Someone Like You (5 page)

The media clapped loudly this time, charmed by her blushing face and disarming smile despite it being a shy one. They frenziedly snapped away pictures. Lucas heard someone say she looked adorable. Lucas then called for his director to add a few more words before inviting the media for some brunch at the next conference room.

As soon as the media filtered out of the room, Margo quickly approached Lucas and literally dragged him to a corner as Alex stood quietly a few inches away from the models that looked at her with venomously. Alex looked down, avoiding their looks.

“Mr. Conrad, I understand we haven’t finalized the contract yet—”

“I hope you aren’t angry at me, Margo.”

“I’m not, just shocked to say the least. When did you meet my assistant?”

“You mean my newest model?” Lucas said with a smile. “A few minutes ago.”

“I guess I have no choice now. Look, I understand that Alex has a certain attractiveness but she’s not a professional model, she has no idea how to—”

“That’s what you’re here for, Margo,” he replied mildly. “I think she’s the perfect face for Trekker. She’s terrible with high heels and she has the down-to-earth quality that I want Trekker to project.”

Margo sighed and muttered, “
Mon Dieu
.”

“You do know I understand French, Margo.”

Margo nodded with a deep breath. “This will take a lot of hard work.”

“I’ll have my lawyer draw up a contract and I’ll sign it tomorrow.”

Margo nodded. “As will I. Listen Lucas, if you change your mind…your director for marketing personally chose my two girls over there.”

“You missed showing me someone I liked.”

“Is there still room to change your mind?”

Lucas shook his head. “I think she’s perfect for Trekker. Not too model-like… someone that can relate to the buyers.”

Margo sighed. “They weren’t kidding when they said you were full of surprises.”

Lucas laughed. “I’d like to invite Alex to our office tomorrow. She can get to know the brand itself. Then we’ll probably take a tour of the factory.”

Margo nodded. “I’ll have her excused tomorrow, then. Will it take long?”

“Depends on how she’ll take it.”

“Alex is smart, you won’t have a problem. Modelling is a different issue though.”

“You’re good at that, Margo.”

“Hopefully I’ll get through her. She’s rather low-maintenance…”

“You’ll do miracles. I trust you’ll talk her into doing this? She seems reluctant.”

Margo nodded and sighed. “I suppose I don’t have much choice now do I?”

Lucas laughed. “No, you don’t. I’ll see you in a few days, then?”

She nodded again and just as Lucas shook her hands, she said, “I’m onto you Lucas. I know how a man thinks.”

“Whatever are you talking about Ms. Temperley?” he said with a grin.

Margo gave a short laugh. “See you in a few.”

Lucas walked away with his director of marketing with a few of his other staff trailing behind. They were talking rapidly, with the director nodding every few seconds. Margo turned to face her models and her newest model, Alex.

She smiled thinly. “Well, Alex, this was a surprise.”

Alex nodded, trembling a little, still unable to get over what happened. “I don’t know how—”

Margo held up a hand. “Whatever that was, I suppose you’ll need to practice walking and all that. And you need a makeover.”

The models sniggered.

Margo shot them a glare. “There’s a reason Mr. Conrad chose her and I believe Mr. Conrad has Temperley’s best interests at heart. Now if you two can’t accept or won’t help Alex, you may leave.”

The models immediately quieted and looked the other way.

“Selma, kindly see that our models here are escorted to the car. I understand we have another project coming up in need of two models.”

“Yes, Miss Temperley,” Selma said, biting back a smile while looking at Alex.

“All right Alex,” Margo began. “This will be a rather different world than the one you’re used to. I suppose I’ll have to hire another assistant while you’re the face of Trekker. I’m sorely disappointed that I’m losing such a brilliant assistant.”

Alex didn’t look at her. She looked at her brand new yoga shoes, still trying to digest the sudden, horrifying turn of events.

“I’m sorry, Miss Margo.”
You have no idea how sorry I am to bump into Lucas Conrad
, she thought.

“Sorry?” Margo laughed dryly. “You’re going to have to work double time, Alex. It’s time to amp up on your work-out. You do love to run, right? And you’ve done yoga classes too.”

