The rest of the week went smoother than Alex expected. The training with Rochelle was gruelling, but he seemed to be in a better mood when Alex came in early and get warmed up before he arrived. On the third day, he even gave her a compliment, saying that she was doing okay. Alex was proud of herself.
Zack had been visiting the gallery owner who was interested with his arts. He was positive they will be showcasing his sculptures in spring. He was in high spirit and it showed in the way he made love to Alex each night.
On Thursday, Caroline reminded everyone that their attendance to the book launch that night was compulsory.
"What book launch?" Alex whispered at Cara.
"Lord Baker's autobiography," Cara whispered back.
"Can I bring a guest?" Alex asked her.
Cara looked at her with a glint in her eyes. "You mean a date?"
Alex rolled her eyes, smiling. "Yes, a date."
Cara giggled. "It's a public event, so yeah, bring your date."
They smiled at each other before turning their attention back to Caroline.
*****
Alex arrived at the book launch with Zack. She wore a white layered Cleopatra style white gown with gold heels and gold clutch. She wore her hair up in a messy bun. Zack was looking dapper in a dark brown blazer over off-white turtle-neck sweater and black pants. He combed back his hair for the night.
Zack grabbed a couple of champagne for them and they stood at the side, watching the people around them.
"So, these are the people you work with?" Zack asked, sipping his champagne.
"I don't know these people," Alex told him honestly. They looked at each other and laughed. Then Alex saw Cara waving at her from across the room. She waved back.
Cara weaved through the crowd to get to Alex. She was dragging Barry along with her. "Alex! You look great!" she said excitedly, hugging Alex. Cara was wearing a red Cheongsam with high slit. She even had a couple of chopsticks in her bun. Cara turned to Zack and Alex could see her blushing a little. "Hello, Alex's boyfriend."
Zack grinned, flashing his swoon-worthy dimples. "It's Zack," he introduced himself, shaking her hand.
"Cara," Cara introduced herself. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Alex took a sip of champagne to hide her smile.
Barry went up to Zack and he chuckled. "Zack, mate! Glad you made it."
"Bar, my man!" Zack grabbed his hands and they bumped shoulders. Alex frowned. It seemed like they were old friends.
Cara looked at her phone and groaned. "Sorry, I'm needed somewhere else. Come on, Bar!" She went back through the crowd, pulling Barry along with her.
Alex turned to Zack and narrowed her eyes. "So, you know Barry?"
Zack looked at her and grinned mischievously.
Alex sighed as the realisation hit her. "Cara is sleeping with Barry. Barry knows you. So, Barry was the one who gave you my number and my address," she concluded. "Am I right?"
Zack took a deep breath and exhaled. "Yup," he replied. He turned to her and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Are you mad?" he asked softly.
Alex rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not mad," she said sarcastically.
Zack tipped her chin and smiled at her. "I'll make it up to you later at home," he promised her. He leaned in and added softly, so that only she can hear him, "I'll do it over, and over, and over, until you scream for me to stop."
Alex felt a delicious clutching in her belly. His words held so many promises. Zack leaned in and kissed her gently.
They pulled away and Alex couldn't help but smile. She took a sip of champagne and looked around the room. She caught Paul's eyes from across the room. He didn't look happy. Alex figured he must have seen them kissing. She looked away, wondering why she was feeling guilty. Perhaps because she knew how Paul felt about her?
The emcee got on the stage and began the ceremony. Alex stayed in the back with Zack, Cara and Barry. Zack rested his hand on the small of her back. It felt like the most natural thing.
The emcee invited the author of Paul's autobiography up on the stage to give a short speech. The short speech lasted for an hour. Then the emcee called Paul for his speech. He went up to the stage and took out a piece of folded paper from his pocket. He unfolded the paper and there was 10 seconds of silence while he seemed to pause to read the words. The crowd waited patiently.
Finally, Paul looked up from the paper and smiled politely at the crowd in front of him. "Thank you for coming out tonight to show your support." Then he exit stage left and out of the building. The crowd was murmuring among themselves.
"Does that mean we all can leave now?" Zack asked hopefully.
*****
On Friday morning, Alex went to catwalk training as usual. Zack was going to meet the gallery owner again. They left at the same time.
Alex has been practicing her walk a lot and she felt like she has improved tremendously. That's why she didn't understand why Rochelle was not paying attention to her. He was distracted by his phone, scrolling through something on the screen. Finally, after two hours, Alex couldn't take it anymore.
"Excuse me," she said to Rochelle. He lifted his eyes up to her without moving his head. Alex sighed and said, "I know you're a busy man, but I'm hoping that you could maybe pay attention to me and fix my walk?"
Rochelle let his hand holding the phone drop lazily. He raised his eyebrow in disbelieve at her brazen remark and he scrutinised her from head to toe. Then he narrowed his eyes and started to circle around her like a bird of prey.
Alex regretted opening her mouth.
"Do you remember your first day here?" Rochelle said icily. "You could barely walk. You look like Bambi right after he shot out from his mothers womb."
Alex bit her lips together and fought the urge to retaliate. She kept her eyes on the ground, but with her head held high. One thing that Rochelle taught her was to keep her poise in any situation.
Rochelle stopped in front of her and he held his nose high. "Five days later and I've taught you everything. There's nothing left to teach. Keep practicing and you'll be fine." Then he brought his phone back up to his face.
Alex blinked several times. She tried to digest what Rochelle said. "Wait, are you saying that I'm done with training? That I've become... good?"
Rochelle gave her an annoyed look. "Yeah. What were you expecting? A medal? Get out of here!"
Alex shrieked happily and hugged him.
Rochelle pushed her away with disgust. "I like men," he said flatly.
Alex laughed and shook her head. Aside from his annoying demeanours, she actually liked Rochelle. Alex picked up her things and waved at him goodbye. He ignored her.
Since she finished early, Alex thought about having lunch with Zack. He should still be at the gallery, so she decided to surprise him there.
The taxi dropped her off on the street opposite the gallery. Alex was impressed with the building itself. The walls were made of 30 foot high glass paned windows. So from the street, you can see the arts displayed inside. Alex looked both ways before crossing the street.
She was about to head for the entrance when she saw Zack inside. She paused and watched him, smiling to herself. He looked handsome in dark jeans, dark shirt and brown leather jacket. He was looking at a large painting, with his back turned to the windows.
Alex was about to make her way to the entrance again, when she saw a young Asian woman approached Zack. She was beautiful, wearing a revealing black dress. She was smiling at Zack flirtatiously. Alex froze on the spot and continued watching them, a frown forming on her face. The woman started talking to Zack, while touching his arm. Zack was smiling at her as they talked. Then to Alex's surprise, the woman's hand reached for Zack's behind and she could clearly see her grabbing Zack's ass.
The woman wrapped her manicured fingers around Zack's elbow and she led him away. Alex followed them, keeping them in her view. The woman led Zack towards the back wall, where they were out of sight, mostly. She pushed him against the wall and kissed him.
Alex quickly covered her mouth to stifle her gasp. She couldn't believe her eyes. Zack was kissing the woman back. His hands were on her waist and her neck.
Alex shut her eyes tight and tried to erase what she saw from her mind. There was no point. It was already burned into her mind. Now, she was angry. How could he do this to her again?
Alex grabbed her phone and quickly took some shots. Then she walked away feeling disgusted.