She stared at the skyscraper in front of her. The city had so far been everything she had dreamed of. Settled into her apartment, she had easily made friends with the ladies that lived across from her, as well as the couple with three kids just two doors down. Now Alex found herself crossing the street and walking into the Tucker Modeling agency. She was to meet her mom's old college friend Rita, to see if she would help launch Alex's career in the business.
Alex paused at the front desk, received a pass and directions as to the agency's office, and soon found herself wedged between business suits, and tailored blouses. She felt out of place and very uncomfortable. Her life was taking a sudden change and it was as if she were holding on for dear life, in order to keep control. The elevator made several stops, and people jockeyed for position until she finally was able to reach her own floor, and weave her way out.
The doors almost closed on the tall, slim woman, but she managed to escape, with all her limbs in tacked. Alex noticed a bathroom off to her left and hurried inside. She smiled shyly at the beautiful creature who glanced at her, then looked away. While she moved into the stall, she stopped and turned to look at the woman again. The woman this time looked back at her through the mirror's reflection and winked. She grabbed her purse, wiped her hands dry, and waved goodbye to Alex.
Alex finished her deeds and washed her hands, the whole time not quite believing she had just seen one of the country's top super models. She had posters of that woman on her bedroom walls back home, with little signs that read: "This is me, I'm her, She is so cool!"
Brushing her fingers through her hair, the 18-year-old beauty made her way to the next desk she had to pass before getting to what she hoped was her final destination. "Hello," she greeted the pretty brunette behind the blue marbled counter.
Sheila looked up and grinned, "Hi, may I help you?" She took in the black haired lovely, and knew she was another face looking for a job. Sheila waited for the young woman to answer and set her face to deliver the usual appointment needed through a private agent, and a portfolio--the usual, "let them down easy speech."
"I'm Alexandra Blythe, and I have an appointment to meet with Ms. Tucker."
Sheila cocked her brow, and swallowed her surprise. "One moment and I'll sign you in." She clicked on the series of windows, verified that Ms. Blythe did in fact have an appointment, and waved her toward a seat in one of the lobby chairs.
"Someone will be up here shortly to take you to Ms. Tucker's office." Sheila went back to work, and kept her thoughts to herself concerning Ms. Blythe. Pretty yes, beautiful even, but the next super-model? Only with some work, and some tuning. Sheila had seen them come and go and this one in her opinion had country bumpkin written all over her.
Carl walked through the cubicles and out into the open lobby of the agency, smiled over at Sheila, then glanced around for his boss's appointment. The delicate faced woman was looking like a deer caught in the headlights of a fast moving semi. He walked up to her and extended his hand, "Ms. Blythe?"
Alex looked up into a pair of chocolate-colored eyes, and smiled, "Yes."
"Ms. Tucker is ready to see you now. If you'll follow me."
She stood, and did as she had been instructed. Alex felt herds of butterflies ripping through her belly as she followed the tall man past rows of beautiful oak doors and large open windows. Cubicles that had all sorts of people sitting behind them were on the other side of her, and she felt as if they were all staring at her. In reality, barely any of them looked up to see her. This kind of thing happened all the time, and usually ended with the girl never being seen again.
Carl knocked lightly on one of the doors that resembled the rest and peeked inside. "She's here, Rita."
Alex heard the sound of a woman behind the door say, "Wonderful." Her eyes took in the enormity of the office and the view of the city, which seemed to stretch on forever from the 67th floor of the skyscraper.
"Hello, Alexandra." Rita moved from her desk and closed the distance between them. "God, you look just like your mom. I would have sworn it was her if I didn't know you were the one walking into my office." She hugged Alex tightly and gave her a friendly squeeze. "Come sit down and tell me about Maddie."
She smiled at her mom's friend, recognizing her immediately. "Mom's shared her pictures of you, and you look the same as you did when you and she were modeling together." Alex moved to the leather couch that Rita had all ready sat down on.
Her stomach was still nervous, and she placed her hand over the peach colored blouse that she had worn that morning. Her long legs were crossed at the ankles and the black skirt, fell to her knees, it still happened to be free of lint.
"Well, your mom and I go way back. She and I graduated high school together, came out here to the city, fought tooth and nail to get jobs, and then once we made it big, she falls in love, and leaves it all behind, while I change course and start my own agency. But I don't think she regrets her decisions, by looking at you, I think she chose the right path for her."
Alex blushed, "She and dad are very happy." She slid one leg up under the other, and felt herself relax even more. "Ms. Tucker, I appreciate your doing this for me. I know it is for mom, but I'll try hard to do what you tell me to."
Rita placed her hand on Alex's leg, "Hon, first it's Rita, not Ms. Tucker, and that goes everywhere. Ms. Tucker projects images of my mother into my head, and we so don't want that to happen." She chuckled, and removed her hand from Alex's thigh. "Also, if I didn't think you had star potential, then I would have put you behind a desk and told your mom that you'd always have a job here but I wouldn't just put you in front of a camera if I didn't have some faith in your ability."
A grin a mile wide, lit up young Alex's face, and she thanked her mom's friend again. "I think we'll get along great, Ms... I mean Rita."
"So do I. Let's look over the portfolio your mom sent me and we'll talk about how this is going to work out in the beginning."
The two women moved from the couch to a small table with four chairs surrounding it. The polished brass, reflected through the streak free glass top, and Alex was soon pouring over photos of herself. There were ones from commercial shots she had done, advertising for her towns' local businesses, a few shots of her doing the usual display of flesh for a new car. Her favorite had been the shots of her that were taken when she was "supposed" to look as if she wasn't modeling.
Those pictures were ones that had her speeding down the road, hugging some hunky guy in a leather jacket, while the wind whipped through her hair. She was usually on a Harley or in some convertible on the lap of a friend. Her smiles were genuine in those shots; she loved the freedom those kinds of activities gave her.
Rita looked over the photos and then reached for the phone at the center of the table. She punched in a series of numbers and asked the person on the other end to come to her office. Alex was curious who was coming up to join them, and sat nervously wondering what was going to happen next.