I’d barely reached it when I received a ‘thanks, but no thanks’ text message. I wanted to cry, but I managed to hold back my tears as I found my way onto a tube going in the right direction. It was packed, so I had to stand. It was only my first open call. I had four more to go to. Even if they all said no, I’d gain valuable experience. I had to think positively. I couldn’t let one rejection get me down. Gavin had probably seen a hundred wannabe models before me, and they had all been gorgeous. I just wasn’t what he was looking for that day.
I repeated all of that to myself over and over until I got to Xander’s apartment. He’d given me a key and the code to the building so I could let myself in. I went up in the lift and opened the door to his apartment. The scent of cooking wafted downstairs, momentarily distracting me from my misery.
I paused at the top of the stairs. Xander wore a ‘Kiss the Chef’ apron and a skin-tight T-shirt that showed off all his muscles. He was singing and dancing to some music as he cooked. He stopped when he noticed me and gave me a big grin.
“How did it go?”
I wasn’t sure what happened, but my composure fled. My face crumpled, tears sprang to my eyes, and I sobbed. “I’m sorry.”
I sniffed and covered my face with my hands. Thank God I wasn’t wearing make-up because mascara would have been running down my face. I’d wanted the casting agent to see me au naturel, for all the good it had done me.
“What are you sorry for?”
I shrugged. “Crying?”
“Hey, you’re allowed to cry whenever you want or need to.” He turned the heat down on the hob, walked over to me, and drew me into a bear hug. It was the most comforting feeling ever. “I take it things didn’t go well?”
“I stood in a queue for almost four hours, waited in a stuffy room for six more, and then spent less than five minutes with the casting director before he told me I could go.”
“Ouch. I’m sorry. Is that normal?”
“The ones I went to up north were much smaller,” I admitted.
“Did he give you any feedback?”
“He told me to get a new portfolio.” I began to cry again.
Xander rubbed my back. “What’s wrong with the one you have?”
“He didn’t say, but it’s not good enough. I spent hundreds on it. I can’t afford to get another one done.” I spun away from Xander and flopped onto the huge sofa. “Maybe I should go home.”
Xander put his hands on his hips. “Don’t you dare. You’ve had one setback. One. You’ve got this, Jae.”
I offered him a smile. “Funny. That’s what I told myself all the way home.”
“You were giving yourself some good advice. Listen to it and take it to heart. You can’t give up.”
“I know.” I took a few deep breaths. “And I won’t. I’ll gain experience. Experience is priceless. I can get a job and save up for a new portfolio when I go home.”
Xander looked at me thoughtfully for several long seconds. Eventually, he smiled. “That’s the spirit. Dinner will be about twenty minutes. Why don’t you go and freshen up? I always need two showers after riding the tube in rush hour.”
I laughed. “After spending all day in a stuffy waiting room, I think I need three. Thanks, Xander.”
“You’re welcome.”
CHAPTEREIGHT
XANDER
“Rise and shine.”
Jae peered at me from beneath the quilt he was huddled in on the sofa. “What time is it?”
“Eight.”
He groaned.
“You were up a lot earlier yesterday,” I pointed out.
