Chapter 27: My Darling

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Chapter 27: My Darling

Riley hardly wanted to walk through the front door and face Marshall. But she knew she was going to have to sometime. As she slipped her key into the lock and ducked inside, she was hoping he would be out or wouldn’t notice her enter. But as soon as she shut the door, she caught Marshall’s attention from the couch.

He sprung up and cross the apartment towards her, smiling. “Hey! How’d it go?” Riley bit her bottom lip, feeling a compression of emotions weighing her down. She dumped her bag and keys, without answering him and sighed. “What happened?”

She drew in a breath, “It went okay.” She looked up at him and he had nothing but sympathy on his face. She collapsed onto the sofa, trying to elaborate so he’d understand. “Sometimes photographers want a specific type of model. Not every model is the same or can always offer a certain vibe for them. The shoot went well, but I could tell they weren’t that into me. I thought this was going to be my big break…”

She felt better telling him about it that she thought but she still couldn’t hide from her own failure. If they liked her, they might have actually given her a contract. And then she’d have a permanent job with them. The rejection stung significantly, despite Mark’s attempts on the way home to make her feel better. He’d assured her that he’d never met such unprofessional people in his life. She’d had such high hopes on this working out. And with another potential contract down the drain, it was beginning to feel like she was going nowhere. She was running out of money and was struggling for work.

Marshall studied her for a moment before holding his hand out. She gave him a look but slipped her hand into his. He helped her off the sofa and back onto her feet and led her out onto the balcony. The air was crisp but you could smell, see and hear the beach from there. The serenity instantly calmed her and she understood why he brought her out here. He knew her so well…

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you,” He insisted, sounding truly upset.

Riley shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t know what I’m going to do, though.” She rested her palms on the steel balcony bar and looked out at the horizon, wondering how on earth she was going to fix all of this.

Marshall placed a hand on her back and rubbed in circles, as if he saw the stress in her eyes. As he dropped his hand he cleared his throat. “I actually have a few things I want to talk to you about.”

She gave him a frown, confused by where he was going. “What is it?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, giving her a sheepish look, “I have an answer to your modelling problem.”

Surprise and curiosity filled her. How could he possibly have a solution? “What?”

“I got a call from Paul today,” Marshall skirted around the subject a little. “He finalized the dates for a tour I’m doing next month.”

Riley raised a brow, “That’s exciting…. But I don’t see how that-”

Marshall just cut her off with a sly smile, “We want to have you on tour with us, as part of the show.” She was so shocked she chocked on her own words, unable to form a sentence. He only chuckled at her facial expression. “We want to do the ‘Criminal’ skit on stage. And we need you.”

Riley looked back out at the ocean in disbelief. She’d be performing in front of thousands of people, it would be incredible publicity for her name and might help her land another job. “H-how many shows are you doing?”

“Forty nine over a three month period,” He returned, solemnly. Three months? He wanted her to come on tour with him for three months? “You don’t have to give me an answer now,” He insisted, softly, placing his hand on her shoulder as she looked back at him. “I know it’s a big decision and you might want to talk it over with Mark or something.”

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