Once Upon a City (#OnceUponNow Top 25)

✶Chapter 2✶

Of all of the contacts he had, Jaxon Charmaine had chosen to give Cindy the opportunity of a lifetime! She was about to walk a catwalk with some of the most famous people in the fashion industry, an opportunity that not even her own stepmother wanted to give to her. Some part of her wondered why Jaxon decided to give her the opportunity out of all of the options that he had- and for someone with his status, that was a lot of well known people! However, there was something in her that wondered if he had offered her the opportunity out of pity. After all, they did meet while she was crying.

Breaking her train of thought, Cindy's phone vibrated in her pocket. Opening up the text message, she saw that it was from an unknown number. Examining the details of the message, she assumed that it had to be Jaxon texting her the details for the catwalk. Even after everything that happened, she still couldn't believe that she was actually going through with this. This all happened so fast that it almost felt like a dream.

Stay where you're at. Don't worry about bringing extra cash for lunch. We have you covered. Someone special will be meeting you in ten minutes. I repeat, don't move. ~JC

Smiling at the message, a nervous pit grew in the middle of Cindy's stomach. Who could Jaxon possibly be sending to meet her in such a short time frame? Nervously tapping her foot against the concrete, the girl had become extremely anxious. The longer she waited, the more she thought up crazy theories of who this person could possibly be. Perhaps Jaxon was sending his bodyguard to do a security check on her, or maybe it was a crazy fan that he wanted to ship off to her. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she even went to the extent of wondering if Jaxon had set her up to be kidnapped. Doing her best to brush the exaggerated thoughts away, she anxiously waited for the stranger. Looking around her scenery, she scanned every angle possible to see if this person was anywhere in sight.

Suddenly a tall man set his sights on her and Cindy's heart began to pound so rapidly in her chest that she thought it was going to burst outward. Her mind running a million thoughts per second, she debated over what she should do. Should she turn and run? Should she break eye contact? Perhaps maybe now would be the right time to call the police. However, the stranger was too close to her to make a run for it and she now realized that she was going to get kidnapped.

"Ah, you must be the Cindy that he was talking about! Nice to meet you!" The man excitedly exclaimed as he held out his hand to shake. Reluctantly shaking his hand, Cindy realized that she had perhaps judged the man very wrongly. He didn't seem nearly as scary as she had portrayed him at first glance.

"Yeah, I'm Cindy," she sheepishly mumbled.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Valentino and I'll be your stylist and hair dresser for today!" His black hair flopped in his face as the wind blew. The sunlight shone down, accentuating his already eccentric purple dress shirt. Paired with a black vest, Valentino not only looked posh but also gave off a sense of professionalism.

Shooting him a confused expression, Valentino bit his lip and shook his head. "Oh, I'm guessing Jax sort of left out that part?"

Shaking her head, she sarcastically replied, "Yeah, maybe just a little."

"Ah, that boy always tries to make things mysterious. Anyway, come with me! The limo should be right around the corner!"

"Limo?" She asked, her jaw nearly dropping to the concrete pavement. She had never been in a limo before and she was so excited to finally be able to experience what riding in one felt like. With how much Hollywood glamorized the long extension of a car, she couldn't wait to see what was oh so special about the experience.

"Yes, yes. A limo," he nodded, as if this was a normal part of his daily routine.

Practically dragging her by the wrist, Valentino power walked to the side of the street where the limo had just stopped at a red traffic light.

"C'mon, hurry!" He exclaimed.

"But we'll be in the middle of the street!" She exclaimed, hoping and praying that Valentino wasn't crazy enough to walk into the middle of the street and hop into the vehicle. Today was the day that he decided to prove her wrong.

Glancing at her, he smiled. "Psh, you'll be fine. I practically do this all of the time and look, I'm still alive."

A nervous knot formed in the middle of Cindy's stomach as she realized that Valentino actually had his heart set on walking through the middle of traffic. This man was going to get them both killed! She couldn't die before experiencing her first catwalk! She was too young to be a goner!

As Valentino still dragged Cindy by the wrist, he swiftly swerved through traffic until he reached the limo. Opening the door, he practically threw both Cindy and himself inside.

As soon as the door slammed shut, the traffic light had turned green.

"Great timing!" Exclaimed the driver with a giant grin on his face.

"You always have to be a little fashionably late," Valentino replied with a chuckle.

© Lightning_Stryker 2016