Beautiful People | wlw

Nineteen: Gossip

Andre Bernard-DeSantos was a twenty-one-year-old model-actor-influencer whose first blockbuster film, Mellow the Stars, would be releasing wide in July. Vera had first seen him on Youtube when she was in high school and he was just a goofy kid with big dreams. Now he was step-on-me-daddy hot with a smile that could start wars and absolutely brimming with talent, but because he had come up through the internet, Hollywood had only just noticed him.

It was a lot of noticing, though. Everyone wanted a piece - to date him, to party with him, to work with him. He'd most recently been seen out for dinner with Carmen Juarez, with whom he was about to start filming his next project. The gossips had immediately latched on--what an upgrade for Carmen, from bland boy-next-door Troy Dicks to the hottest new guy in town. Her comeback deserved a boyfriend glow up that big. And when Andre needed a stylist for both the Los Angeles and international premieres of Mellow the Stars, Carmen's stylist Vera Kwan was the one his team called.

She'd only let out a small scream when she heard the request. Or so she told herself. She may have woken Sharise in the room next door with her yelp, but she would deny that forever.

Vera met him at Bea's studio, which she had agreed to lease part-time until she figured out a more permanent solution. The meeting went smoothly--as it should have, considering Vera stayed up all night to make sure she got it right. This was not a client she wanted to let down. He was easy to work with, adoring her suggestions and adding twists of his own. Vera was starting to feel spoiled with all these breezy clients. Andre would be the fifth to sign her, and the most high profile after Marina. The most high profile she could claim publicly until she was ready to tell Carmen about Marina, but Andre didn't seem worried about her lack of experience.

"You get the struggle of the old-school Hollywood asslickers not taking you seriously because you didn't come at this business the "right" way, and I think that's what makes your work stand out so much. I'm so pumped to work with you," he said, shaking hands vigorously with both Vera and Jay and blinding them with his spotlight smile. He didn't notice Lily at all.

His entourage, smaller than Marina's but bigger than Carmen's, trailed out after him when he left. In his wake, Vera draped garment bags over the suits and tuxedos and embroidered silk jackets on the rack, then organized a handful of fabric samples to keep their chosen selections on top, lips pursed. At her side, Jay packed up his brushes from the makeup test.

"That went great," Vera said, smoothing her palm over the lush earth-brown velvet they'd chosen for the Tokyo premiere.

"You didn't swoon even a little bit," Jay teased.

"I told you I'm not an embarrassing fangirl anymore. You were pretty swoony, though."

He shrugged, grinning. "What can I say. Andre is a whole damn meal. Was it just me or was he flirting with me?"

"It was just you," Lily said coolly.

"I can't believe it's starting to feel normal for me to just, like, meet a new celeb," Vera said. "They want to work with me. Honestly a dream. I'm so glad I finally get to do some menswear."

"I want that purple tux you had him in," Jay said dreamily. "Those shoulders, though." He pressed two fingers to his lips. "Wish menswear designers would think about us poor fools with hips and asses, though. Pants just don't sit the same, you know?"

Tucking the fabric samples away into her new, oversized purse, more practical than the small cross-body she'd worn for years, Vera frowned. "I never thought about that. Do you have to get everything tailored?"

"Not everything, and I've found a few good inclusive designers, but it ain't easy."

"I don't wear standard sizes either, so I feel that." Vera rolled the rack of suits back into the corner and covered them with the cloth. "Thanks for letting me recommend you to him."