Positive/Negativity (35 page)

That last statement made both of us laugh in agreement.

“He really is good, though. He’s helped me to see that the contents
within
your heart are the true measure of ‘beauty’. I knew it all along; I just had to see it through someone else’s eyes.”

“You
are
a beautiful woman…”

“So are you, Paige” I assured my friend, “and one day you will pass that on to your family. Declan
constantly
reinforces to me that
‘having one beautiful inside, is worth more than a million beautiful outsides’
. I guess what he tells me is true
.

We sat quietly for a few minutes, letting the words sink in. No matter how many times I said them to myself, each time I repeated them they sank in just a little deeper.

Paige reached across the table and put her hand over mine.

“He’s lucky to have you, you know that?” She was getting misty again.

I started laughing at her. “Stop. You’re going to have us both crying. Do you realize how silly it would sound to any magazine if they heard us say that Declan was lucky to have
me
?”

“I don’t care how silly it would sound to them! I think you’ve taught him as much as he’s taught you. You’ve taught him that love changes everything.”

…and at The Studio, as Declan was making his final presentation of the day, he was mindful of how much had recently changed…

T
She Plays Up To You – Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes

On my drive back up Coastal Highway, I decided to drop in to see Declan at The Studio. After my conversation with Paige, wonderful thoughts of him filled my mind, and I wanted to see his handsome face, even if just for a few moments.

He’d mentioned that Blake Matthews was sending down a small group of prospective models who were very young. He was hoping that Declan could speak with them, in a mentor-like capacity, letting them know what to expect when venturing into the world of fashion modeling. Blake thought it would be of benefit for them to speak with someone who had been in the industry and had experienced the advantages and disadvantages. I couldn’t think of a more qualified mentor than Declan.

“Hi, Aria!” Katherine called to me as I strolled into the lobby. “How have you been?”

I couldn’t help but smile at what a wonderful projection Katherine gave of The Studio. She was the epitome of professionalism from the moment I walked through the door.

“Great! How are you, Katherine? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I can’t complain. Declan’s still in a meeting with those young people that Blake sent down. Was he supposed to meet you?”

“No. I was just popping in to see him. If you think he will be long, then I’ll just meet him at home. I don’t want to disturb him.”

Katherine gave me a look that let me know that I wasn’t imposing.

“He’d
never
think you are disturbing him, and you know it. I think he’s almost finished. He’s in the large conference room. Blake sent five prospects for him to interview. You can go around and take a peek. He should be coming out of the conference room soon.”

“Thank you. We have to get together soon, okay?”

“Absolutely!” she answered as I was walking down the hall. “Just let me know when, and I’ll be there.”

I walked around to the bay side of the building, where the large conference room was located. The sun was just beginning to descend as we approached dusk. The rooms had glass walls so the view of the bay was unobstructed and beautiful.

I saw Declan sitting at the conference table, speaking with the small, and very attractive, group. He was so handsome and confident. He carried himself so well and was such a wonderful example of his industry.
Who wouldn’t want to be like him?

I couldn’t hear him, but I could see from his expression that he spoke with passion and that the topic also brought him pleasure. He wore a smile that always melted my heart, and if it had the same effect on these people, then they’d want whatever he was talking about.

I began looking around the table to see the beautiful faces. None looked to be over the age of twenty-one. There were three gorgeous girls and two very handsome young men—all were focused on Declan. They each had a folder of information from The Studio in front of them on the conference room table. It made me recall the weekend Aimee, Katherine, Declan, and I stood at that table, assembling the first of the packets of information and placing them in those folders. We ordered pizza and spent an entire Saturday to do it.

A movement from the back of the conference room suddenly interrupted my reminiscing and caught my eye. I turned my head and saw
her.
What was it about her that always threw my nervous system into overdrive, and what was it that I was feeling? Panic? Anger? Disbelief? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
T

The sight of Marisol sitting in the back of the conference room had completely caught me off guard. She was intensely watching Declan as he completed his conversation with the group.

As they all smiled and stood to exit the room, each approached him to address him as they went through the door.

“Thank you, Mr. Sinclair. That was great. I know so much more now about the industry…” I heard one of them say.

He addressed a few of them, “My pleasure. I hope the information I provided will help. You need the proper tools in order to make a good decision. Read it over and please feel free to call with any questions.”

He walked over to me.

“Hey, Beautiful. This is a nice surprise. I didn’t know you were stopping by,” he greeted me with a kiss.

“I wouldn’t have if I’d known you had company. I didn’t know
she
would be here.” I said and directed my head in the direction of Marisol, who was approaching us.

