Surprises
We walk into the elevator and Arlo presses button number eleven, the last button on the dial.
He holds the box in his hands firmly and I stand by him impatiently, I can't help but wonder what exactly is this job opportunity and why it's this big of a deal.
I also can't help to be nervous about being in Arlo's apartment. In his penthouse alone with him, A stranger whom I keep finding myself being near and overlapping paths with. He's there when I suddenly need it, as an if he were an angel; A saint.
"Nervous?" He speaks with a smirk on his rose tinted lips. The mole on his nose is more prominent from this angle. I shake my head in response, and Arlo raises an eyebrow at my uncertainty.
"I don't bite." He mutters while I shift from my vision from his intense dark brown eyes to the numbers on the elevator. It's unknown to me why he makes me so nervous, his presence alone is intimidating enough for me.
In a crowded room Arlo's stare would stand out, It would over-shine all the people in there. It would be the only stare you'll feel amongst the hundred pairs of other eyes watching you, you'll feel his burn, his watchfulness. Any other pair of eyes are merely a shadow compared to his stare.
I couldn't read him like a book, he was more like a puzzle. A puzzle you had to decode, an escape room you had to find the key for. But one thing I could tell about him was that behind those dark challenging eyes was baggage.
I was curious to find out the secrets behind this mystery man who keeps popping up into my life unexpectedly, I was curious because I was not so used to being so seen like he's been seeing me. I wanted to see him too, but looking at Arlo was like looking at a maze. You had to find your way around the maze to get anywhere.
The elevator pings and the sound pulls me out of my thoughts. My thoughts often swallow me as I often get lost inside of the void that holds my mind. My mind was an endless loop of thoughts and feelings that I always try to hold in a cage like a feral animal.
The elevator opens and reveals a long narrow hallway, the walls are black bricks and the floors are a light birch-wood. The hallway is decorated nicely, the artwork captivates my attention immediately.
At the end of the hall theres a door, which I assume is what leads us inside Arlo's penthouse. He walks out the elevator and leads me down to the door numbered 600. Arlo presses his code into the keypad and it lights up green as the lock clicks open.
"Welcome to my casa." Arlo hums brightly as he opens the door and walks inside with me right behind him. As we enter inside my jaw drops in amazement. The whole apartment is neat and satisfying to the eye with the way the colors collide perfectly together and create a clean and modern vibe to the apartment.
"Monotone." I mutter, taking in the white, grey and black tones around the house. It was all so perfectly matched and the house was breathtaking to look at. The home matched perfectly to Arlo's vibe, it was just as intimidating but anticipating to look at.
He walks into to his kitchen that has dark wooden floors and black cabinets with bright lights all over. He sets down my box on his kitchen island and pulls out a stool, "Make yourself at home, Valentine." He gestures to the stool and I walk with my eyes darting from every corner of the room in a trance.
I step on the small bar on the stool that lifts me up into the seat, as my feet dangle from the height. I absentmindedly swing my feet. Arlo walks over to his fridge and takes out a wine bottle, one that looks freshly bought as it contains the cork still intact.
"Wine?" He offers, taking out glasses out from his cabinet and places them in front of me. I nod my head and he smiles at me before popping the cork out the bottle. The sound of the pop fills the silence in the room and he pours me my drink. The color of the dark purple wine fills the glass and the aroma fills my nostrils and lungs.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." Arlo says as he pours himself a drink, not taking his eyes off mine. He plays with his silver lip ring with his tongue, looking at me with curiosity.
"You are full of surprises, aren't you." I snap out of my daze and bring the wine glass to my lips, staining the rim with my dark red lipstick. He cracks a grin and my cheeks heat with fluster.
"There's more. Can't wait to see the look on your face when you see what you've just gotten yourself into." He winks before rounding the kitchen Island and reaching a hand out to me. "Lets talk in the living room."
I take his hand as he helps me down from the tall stool, and leads me through his gorgeous apartment. We walk down the small steps into his living room. The living room has a comfortable-homey vibe. It has a fireplace and above it theres a flatscreen television, with Led-lights behind it and big windows showcasing the view into the city.
"So what exactly is this job Arlo?" I ask sitting on the black leather couch, and he takes a seat across from me. I take another sip of the wine, preparing myself to listen to what he has to say. My stomach flutters with nerves as im shifting in my seat impatiently.
"I told you this job needed a lot of confidence and a strong mentality, because its a lot to take on. It's something you probably haven't thought of before, but I think you'd suit it perfectly. I meant what I said about not seeing people who look like you everyday." He repeats what he said the first time we met back in the greenhouse, and my eyes narrow at him with anticipation.
"How do you feel about signing into my company and working for me--" He starts off but as soon as I hear the words 'My company' I cough on the wine I was about to swallow. I shoot my hand out to stop him mid-sentence.
"Your company?" I repeat after I clear the burning sensation in my throat. My eyes are wide with surprise although I shouldn't be shocked, we're sitting in his damn penthouse. He's a man who i've noticed only wears designer and carries himself amazingly well.
