Model Flirt Read online

  MODEL FLIRT

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To Hilary Bloom

  Famous photographer Quentin Berg stood up and rewound the film. "That's a wrap," he said.

  "I am going directly to a spa at a location I have no intention of disclosing," Simone announced. "No one should even try to track me down, since I will be totally out of reach." Then she stomped out.

  Jessica's ears perked up at Simone's words. With Simone out of the way, she might finally get a shot at modeling herself.

  "If anyone needs me, I'm in the darkroom," Quentin said.

  Jessica watched Quentin walk away, and a devious idea popped into her head. She waited until he had disappeared into the darkroom, then she looked around surreptitiously. Everybody around her was busy.

  Her heart pounding in her chest, Jessica walked nonchalantly toward the camera. Then she clicked open the back of it, exposing the film. Holding her breath, she quickly shut it again. She glanced around the room quickly and let out her breath in a rush. Nobody had even noticed.

  Jessica rubbed her hands together, unable to believe her luck. If everything went according to plan, she was on her way to stardom.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 1

  Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Wakefield ducked into the darkroom of the art department at Flair magazine on Thursday afternoon, her whole body trembling in shock. She leaned against the heavy door of the outer chamber and wrapped her arms around her sides, squeezing her eyes shut. But there was no escaping the horrendous image that reappeared in her mind, clear as a summer day. The image was of her longtime boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, locked in a passionate embrace with Simone, a striking supermodel.

  In the cool darkness of the closetlike space, Elizabeth replayed the scene she'd just witnessed like a movie in slow motion.

  Opening credits. Elizabeth Wakefield is searching for her boyfriend, Todd Wilkins, to tell him that she misses him and that she is sorry they have spent so little time together this week. She pushes open the door of the main photography studio on the ninth floor. The room is shrouded in darkness. Todd, are you still here? she wonders. She flicks on the overhead light.

  Tight close-up. Elizabeth stares in horror at the sight before her.

  Simone's long arms are entwined around Todd's neck, her barely clothed body inches from his. Todd's hands are resting lightly on Simone's narrow hips. And his lips are closed on hers. Focus on Simone's smooth profile. And the angular cut of her sleek black hair. And the shiny gleam of her gold bikini.

  Elizabeth gasps and stumbles backward, grabbing on to a table edge for support. Todd and Simone both turn at the sound. The blood rushes from Todd's face. Simone looks on coolly, triumphant sparks shooting from her ice blue eyes. A small smile curls on her artificially full red lips.

  Elizabeth turns and flees. The End.

  Elizabeth slid down the wall to the floor, her heart constricting in pain. That's not the way it would have happened in a film, she thought. In the movies, there were always happy endings. But not in real life. Real life was just betrayal and deception. A hot tear rolled down her cheek.

  When Elizabeth and her twin sister, Jessica, had landed their positions as interns at Flair magazine, Elizabeth had thought a whole new world was opening up to her. But now she felt as though she were trapped on a uncharted desert island—all alone. Elizabeth leaned her head back against the door and closed her eyes, tasting the bittersweet saltiness of her tears.

  She jolted at the sound of a door slamming shut.

  "Elizabeth, where are you?" Todd called down the hallway.

  Elizabeth stood up quickly and opened the interior door. She never wanted to see Todd again. And she particularly didn't think she could face him now. She crept into the developing room. A dim, red safelight cast an eerie glow in the otherwise dark room, and tall tubes that smelled of chemicals lined a long table. A row of prints hung from what looked like a clothesline, and Elizabeth stooped underneath it, looking for a way out.

  Elizabeth caught sight of a side entrance and silently pushed it open. She looked around quickly, blinking in the light as she tried to orient herself. She was in some kind of prop room. A jumble of ladders and lights crowded the small space.

  After weaving through the ladders, Elizabeth pulled open a door and found herself in a small photo studio. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling safe in the hidden space.

  But then she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

  "Elizabeth, wait!" Todd exclaimed, opening the door behind her.

