Eric had requested that his assistant prepare several dresses for Emma to choose from. He had personally picked out a gold, form-fitting strapless dress with an overall pattern that resembled a Chinese ink drawing. He was delighted that Emma had selected that dress to wear to the exhibition. It was unique and gorgeous, just like Emma. Wearing it, she exuded a classic elegance. The dress was a perfect match for her.
Eric stared at her, with her slender waist and long legs. Her beauty and charm overwhelmed him. Eric stood behind Emma and pressed himself against her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You are perfection, like a piece of priceless art. Thank you for choosing this dress. You have excellent taste,” Emma said, returning the praise. She hadn’t realized that Eric had so much inside information. He obviously knew that Secret was planning a cover with an Asian theme in mind. By picking this dress, he was helping her demonstrate that by not selecting her, they had made a big mistake.
“Why must you be a model? I just want to keep you to myself,” Eric complained as he placed his chin on Emma’s shoulder, meeting her eyes in the mirror.
“Look who’s talking. You must have seen Mia going crazy at the sight of you,” Emma retorted before letting out a laugh. “I hope that doesn’t happen all the time, but you don’t need to worry. Don’t we only have eyes for each other?”
“Of course,” Eric turned Emma around and kissed her as they stood in front of the mirror. Not only did they feel right together, they looked like they were made for each other.
“We need to stop, or I’ll be late,” Emma’s face glowed with happiness as she gently pushed Eric back.
“When you get back home, promise me that we’ll take up right where we left off,” Eric said, finally releasing her from his embrace.
Emma nodded as she kissed Eric on the ear. “You can have whatever you want.”
The exhibition started at 7 pm. Emma timed her arrival for a little later than that and found that many people had already arrived. She was delighted to see that among them was her mentor, Bella Dumont, the editor of Fine Figures Magazine. Everyone had dressed to impress, but Emma’s shimmering outfit and her glorious sense of style commanded everyone’s attention, including that of Linda, the editor for Secret Magazine who had rejected her earlier that day.
Holding a glass of champagne, Linda walked over to Emma with an amused expression. Her tone was scornful as she said, “I wouldn’t have thought that you’d follow me all the way across town just to get on the front cover of our magazine. I would have thought you’d have more pride than that.”
Emma just laughed as she said, “I don’t think you have your facts right, Linda. I’m not here to see you.”
“Oh, really? You obviously dressed like this to get my attention. You know we’re planning an Asian theme,” Linda replied.
“Unfortunately for you, once I made my decision, I don’t change my mind, not for anyone,” Linda felt a mild pain of regret. However, Emma was indeed beautiful, but she still wasn’t going to change her mind.
“And I’ve also heard that working with you can be a mistake,” Linda continued. “Nathan Davis at Global told me you were manipulative. Judging by what I see before me right now, he’s right. You are indeed taking advantage of the situation to promote yourself.”
“Like I said before, my appearance has nothing to do with your magazine,” Emma emphasized again with a louder voice, attracting the notice of Miss Dumont, who was currently showing some guests around the exhibition.
“I suppose I’m impressed with your drive. You’ve already put in a lot of effort to catch my attention. No wonder Mia told me to be careful around you,” Linda said, looking just beyond Linda to the person standing behind her. “But this isn’t about you, Bella. How wonderful to see you again!” she then exclaimed.
Bella looked at Emma in surprise before she wrapped Emma in an embrace. “Oh, my precious dear, it’s been a long, long time. How are you? How long will you be in town?”
“It has been a long time, and I would love to catch up with you. But right now, I seem to have a problem,” she admitted. Bella remembered why she had walked over here in the first place. She had heard two people arguing. She released Emma and turned to Linda. “What’s all this about? How could this be?”
Linda was shocked. Wasn’t Emma here because she wanted to get back her front cover shoot? How did she know the editor of Fine Figures, and why was their relationship so close?
Emma didn’t hold back. She explained the entire incident at Secret magazine to Bella. Bella’s immediate reaction was that the people at Secret were out of their minds. She turned on Linda, “This is where your magazine is doing so badly. You obviously have no eye for talent. I can’t believe you would be so foolish as to reject Emma. She’s one of the best in the business. Do you know how many awards Emma received when she modeled in France?”
“Wait a minute, isn’t she new to the scene?” Linda was dumbfounded.
“Are you joking? You obviously haven’t done your homework. Emma appeared at Master Bond’s show. In fact, she was in the finale. At the time, she was only 17 years old, and you were still a nobody,” Bella said, affectionately hugging Emma again. “My precious, don’t be upset. Whatever help I can give, just let me know. Is there another magazine whose cover you’d like to grace? My advice would be to stay away from Secret.”
Linda watched in disbelief as the two walked away, her blood beginning to boil. This was all Mia’s fault. If she hadn’t poured poison in her ear about Emma, she would have seen how perfect she was for their cover. She couldn’t let this happen. She had to get Emma back.
Angie had to get back on Bella Dumont’s good side, or Secret would really be in trouble. Now that getting Emma back was her main objective, she forgot all about her previous statement that she’d never change her mind.
Emma hadn’t looked back at Linda. She hadn’t needed to guess what she was thinking. She could just picture Linda standing in one place, a stunned look on her face. Emma thanked Bella for her offer of assistance but insisted that she didn’t need any more help. “Bella, I’m clear on where I stand right now, and I’m gonna take one step at a time to regain my position. I’m so thankful for your friendship and for your desire to help me.”
“My precious, the most important thing in life is to know what you want. It’s never too late to start again,” Bella nodded understandingly.
“Thank you so much, and look at you, you completely stand out in the crowd. You haven’t changed at all,” upon hearing her praises, Emma smiled humbly. Well, it felt wonderful to be praised. She knew that there were many people in this industry who were as good or better. Getting back to the top would take more than talent; she needed hard work and a lot of luck.
As the exhibition ended, Bella left the hall to personally escort Emma to her car. Seeing the two of them leaving, Linda came running out. “Can you spare five minutes to chat with me?”
Emma looked at Linda for a long moment before answering, “What do you want to chat about?” she asked directly.
“Are you still willing to be on our front cover? If so, tell me what it will take to get you to sign a contract. Whatever you want, we got. Are you ready to risk going up against Mia?” Emma asked.
“You’ll have to deal with the fallout from that,” she said.
Linda took a deep breath. “I’ve said it already, whatever you want, you’ll get, regardless of the expense.”
“Then I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow,” Emma said and got into her car.
“Mia, tomorrow you’ll realize that everything’s changed.”
