The Designer and the Model

Chapter 6 - First Workshop

Chapter 6

"I'm coming! One second." I hollered out to the front door from my bedroom, stubbing my toe on my door as I had my shirt over my head. Tugging it down I swung open the door to see Bethany the assistant. Starbucks coffee in her pink nailed painted fingers, staring at me with tired eyes through her large circular glasses.

"Morning, nice Pj's. Have you only just woken up? It's 7am!"

"Um," rubbing my eyes I opened and closed my mouth trying to think of words but before anything came out Beth let herself in, pushing a coffee in my hands.

"You'll need to change that, you won't have time to work out any other time but the morning." Bethany told me as she sat her shoulder bag down on the kitchen counter. Walking with her I took up a seat at the counter as she took out an array of sketch books. Bethany ran me through and took time making sure I knew the steps and motions of the Runway.

I was very grateful she came by because it was a nice beginning to a hell of a day, I must have practiced walking the runway for 5 hours and then after that I had the pleasure of dealing with some photographer guy yelling at me.

Once Drake told me to meet Lucinda at the workshop I left sick from the come down of stress. I knew as I ordered an Uber that I should get something to eat but my stomach was in complete knots, I couldn't even bare the thought of grabbing a six-inch pizza sub and that is my absolute favorite. By the time I was dropped off at the front of the workshop I had to take a minute, picked out a bench and tried to breathe.

Clumsy, useless, idiot, stupid, deaf, dumb, blind... It'd only been a day and I'd heard it all.

"You girl, you gotta smoke?"

A Middle Eastern looking man came up to the bench with his palm drawn at me, he stunk of hard times and looked as if he'd been on the street for a really long time. His glassy eyes narrowed as I shook my head and got up to leave.

"Give me your bag, I'll take myself."

"No!" I yanked as he grabbed by bag off my shoulder, shoving me into the brick wall as I tried to retract my bag. Panicked for my wallet inside, I rushed at him. He grabbed me after holding my bag up in the air, loosening his grip on my shirt I went to run but he closed the gap.

Pressing his hands to my chest he grabbed at me. Laughing and smirking.

-

Bethany: Lucinda is pissed 🤬 get to the workshop now! Where the hell are you?

Charlotte: I'm here now. Sorry.

After being buzzed in I slowly made my way into the workshop, not seeing her around I took a seat on the daybed staring at the street really wanting to call my dad. I felt so disgusting and I couldn't stop thinking why someone would do that to me. I wasn't lying I didn't have any cigarettes... Why did no one notice him? Why didn't anyone stop him before...? He touched me.

Lucinda slammed a bunch of clothes down on the work bench behind me, I tried not to finch and moved as quickly as I could over to her.

"I'm, I'm sorry I'm late. I-"

"Be quiet and put this on."

I caught the dress she pushed in my chest and went to go to the room divider but my feet didn't move. My eyes flooded and my breath caught in my chest, before coming back rapidly and in short pants.

"Don't!" Lucinda yelled at me and I clutched the dress bowing my head, biting my cheek to stop crying as she moved me to behind the divider. My body shook and my hands trembled as I undressed and put the dress on.

I wanted to stop and calm down but I couldn't. I don't belong here, I'm useless, a stupid girl that can't do anything. All my money is gone and I'll never be able to not feel disgusting in myself ever again.

I'm so stupid.

I tried to grab at the room divider as it was being opened but I was too late, ashamed and pulling on the dress I lowered my head and walked past her into the light coming from the window.

"Where is your bag?"

"Home, eh my apartment. It's not far from here so I-" Lucinda wasn't buying it for some reason and it was crippling to think I'd have to tell her how much of a fucking idiot I am.

"I see only your phone," She pointed over to the pile of clothes with my phone on top of them, "Well?"

I told Lucinda reluctantly everything.

She called her assistant to grab the spare set of keys from Drakes accountant and called the police to report the encounter. I felt small waiting on the daybed for the police to come and take a statement from me. By the time it was all over and the police left I reproached Lucinda as she sketched.

"While I'm waiting for Bethany, do you want me to try on the clothes?" I questioned behind her anxiously pressing on the fresh bandaid on my albow, admiring an old English fonted V with leaves sprawling out, laid on the back of her neck.

"Yes, come and show me each of them."

And I did. But the last was confusing, it didn't stay in place over my chest. It was a black dress that Chris crossed over my abdomen with two strips but over my chest was a strip that barely covered my nipples. Holding the material to myself I walked out to Lucinda, "umm..."

I stopped in a state of shock when Lucinda eyed me, smirking for a moment before looking back at what she was doing. "you aren't wearing it correctly, it's backwards."

"Oh god-" turning around I breathed in and tried to shimmying it around the right way. Tattooed fingers smoothed over my stomach from behind me making my body glue in place as I watched Lucinda in the reflection of a framed mirror. I watched as she changed the straps over and spun the dress around carefully as I sucked in. Her hands were so warm and I oddly... Liked? Her touch.

Spinning around when Lucinda's hands left me I almost bumped into her. Glancing from her lips to the floor she took a step back observing the dress.

I started to notice she seemed to have one certain pose when she was judging something, she held her tiny waist and dipped her head ever so slightly to the left.

"Look I need put something plainly to you. You are my employee, I'm not interested in women and I don't care for that lifestyle so you can stop looking at me like that right now."

My heart squeezed so hard my stomach dropped and I gapped my mouth, "I'm not gay either! I wouldn't... I wasn't-" Lucinda waved off my babbling and gestured for me to go to get changed.

Quickly getting to it I could feel my heart racing and my face heating up.

I wasn't looking at her like that! I was just looking!

How is that even gay?! WTF