  At the sound of his voice, Elizabeth rushed across the room, hurrying through the swinging doors back into the main studio. She dodged some props and sprinted across the cavernous room. But Todd caught up with her at the door, grabbing her arm roughly.

  Elizabeth shook off his hand. "Don't touch me," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Don't ever touch me again."

  "Fine!" Todd responded defensively, pulling his arm back.

  "Sharing isn't my style," Elizabeth bit out angrily. "What's wrong? Isn't Simone woman enough for you?"

  Todd's coffee brown eyes clouded over in pain. "Please, Elizabeth, let me explain," he pleaded.

  For a moment Elizabeth softened. Todd's handsome face was so woeful that she had a sudden urge to hug him.

  But then she remembered the horrible picture of Todd and Simone together, and a frozen calm fell over her. It's too late, she realized. Nothing that Todd said could take back what he had done. Nothing could erase the painful image engraved in her mind. "There's nothing to explain," Elizabeth said softly. "It's simple. You're not the person I thought you were." Then she shrugged. "I can do better."

  Sparks of anger replaced the pain in Todd's eyes. He looked at her coldly, his face an implacable mask. "I guess I already have," he retorted.

  Elizabeth winced at his cruel words. "I guess so," she responded sadly. "Good-bye, Todd," she said. With that, she opened the door of the main studio and stepped into the hall. Without a backward glance, she hurried down the corridor to the lobby.

  Elizabeth took a deep breath and punched the button at the elevator bank. The mirrored doors opened almost immediately, revealing a full elevator of tall models wearing short skirts and long blazers, all gazing coolly ahead. Elizabeth gasped. All the models looked like carbon copies of Simone. She gritted her teeth and stepped inside. Her head throbbing, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. The elevator ride seemed to take forever.

  When the elevator finally reached the ground floor, Elizabeth pushed her way out first.

  "Well, excuse me," a pointed voice said.

  "Interns," said another disgusted model.

  But Elizabeth ignored the haughty voices of the fashion clones. She flew across the shiny marble floor of the huge, elegant lobby and pushed through the swinging doors to the sidewalk. She just wanted to get far away from Flair magazine and Todd and Simone as quickly as possible. Once outside, she took big gulps of fresh air. She yanked off her high-heeled pumps and held them by their straps in one hand, hurrying across the sidewalk in her stockings.

  Elizabeth jumped into her Jeep and revved the engine. Then she tore out of the parking lot.

  As she sped down the Santa Monica Freeway, Elizabeth unrolled the window and took long, haggard breath
s, trying to calm herself. Normally she was a careful driver, but now she felt like throwing caution to the wind. She cut across the four-lane highway and darted into the left lane. The ground rushed underneath the wheels of the Jeep, echoing a strange rushing in her head. All week she'd had an eerie premonition, and finally it had come to pass. And it was worse than she'd ever imagined.

  Elizabeth couldn't understand how everything had changed so quickly. In just a few days, Todd had gone from being a Sweet Valley High basketball star to a fashion model—and from her loyal boyfriend to a swinging playboy.

  This week certainly hasn't turned out like I expected, Elizabeth thought dejectedly. As part of anew career program, Sweet Valley High juniors were taking part in a two-week-long internship program. Most of the students weren't taking it seriously. Todd hadn't bothered looking for an interesting position and had ended up as an assistant at his dad's software company, Varitronics. His job had consisted mostly of making copies and filing invoices. Jessica's best friend, Lila Fowler, hadn't done much better, filling in as a receptionist at Fowler Electronics, one of her father's computer chip companies.

  Some of the students had been more entrepreneurial, though. Aaron Dallas had found a spot working for the general manager of the Lakers, and Winston Egbert was assisting the head chef of an exclusive gourmet Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills. Elizabeth's best friends Enid Rollins and Maria Slater had found perfect positions as well: Enid, who had a passion for literature, was acting as an intern at Morgan Literary Agency, and Maria, a former child actress, was serving as an assistant at the Bridgewater Theater Group in downtown Sweet Valley.