"Yes, my company," Arlo takes another drink and I can see the smirk on his lips behind the rim of the glass. His face is full of amusement as he's taking pleasure in my constant shock.
"Valentine, I'd like you to become a model for my company." Arlo finally drops the bombshell on me and I set my glass down on the glass coffee-table in front of me in caution to not drop it on his clean floors from shock. I press my fingers to my temples and rub them as I shut my eyes, as if i'm trying to wake myself out of a trance, like if my mind if playing games on me.
This is it, i've officially gone mad. I let out a chuckle of disbelief, this has god to be a joke. I mean--A model? A model in Arlo's company.
"Im sorry what--A model?" My eyes are wider than they were before and to say i've been getting surprised after surprises is an understatement. I don't know what I was expecting but it most definitely wasn't this.
"I knew you'd be shocked. It's understandable." He shrugs his shoulders as he sits back on his couch, he makes himself comfortable and his expression turns more serious than before.
"But Valentine, seeing you.. I believe you have what it takes. You may not have the confidence now, but modeling can help you appreciate the beauty you might think low of. This can help be your stepping stone into bigger and better things in life." He says, and as his expression turns stern I realize he's being serious.
this isn't all in my head, this is real, and Arlo is actually trying to recruit me into his company as a model. A man who holds an overwhelming beauty himself, is asking me, to model for him. I stare at him blankly for a few minutes, not knowing how to react. He quite literally left me speechless.
"Think about it Valentine, you might be thinking you don't have what it takes but I assure you that you do. This can help prove to yourself than you can be in the limelight as you're worthy of a lot more than you can believe." He says as his eyes twinkle with the vision already, and with his words in my brain, I start to think about it myself.
I could have a chance to become everything Marlin doesn't think I can be. The chance to prove to myself that i'm not just a broken vase, I'm way more than the pieces that cracked and broke inside me. I don't have to live in the shadows where i've found comfort in, I can live in the open.
Accepting Arlo's request would also let my family see I'm on the right path, that i'm successful and they have nothing to worry about. That I too, can be successful with or without Marlin. That it's not just Venice who has their shit together.
I bite my lip as the bridge of effects is my decision that relies solely on my answer. I know right now I can't see myself succeeding in this field--Hell, I don't think I can even compare with half of the women in this industry. But looking back up at Arlo's eyes and seeing the purity behind his words and intentions, give me hope. Hope that I can too--be like those beautiful women.
When I think model I think of tall women over 5'7 with long limbs and fascinating proportions, who are blonde and have pin-straight hair that flows easily in the wind. Gorgeous blue and green eyes that look like the earth, and slim bodies that are like sculptures in art. Women who are light and pale like beautiful snow that falls in winter, women who are made to be models.
When I see myself I see the opposite, My curly black afro and my dark brown eyes that are almost black, my height that is only about 5'5 and my brown-skin. It doesn't compare in my eyes. My mind envisions the women I've seen marlin with since our breakup, Beautiful white women--Models.
"Whats with the frown, Valentine?" Arlo asks softly noticing my expression, the distaste in my eyes and the sadness touching my lips.
"Do you really believe that I can become a model?" I ask looking down at the floor, shame fills my body and I don't want to make eye-contact with him at this moment. He might be unreadable but his eyes tell the answers before he does.
I can hear him scoff slightly, " I wouldn't be requesting you to model for me if I didn't believe you held the beauty that it takes. Valentine, one thing for sure is you hold something so powerful with the way that you just are that it is just magnetic. Anyone would be infatuated with you and your image." He tells me, and my heart feels like its been hugged,
Hugged with warm arms, a feeling i've been craving, a feeling i've been yearning and longing for. I didn't realize how desperate inside I was for someone to just see my worth, to at least acknowledge my value until now. Until Arlo fulfilled that desire with his words alone.
To that is why I decided, and I decided proudly to his request. "Yes. I'll sign with you." I agree and finally I allow myself to look up at him, and to my surprise he's already smiling at me. Smiling at my decision and smiling at the outcomes that will soon come with this decision.
"Good choice valentine, you'll be in good hands." Arlo tells me proudly, he lets out a sigh of relief and he swirls the remaining wine in his glass with a look of pleasure. He looks out the window towards the beautiful city of new york.
"How do we start?" I ask, playing with my fingers in my lap watching as he gulps the last remainder of his wine, he leans forward putting his elbows on his knees revering his attention back onto me.
"First we sign you to my company, then we get you your first taste of publicity before anything." Arlo says again with amusement glowing brightly in those fierce eyes of his.
"And how exactly are we doing that?"
"Buckle up Valentine, You're about to experience many things you haven't before now with me." He says smiling and a small dimple appears in his cheek, and my stomach does flips, flips at the ideas brainstorming in Arlo's mysterious mind.
What am I about to get myself into?
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[Author note]
you're beautiful no matter what you look like, everyone holds beauty in their heart and image.
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