All I Ever Wanted – Laura Devine

“Hi.” I force my voice to sound breezy. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop.” “All good.” Jackson shrugs, his eyes drifting to the desk quickly. He steps behind me, so close that my head would rest against his chest if I leaned back. His arms could wrap around my waist like they had last night.

I start to drift, but before I make contact, I remember who we are to each other and stand up straight. “I had this one.” I point to the Teen People magazine. “It was my first cover,” he says, proudly. I look up at him. He is still insanely attractive, unfairly so, but his face has hardened over time. His jaw more defined, cheeks less rosy, eyes not as bright, somehow.

“You look so young.” “Yeah.” His brow wrinkles. An emotion flashes in his eyes but quickly dis- appears. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He escorts me out of the room, and when he shuts the door behind us, I hear the switch of the lock. “You sleep well?” “Yeah, I did,” I reassure him, since it looks like he had been waiting for confirmation.

He nods quickly, pleased that I gave him the positive answer he was look- ing for, but he doesn’t look at me. I get the odd sense of avoidance when he makes his way around the kitchen, grabbing things for breakfast. He starts talking, but I don’t really register where the conversation is going, trying to gauge the sudden mood change this morning from the person I fell asleep with last night. “I want you to come with me.” I sit up straighter on the barstool. “Sorry, I missed that part.

Where are we going?” “My premiere for Annihilation.” “A premiere? As in a red-carpet movie premiere?” “That will be the one,” he says dryly. “I will mostly be doing press, but for the premiere, I’d like to have you there. We haven’t officially confirmed our relationship, so it would be good for publicity.” My shoulders sag at the clarification behind his words. The long glances from the night before, his hand slipping under my shirt, coasting up my stomach, are immediately erased.

His businesslike proposal to attend his premiere reminds me again exactly why he wants me around. It’s all for show. I let the reminder sit like a hard rock in my stomach. “Yeah, of course,” I mutter under my breath, feeling like a prop again. “I can help you get a dress.” My heart catches at the insinuation, that I won’t be able to afford one that would warrant a red-carpet appearance.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the author. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, or events portrayed in this book are purely products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to real events is entirely coincidental.

ISBN (paperback): 979-8-9930496-1-8 ISBN (ebook): 979-8-9930496-0-1 1kitap1.com/en To the Big Three. Without you, there is no me. 1kitap1.com/en “I want the fairytale.” – Pretty Woman 1kitap1.com/en I’ CHAPTER 1 Cassie m used to playing perfect. It’s a role I know well. Perfect smile, perfect pose and the perfect camera angle to capture it all in a single, effortless moment. I’ve built an entire career on the fanta- sy of it all. Reality, I know, is much worse. My hair is structured in gel, my face caked in makeup, and as I dip back to pose, a sharp pain shoots up my spine from the rigid posture I’ve been forced to hold all afternoon while strapped into six-inch heels.

After booking various one-off jobs, this one seemed slightly more promis- ing. Power Beauty has some brand recognition, even if the product was found- ed by Daria Carter, a wannabe beauty influencer whose only talent came from having rich parents. “Can you give us some non-smiling photos?” The photographer instructs, his eyes drifting to my chest. I’ve already walked out of his grasp three sepa- rate times over the course of the afternoon when his hands lingered on parts of my body he had no business touching.

“This teen beauty queen thing you’re giving me, isn’t working.” I suppress an eye roll at the sudden change of direction. When I arrived on set this morning, I had been given explicit instruction to appeal to the younger age group while the model next to me was selling to the late twen- ty’s demographic. I have a feeling the photographer’s change of direction has more to do with the fact that I didn’t let him touch me longer than a few seconds, but I try to ignore it.

It’s not the first time I’ve dealt with wandering hands, or eyes, for that matter. I force a smile. “Sure, no problem.” I step to the side at the same time a producer grabs my shoulders, angling me into a new position. One of the various interns powders my face, some- one else tightens my ponytail. I wince when I feel the sharp tug in the mid- dle of my scalp. All afternoon I’ve been trying not to study the movements of the more experienced model next to me.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 214a82e070cd1851
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 3,659,159 bytes (3.49 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9798993049618, 9798993049601
• Pages: 278
• Language: English (en)

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