  But Elizabeth and Jessica had landed the most exciting positions of all. They were interning at Flair, a hot new fashion magazine. Flair was less than two years old, but it was already the most popular publication of the Mode Magazine Group. Elizabeth was working in the editorial department of Flair as an assistant to Leona Peirson, the managing editor, and Jessica was working in the art department for the head photographer, Quentin Berg.

  When she and Jessica had first heard about their internships, Elizabeth had been ecstatic. Even though Elizabeth wasn't exactly a fashion buff, she was thrilled to be learning the inner workings of a real magazine. And the job had surpassed her wildest dreams. Elizabeth had expected to do mostly grunt work—or "scum work," as Leona had called it. And while she had a fair amount of tedious chores to do—opening mail, making copies, and fact checking articles—Leona had entrusted her with some serious assignments. In the few days she'd been at Flair, Elizabeth had already drafted a letter, proofread sections of the magazine, and used the Library of Congress database to do research for an upcoming article. Not only that, but Elizabeth had her own plush office complete with a state-of-the-art computer and printer. She had thrown herself into her duties, and Leona had been so impressed with the results that she had mentioned the possibility of a summer job.

  But then everything had changed. Fueled by her success, Elizabeth had done research on her own and had come up with a great idea for the magazine: an interactive reader-written article. Her idea was that the magazine would feature a one-page column called "Free Style" in which a reader of the month would write her personal opinions about fashion. Armed with a write-up of her research and notes, Elizabeth had presented the idea to Leona. Leona had flatly rejected it, explaining that it would bring down the quality of writing in the magazine. But she had promised to run the idea by the editor in chief. Elizabeth cringed at the memory. It was bad enough that Leona had rejected her idea, but it was even worse that she had condescended to her.

  It began to drizzle, and wind whistled through the car. Elizabeth shivered and rolled up the window. Then she caught sight of the familiar Sweet Valley exit sign on the far right. Darn, she muttered under her breath. Without bothering to put on her turn signal, she flew across the four lanes of the highway. A blue Toyota blared its horn and swerved out of her way, causing another car to screech on its brakes.

  Elizabeth skidded onto the exit ramp and slowed down, shaking slightly. Elizabeth Wakefield, she reprimanded herself. Get a hold of yourself. The rain was coming down steadily now, and Elizabeth turned on the windshield wipers. Her life was falling apart but that was no reason to get in an accident.

  Elizabeth stared gloomily ahead as she drove down the familiar winding roads of Sweet Valley. First her job turned out to be a failure, then her relationship. Elizabeth shook her head, feeling her cheeks burn again as the sight of Todd and the Fashion Witch, as Jessica called Simone, came back to her. Her life had gotten so bad so quickly. One moment Todd was sending her love-faxes from his internship at Varitronics, the next he was wrapped up in Simone's black widow spider arms.

  Last Tuesday afternoon, Todd had stopped by unexpectedly to pick up Elizabeth, but she had been mired in work. So she had sent him down to the art department to entertain himself. And entertain himself he did, she thought bitterly.

  Todd had walked in on a photo shoot with Simone that Quentin was directing. According to Jessica, Quentin knew immediately that he wanted to photograph Todd's youthful face. And apparently Todd fell in love with Simone's overexposed face at the same moment. Quentin had taken a few test shots of Todd, and the next day he called to hire him as a model. Todd quit his internship at Varitronics to be the next big thing, and the rest was history.

  Hot tears rolled down Elizabeth's cheeks as she pulled into the driveway of the Wakefield house on Calico Drive, and she wiped them away. It was just so humiliating. It didn't matter how interesting you were, it didn't matter how much character you had. What all guys really wanted were supermodels.

  Jessica Wakefield stormed into the house after work, furious at Elizabeth. Her twin was supposed to give her a ride home, but when Jessica got to the parking lot, the Jeep was gone. So Jessica had to suffer rush hour traffic on two buses to get back to Sweet Valley. Plus, it was raining, and she had gotten soaked to the skin. It was one thing to be stranded at Sweet Valley High, but it was another to be stranded in downtown L.A.!

