Not Just A Pretty Face

23. Gideon

“Thank you for flying with us today, sir.”

I nodded sharply to the flight attendant as I shouldered my laptop bag and stepped off the plane. I was lost in my thoughts, my phone already buzzing from missed calls and text messages.

I’d carefully scheduled these few days in Milan, but I still hadn’t heard back from Leonel. Then again, he was probably so busy that he didn’t even know his own plans a day in advance. That tended to happen by the end of a fashion week. And from what Raymond had told me, the pressure was really on now.

The man here to pick me up was holding a sign that misspelled my last name—Hail, not Hale. I just smiled. It was kind of nice not to be recognized.

I introduced myself to the driver, then followed him to the car and spent the first few minutes of the drive catching up. I had a couple of voicemails from the office, friends, potential business contacts, and some updates from Raymond.

It sounded like the shows had gone incredibly well that afternoon, and despite being in rough shape that morning, all three of our guys had pulled through for Giuseppe and Nicolas’ sneak preview show. The public show was tomorrow, and tonight was a magazine shoot.

With Clive, of course.

I winced as I scanned Raymond’s email. Apparently, Leonel hadn’t taken the news well. He also hadn’t walked out after the show, so he wasn’t that pissed off, but still…

Lost in thought, I barely noticed when the taxi pulled up in front of the hotel except that the driver started to climb out.

I grabbed my carry-on and slid out of the passenger seat with a nod of thanks. “Have a good day.”

Check-in was painless. Once I learned my room number, I scanned another email from Raymond.

He and all three of the models had a block of rooms one floor below mine. I hummed under my breath, my gaze on Leonel’s room number before I closed the email.

I sent a quick text to Raymond.

-You guys already at the studio?

After a quick shower, shave, and freshing up, I had my answer.

-We’re here. Studio 1&2. Boy it’s fun. Come reign in Leo’s attitude however you did it the 1st time pls.

I laughed under my breath. I’d happily rein in or reign over Leonel any day. But I didn’t think my new faces agent wanted me to fix the problem the exact same way as last time, around one of the top photographers shooting for one of the most important magazines in the world.

I called the front desk to get another taxi, then touched up my hair a little more and straightened my tie. I refused to think that I was taking extra care now that I was seeing Leonel again.

When the taxi finally arrived and I climbed in, I gave the driver the studio address and watched the streets of Milan pass by. The photos I’d seen on Leonel’s Instagram feed made it look like he’d gotten out a few times to explore, at least.

Why did that make me feel a little jealous? I’d been to Milan so often it was nearly boring. But this was Leonel’s first trip, and he seemed to be making the most of it -- the photos of drinks, Milan alleys late in the evening, and the usual tourist landmarks.

When we finally arrived at my destination, I thanked the driver and handed over some crisp Euro notes before getting out of the taxi. Then I walked through the open double doors into the courtyard that housed the studio.

The moment I walked through the ivy-framed glass doors, the receptionist stood up to welcome me. I recognized Lily by now and offered her a bright smile in greeting as I glanced around the steel-toned reception.