you. Let's go. - He put his hand on her back and led her out of the room.
Naomi rolled her eyes as she watched Alex take on another petite girl. He was the type of boy who never loved any girl, but only played with them. His past prevented him from opening his heart, which is why he treated women so unfeelingly.
- Finally. This is really your girlfriend because somehow I didn't believe it. I am able to see real jealousy in a woman. That wasn't it," she turned to Mark while taking her wallet out of her purse.
- Why did you behave so horribly towards her? Is that exactly the kind of person you are in real life? - he asked, embarrassing the blonde. - Everyone on TV pretends to be a walking ideal, but off-camera you rip off your face with a false mask?
- After all, she was the one who started some meaningless talk....
- But you are older and as a public figure, you should have more sense in your head. I think so," he announced sharply, making the smile disappear from Naomi's face. - She may not be my girlfriend, but on one point she wasn't lying. She was right when she said that I hate people like you.