  Jessica headed to the kitchen and threw her black leather bag on the counter. She was angry, she was hungry, and she was drenched. Jessica peeled off her wet blazer and shook out her damp hair. It figures, she thought. The weather had been clear and beautiful all week. Of course it had started to rain the one evening that Elizabeth decided to abandon her. Jessica didn't wear a watch, and she never carried an umbrella. That's what her twin was for. But apparently, her sister wasn't there for her anymore. A bolt of thunder rocked the house as if it were emphasizing Jessica's angry thoughts.

  Swinging open the refrigerator door, Jessica uncapped a container of orange juice and drank directly from the bottle. Then she foraged hungrily through the fridge, grabbing a carton of yogurt, a bowl of cut vegetables, and a wedge of cheddar cheese. Balancing the food in one hand, she pulled a box of crackers from the cabinet and then dropped everything in a heap on the counter.

  Jessica jumped up on a stool and munched aggressively on a baby carrot. She didn't know what had gotten into her sister. Normally Elizabeth was the responsible twin, and Jessica was the unpredictable one. Elizabeth was a straight A student with high ambitions to be a professional writer someday. A staff writer for the school newspaper, the Oracle, Elizabeth spent much of her time in the Oracle office working on her "Personal Profiles" column or writing feature articles. In her spare time, she preferred quiet pursuits, such as taking walks with her boyfriend, Todd, or going to the movies with her best friends, Enid and Maria. Fashion had never been a big priority for Elizabeth, and her looks tended toward the conservative. Elizabeth's signature attire was beige pants and a polo shirt or jeans and a cotton blouse.

  Jessica, on the other hand, lived to make fashion statements. She was always at the forefront of new fads, and her taste bordered on the outrageous. Mini-miniskirts and wild colors suited her best. Jessica's personality matched her clothes. The co-captain of the cheerleading squad and an active member of Pi Beta Alpha, the most e
xclusive sorority at Sweet Valley High, Jessica was always at the center of the crowd. When she wasn't at cheerleading practice, she could usually be found in one of three places: the mall, the ocean, or the dance floor of the beach disco.

  But ever since we've started our internships, Jessica thought, Liz has became a totally different person. Suddenly Elizabeth was only interested in fashion and success. She had entirely revamped her look with a chic new haircut and a brand-new professional wardrobe. After one day at work, Elizabeth took all the money she had been saving for a new computer and blew it on a shopping spree at the mall.

  Jessica sighed. Elizabeth hadn't just undergone a physical transformation, but a personality transformation as well. Ever since she had started at Flair, she hadn't had a moment for Todd, or for Enid and Maria. Jessica cut off a wedge a cheese and sandwiched it between two crackers, biting into the concoction thoughtfully. It seemed as though considerate, polite Elizabeth Wakefield had turned into a power-hungry shark with an eye only for her own success.

  Jessica's eyes narrowed. Her sister was definitely changing, and Jessica didn't like it one bit. In fact, Jessica thought worriedly, Elizabeth is becoming more and more like me! Jessica took a gulp of juice, shuddering at the thought. Despite their physical resemblance, from their silky golden blond hair to their blue-green eyes to their slim athletic figures, the two girls were so different on the inside that their friends could always tell them apart. Instead of competing for attention, they'd always complimented one other. And Jessica liked it that way. One Jessica was enough! After all, if Elizabeth started acting like her, then who was going to act like Elizabeth? Who was going to cover for Jessica when she needed it?

  Jessica hopped off the stool and wiped crumbs from her skirt. It was time to give Elizabeth a piece of her mind. She had to straighten her out before it was too late.

  With determination, Jessica marched up the stairs and down the hall. She burst into Elizabeth's room. "I can't believe you left me stranded in downtown L.A.!" she yelled. "It's one thing to blow off your friends, but I'm your sister! This is going too far! If you think—"