Sasha woke in her bed for the last time in five weeks, and stretched lazily on her back. She took a deep breath and let her arms collapse above her head, as she thought through the day and the wonderful prospects ahead of her.
Work hadn't been hard. She called Martin and extended the break to five and a half weeks. Not only was it enough time for her office cronies to tire of the story about her, but Sasha had a little plan to actually invite one or two of them if this project worked out.
She'd done other necessary things. Rung her mother, told her she was going on vacation for five weeks and that she'd send emails but will be hard to catch. Checked out her financials and paid up bills.
At the end of the day she settled in with a nice Thai green curry and watched 'The devil wears Prada' confirming to herself over and over again that the day of the skinny model was out, and the time for real women to front up had arrived.
Her mood turned good, almost to the point of cocky; she felt sure she'd noticed Jay stare at her. He'd looked at her full fleshy bosom a few times and she could feel the heat of his gaze on her as he walked behind her when he'd entered the room as he arrived. Although modest to the core, Sasha was a realistic sensible woman and she knew when the electricity moved both ways. And this heat almost melted the board table between them.
Even Jay's gruffness had lost its impact.
It took everything inside her to show restraint in that meeting. Yes, it was important, but really more to him than to her. Sasha had no illusions about becoming a model. Even if this gig worked out, she could see it was an experience not a permanent life change. She had a career, and it was one she'd worked very hard for thank-you-very-much.
No, this was Jay's serious affair. Now that she had the job and she knew she was what they were looking for, she could afford a little fun. And Jay looked like a big ball of fun. As she lay in the warm bed, the fine cotton brushing against her balmy skin, her phone rang. Lazily she stretched for her cell and saw that it was Penny.
"Yo!" she answered.
"Wow. You sound relaxed. Not nervous about your first day?"
Sasha slid her naked body up so that she sat against the pillows behind her head. "Not at all. It's amazing really. I'm not quite sure where this confidence has come from, but would it sound too crazy if I told you I thought it was Jay himself?"
"You mean he's not just hot, he's empowering too?"
Sasha laughed. "Yeah. Something like that. I don't know. Could my self esteem be so shallow that as soon as a man calls me beautiful I believe him and decide I can take on the world?"
"Well, it's hardly just a man. He is the LAST word in beauty on the planet. And as far as all this ainxt goes, I'd just sit back and enjoy this ride. Have a great time, and definitely don't stress about not being stressed."
Sasha laughed again.
"So... What's he like? Did you tell him you'd been having the weirdest dreams about him every since you masturbated in front of pictures of him?"
"Ummm... no, you know that never came up."
"Is he as hot in real life as he is in the pictures?"
"Hotter."
Penny squealed so loud that Sasha heard the ringing in her ear for a full five minutes.
"Oh Sasha, I have SUCH a good feeling about this one. As far as I'm concerned he's JUST good enough for you. He needs to give up all that ladies man crap though. I'm coming over to kick his sorry ass if he treats you bad."
"Hey, I have good feelings too, but I promise you, they're fleeting! Get anything serious out of your mind. He sized me up yesterday and I sized him up, and I'm happy for anything to happen in thus five week lock down, but honey, this is NOT a man to get serious about."
"But Sasha, maybe..."
"No! No maybe's about it. C'mon Penny, you can't put ideas like that in my head. I am so attracted to this guy it's healthy for me to remember it's not permanent."
There was a pause. Sasha could feel Penny changing tactic.
"What makes you so sure he's interested in you at all?"
"Well, I'm not, but he was checking me out. Look this is a really big deal for him, and I doubt that he'll have time to play around with his model. If he does want to do that, his model is available. If he doesn't, she's appropriately distant and full of longing."
"From what you were telling me last night, the vibe is he could be really keen and..."
"Penny!" Sasha yelled into the phone.
"Sorry, It's just that I won't get to talk to you for ages, and I wanted to sort of get in on the goss."
"Ha ha ha... you mean invent the goss."
Both women laughed.
"You will be able to get in touch with me if you need me. It's only for five weeks, but any emergency... anything at all... call my cell and Greg will get hold of me."
"I won't need to call. You have the best time imaginable."