When makeup artist Nia Balewa signs up to work for the Glamorous Beauty Pageant, she is unaware that her ex-best friend, whom she hasn't spoken to in six years and who also happens to be the current Hollywood heartthrob, is judging the pageant.
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The first day at Glamorous wasn't as bad as Nia had thought.
Out of the models that were assigned to her—Jessica Shaw was chatty; Kelly Yang didn't speak a word, and Miranda Summers spoke at length for ten whole minutes on how she'd love to go on a date with Myles Torres.
"You know, they say he doesn't date people from the industry," Miranda had said as Nia had worked on her concealer. "You think participating in the pageant makes me a person fromtheindustry?"
"Uh—" Nia had stuttered before watching the twenty-year-old's expression drop at her hesitation. "No, of course not," she'd replied then. "I mean, you could always change his mind, you know?"
That had seemed to brighten Miranda's mood a little, and Nia had let out a sigh of relief. Her last job at a pageant had involved some extremely rude people, so she was glad that her current clients were friendly.
Once she'd finished her job and the models were lining up for the photo shoot, Nia stepped out of the green room and found Isha waiting for the shoot to begin in the studio. The white backdrop for the shoot had been placed in the centre of the room and several members of the crew were hurrying in and out of the exit to the far right of the studio. The lights were adjusted, the models were given their positions and the rest of the crew, including the makeup artists, stood in the corner of the room, watching.
Nia jogged up to Isha, hiding a smile that had been playing on her lips ever since she'd spoken to Jessica Shaw. The girl had managed to tell Nia everything going on with her, in less than thirty minutes, including the fact that she was bisexual. Nia hadn't ever felt that anyone was perfect for Isha but there was something about chatty-Jessica that had caused Nia to instantly grow fond of her—something that rarely happened. And since she never got a chance to play cupid for Isha, she did not want to lose this opportunity.
Nia nudged her arm to get her attention. Isha looked at her, questioningly. "What's up?"
Nia maintained a straight face. "You find anyone your type?"
Isha snorted. "You mean, did I find someone who isn't straight? Well, the answer is no."
Nia's face lit up as she smiled brightly. Isha arched an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you staring at me and smiling like that? It's creepy."
Nia giggled. "I found someone for you," she said in a sing-song manner, pleased with herself.
Isha scoffed. "Who?"
Nia pointed at the group of contestants in front of the cameras. "The blonde girl in the dark blue off-shoulder dress," she said in a hushed whisper.
