The Lies I Believed

Alastor

My morning went fine. I avoided Asher and got the cupcakes and cookies to Vincent's school with a few minutes to spare. Kendra doesn't mind me being late, but I'd hate to make her mad at me for no reason. She claims I'm too nice to get mad at, but I know that's not even remotely true. I don't get along with most of the people I work with. She sort of makes it hard for me to concentrate whenever she wants me to do things for her.

"Oh, you're here," Kendra chirped. "I was actually about to call you. Have you gotten those contracts signed?"

"All except one," I muttered.

"Which one?"

"Paige Stevenson. She told me she wants to continue modeling for us, but she has to look at all her options. Plus, her husband is in a bit of a predicament. She doesn't know what to expect for the next couple of months."

"Ah, there's always something wrong with that man. What does he even do again?"

"Last I heard, he was in the consulting business."

"Really?" Kendra looked surprised. "I was expecting him to try and crawl into the corporate world!"

"Uh...he has a problem with leadership." I side-eyed her.

I don't know why she's even worrying about that. No one cares for Wayne anymore. After he served less than half of his prison sentence, all he's done is gotten into trouble. The authorities are looking for him wherever he decides to go. There's never a dull moment at parties. If he shows up, you'll be the talk of the town. I honestly can't invite Paige to anything. Once he shows up, all Hell breaks loose.

"I have a VIP coming in today. Could you make sure they get to me after you're finished with them?" she asked.

"...Who are you expecting and what time?" I pulled out my phone to make a note of this. I couldn't forget it. If I'm booked today, I'd have to plan around it.

"2:30. He's a bit hotheaded, so don't take anything he says to heart."

"Sure, sure."

We parted ways when we got to my floor. Kendra reminded me again to keep my head when her client arrived. I don't see why I have to take him. There are other women here who would gladly like the attention of a man who doesn't respect anyone helping him. Since Hayden was out of the city at the moment, there was no way she was talking about him. Sha'Kera would have told me all about it.

For most of the day, I received calls from multiple modeling agencies in the state. They wanted to know a lot about if I could handle their clients. Kendra's business was a hotspot for lots of agencies. It wasn't that surprising when they requested a particular person to help their models. I never say no to being the best. I've barely been working here for a year. I take what I can get.

Lunch came and I chose to eat alone. I didn't want to speak to anyone in my free time. When it neared time for Kendra's surprise VIP to come in, I got a visit from our favorite person in the office. He shut the door like he was really trying to be quiet. I don't even know why he's even on this floor. He's not a consultant.

"Alastor, what are you doing here?" I snapped.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked, surprise evident in his voice.

I ignored him. "What do you want this time?"

"Do I always have to want something?"

"Dude, I've told you plenty of times that I'm not interested. I'm married with kids. Even if I wasn't, you really aren't my type."

"You used to do it back then. People don't change so easily."

"That was back then. I'm a new person. I actually have control of my life again. You're ruining the freedom I have."