“Hello, Aria. So nice to see you,” her sugary fake voice addressed me.

“Marisol,” I acknowledged.

She went right around me.

“Declan, those kids hung on to every word you said. You were great!” she said, addressing Declan.

“Thanks. I like helping them to make an educated decision.”

“I’d say that you’re very good at it. Let me gather them together. I’ll be sending them back to New York in the limo. I’ll tell Blake how much they liked your talk. Maybe he’ll send more people and you can do this again.”

“Wonderful,” I muttered under my breath.

“Ciao guapo,” she said, smiling a dazzling and sexy smile in his direction. She kissed him lightly on the cheek. Turning to me, she wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something bad and smirked. “Ciao.”

Marisol sashayed out of the conference room, making her grand exit.

I stood in semi-shock.

Turning to Declan, I could feel the loathing for her rising up within me.

“What the hell was that?” I interrogated.

“What was
what
?” Declan answered clueless.

“Marisol!” I exclaimed. “When did
she
become a Studio
regular
?”

“Blake sent her down with a group of prospects. It was business. That’s all.”

He didn’t have a clue that Marisol appeared to have an underlying agenda. It was time that I educated him.

“It doesn’t look like Marisol thinks that’s all there is to it. You need to open your eyes, Declan. You may have been bantering back and forth before, but I think she’s more cunning than that.”

“It doesn’t matter what she thinks, Aria,” his voice becoming firm and authoritative. “This is
my
business, and
I
said that’s all it is.”

I wasn’t going to let Marisol play her games. Not here. She may have gotten away with them when she and Declan had to work on assignments together, but she wasn’t going to play these games with us. Not without him being made aware of the obsessive and threatening behavior she had underlying in her manner toward me. She exhibited it whenever she was in my presence.

“Since when did you become so comfortable with her being here? You used to hate her being anywhere near us. You acted like you were my bodyguard whenever she was near me. What changed? Is it about her pull and the money she can bring to The Studio? Is that what you’re becoming? Is that what you’re all about?” He shot me a cold glare.

“You can’t pull anything over on me, Dec, I know you too well. There’s more to it, whether you admit it or not. Do you not see that she was hanging on your every word? She was looking at you like you were a piece of choice meat, and me like a piece of shit; like I was an obstacle in her path to get to you.”

“Aria, knock it off. You’re overreacting. I can handle her.”

I was beginning to feel angry and upset at the same time. “No, I won’t. I don’t think I am…and I don’t think you can.”

Declan looked angrily at me, then momentarily considered my statements. He could sense the anger and fear I felt. Somehow, I sensed that Marisol was becoming a threat to more than our relationship. She was working her way into the business.

“Well, I do,” he said calmly and dismissively, as if to pacify me. “She was sitting in the back of a room, and now she’s gone.”

I opened my mouth to speak but Declan interrupted me “
Aria!
—End of story.”

Who the hell did he think he was?
It wasn’t the end of story for me! This was my life and she was a psycho!

“It’s not the
End of Story
, Declan! She gave a true, Marisol grand exit. She was smirking at me and kissing you on the cheek. That was all for my benefit!”

He faced me in this stand-off. Our points of views were miles apart at this moment. Declan crossed his arms and stood with his legs apart as if he were facing an enemy when he spoke to me.

“No, it wasn’t for your benefit, Aria. Don’t be so paranoid. That’s the way she says goodbye to everyone. Look, you’re making this into a big deal and it isn’t.”

Was he really that blind to the manipulations of a madwoman? He knew how Marisol had behaved in the past. What would prevent him from seeing through her games now?

“It isn’t a big deal to you, Declan, but it is to me. A
very
big deal. She’s trying to hurt
us
. Not only are you not seeing it, you’re trivializing how it makes me feel and, frankly, I think it’s all because of money.”

“
Aria! Stop it!
You’re letting your insecurities get the best of you, you’re pissing me off and you sound childish.”

With that, Declan turned his back to me to gather his things out of the conference room, dismissing me.

I wasn’t done with this. Now not only was I angry because of Marisol, I was now furious with Declan.

“Screw you, Declan! My insecurities? Because of Marisol? That’s a low blow for you! What are you doing? Taking comments that I’ve confided to you and turning them against me. She’s a bitch, and I wouldn’t want to be her.
She
doesn’t make me insecure. The fact that she’s a
psycho
and a
stalker
would be what’s getting the best of me right now. Maybe you should get the dollar signs out of your eyes to see how emotionally unstable she is. She’ll use any excuse to get close to you, and right now you may just be money-hungry enough to let her!”