Carine had been dodging the meeting for days. She knew what it meant, Caroline calling her into the agency for a chat. Three years ago, she'd scoffed at it, seeing other girls go into Caroline's office and come out broken. Carine was the high-school prom queen, she'd gone on to win the district beauty pageant, signing up with the best modelling agency in the city straight out of school. Dark-haired, willowy, eyes like crushed ice, Carine was a force of nature, unlike those others. The Talk wouldn't ever happen to her.
But then it had.
She knocked on the door and a woman's voice called out from the other side.
"It's open, come in."
Carine stepped into Caroline's expansive office. There were couches, a desk, art on the walls. It spoke of taste, of money. Caroline's modelling agency was the pinnacle of the profession for a reason: the woman behind the desk.
Caroline was dressed in pants and a blazer, elegant in dark hues. She still had the looks that had made her famous, switching career effortlessly from the front of the lens to the power behind it. She smiled warmly and gestured to a couch. Carine arranged herself carefully on the cream-coloured leather, as if it was the deciding factor in Caroline's impending decision.
"Good of you to come," Caroline said.
"Yeah, uh, sorry, I've been off-colour. Sorry about the reschedule."
"Not an issue. Look, I'll make this brief. Danzig went to Emma."
Carine's heart sank. "But...."
"I know you're disappointed."
Carine tried desperately not to show it, but yes, she was crushed. Danzig would have saved her. They were launching their Spring collection, and to be the face of it would have been everything she'd needed. She crossed her legs, arranging the folds of her dress. Her best dress, her most up-to-date, she thought bitterly, trying to demonstrate that she had the pulse of the industry. It might as well have been a sweatshirt and jeans for all the difference it made. She made firm eye contact and raised her chin.
"I'm sure she'll do a good job for them," Carine replied.
"She will. Look...."
"What other opportunities are coming up?"
Carine winced inwardly at cutting Caroline off, but this was no time for subtlety. She needed to show her determination.
"Ah, yes. We're still looking, to be honest. A lot of interest is going to the new intake."
"I see."
"Fresh faces, new looks."
Carine smiled back, but it was fixed in place. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She tried desperately to pull in the indignation.
"Are you saying I'm too old for...?"
"No, not at all," Caroline interjected.
"I'm twenty-four. I'm not dead."
Caroline held up a hand. "I didn't say that."
"Amma Habib's still going strong and she must be in her thirties."
Caroline surveyed her for what felt like forever, then her face softened. Here it comes, Carine thought.
"Yes, darling, but she's a supermodel."
"She had to start somewhere. I can still do that."
"She had a lot of luck, but it was also a lot of hard work, plus she has a gimmick, which you don't."
"Like what?"
"Heterochromia. The different-coloured eye thing. She's stunningly beautiful, but the difference in her eyes makes you stop and really look at her."
"So, I just need a thing."
"You can't recolour your eyes, and even if you could, Amma's got that corner of the market."
"Chelsea Vale, her tattoos. They make her stand out. She gets lots of work."
Caroline paused, and Carine got an awful sinking feeling.
"She gets lots of work despite her tattoos, not because of them, Carine. Generally, designers prefer the clean look. They want a blank canvas. That's you. You're a perfect, beautiful blank canvas. You have versatility."
"But no bookings."
Caroline wrinkled her nose. She settled on the arm of the couch next to Carine, smiling down at her.
"It's the business. There's ebb and flow. You're the flavour of the month, then you're over-exposed. It's how it is."
"But I've never, really been flavour of the month, have I?"
Caroline didn't give her an answer, but Carine knew what this was. This was definitely The Talk.
"Into every reign, a little life must fall," Carine muttered.
Caroline's eyes widened. "Oh, that's very poetic."
"You sound surprised. I'm more than a pretty face."
Caroline nodded sympathetically. "Yes, you are. So much more. But in this industry, they often just want a pretty face."
Carine looked down at her hands, feeling a steady weight settling down on her shoulders.
"I don't know what else to do," she replied in a tiny voice. "This is all I've ever wanted."
"And it might just be a blip. One good gig and you could be back on course."
"So, get me that gig. I don't care about the pay."
"I want to, believe me."
Caroline hesitated.
"What?" Carine asked.
The older woman didn't answer, getting up from her perch and going back to her desk. She opened a drawer and brought out a set of papers. Carine watched in silence as she scanned the pages. Eventually, she looked up.
"This was offered to me a few months back, but I said the agency wasn't interested."
"What is it?"
"It's... uh, unusual. It's not a typical engagement. It's more of a longer-term contract."
"Like a brand ambassador? For what?"
Carine's mind raced. She could be the face of a new product, that would be easy. But, seeing Caroline's reaction, she wondered what the product could be. Perhaps it was something undesirable, something Carine shouldn't put her name to.
"Caroline, for what?" she repeated.
"It's a modelling contract, of a sort. I spoke to a few people. Apparently, it made quite a stir in Beijing, at their Fashion Week. No-one's really done it here."
Caroline stalled. Carine got up from the couch and approached her. She held out her hand. Reluctantly, Caroline passed her the pages.
Carine began to read. There was a non-disclosure agreement, and what appeared to be a rental contract. She frowned, mystified by the strange wording. The last page was a summary of the technology, and after she'd finished it all, she stared up at Caroline.
"Is this for real?" she asked.
"It looks like it."
"I've never heard of this. Is it safe?"
"They say it is. Like I said, the technology's all out of China, they're just rolling it out now. The company's a startup out of Austin, Texas. They've secured the worldwide rights."
"Can you really do this to people?"
Caroline gave her a look. "That's why I said no."
"But if it works?"
"You'd certainly attract interest."
Carine shuffled through the pages again. Caroline didn't say anything else, letting Carine come to a conclusion.
"I'd be basically leasing myself to them for six months at a daily rate that's a quarter of what I get now."
"But it's every day, for six months."
"I guess I don't have to pay rent."
"That's true. You'd have no expenses. You wouldn't be spending money on going out, or travel."
"Or food."
"No."
"And where would I be?"