Alex nodded. “I only do it thrice a week.”

“All right, we’ll adjust your schedule. How about gym? I’ll enroll you where Vicky does her work-outs.”

Alex bit her lower lip. Dear god, not Vicious Vicky. Being with Vicky was just pure torture. How could this have happened? All she did was talk back at Mr. Conrad because he was being sarcastic. This was probably the worst day of her life!

“Well then, that’s settled,” Margo said, “And I have a feeling Jason will be thrilled about this,” she muttered.

Alex stood there, still dumbfounded as Margo began to walk out.

“Alex Forbes, don’t forget to grab your bag and change,” Margo told her, “And hurry.”

“Yes ma’am,” Alex said, hastily grabbing her bag, catching up to Margo who was walking steadily in heels, every inch a supermodel.

* * * *

“Sir, I don’t know what got into you,” Alice said, miffed as they sat inside a Rolls Royce.

“Isn’t it my job to question you and not the other way around?” Lucas said stretching his legs.

Alice shook her head.

“I’d like Ms. Forbes picked up at around ten in the morning at Temperley.”

“All right, sir.”

“After lunch, we’ll have a tour at the factory.”

“All right, sir.”

“What do you think about her, Alice?” he suddenly asked.

Alice was silent for a while. “She’s…unconventional.”

“By that you mean?”

“Pretty but not model pretty.”

“Which is why I want her for Trekker.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what goes on in your head sometimes. You’re like your mother. Spontaneous- sometimes too spontaneous for your own good…”

Lucas shrugged the comment off. He had a gut feeling it was going to work out fine. His brother called it “the Conrad instinct” and he was hardly ever wrong, just like his father.

“Spontaneity makes the world go round,” he said, checking his phone. There was a message from Jennifer. He quickly deleted it without bothering to read the text. Twenty minutes later, he reached the Conrad Building. It was a quarter past two in the afternoon.

“What else is on this afternoon?” he asked Alice as they got in the building.

“Well, you’re basically free this afternoon. You did the bulk of the work you were supposed to do this week last week.”

“Brilliant.”

“And you haven’t had lunch yet.”

“Perhaps a salad,” he said absentmindedly. “Where’s Charles?”

“California this morning.”

“Haven’t seen him in nearly a month.”

“There was a video call last week.”

“Not counting that.”

Lucas got inside his office and partially opened the blinds. He pressed on the intercom. “Can I have a salad? Asian, please.”

“Would you like this from the Mandarin Tea House or from Oriental Taste?”

“Which one is nearer?”

“Mandarin.”

“Fine. And some dumplings too.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oolong tea?”

“You know me too well. Thanks.”

He lay down on a couch with his hands behind his head. The day had been fairly interesting so far. It sort of made him feel alive. And Alex Forbes grabbed his curiosity too. There was something about her. He smiled remembering how clumsy she was in heels. His iPhone rang.

“Father.”

“How was the media launch?

“Went well.”

“Heard you had a change of heart with the models. “

He rolled his eyes. The director of marketing probably squealed on him for fear of being sacked in case anything went wrong.

“Yeah, she’s perfect.”

“I also heard she’s not a model.”

“Which makes it more perfect. She’s relatable to every other person out there who likes to work out.”

“Uh-huh,” his father said in a gruff voice. “I trust your judgement.”

“Means the world, dad,” he said deprecatingly.

“Watch out for that tone.”

“Yes, Father.”

“See you this Saturday. We’ve been invited to dinner.”

“Fine,” Lucas said. “See you.”

He placed his phone on the table and closed his eyes, suddenly looking forward to tomorrow. He wanted to know Alex Forbes better. It was a feeling he couldn’t shake off. Was she really smart? She seemed caustic; perhaps it was because she had her hands full during the conference? She looked lovely in that yoga outfit, she looked so simple she looked beautiful…he shook his head. What the hell was he thinking?

He picked up his phone again and dialed Margo Temperley.

“Mr. Conrad, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hi, Margo. I was wondering if you could send Ms. Forbes in without much fanfare.”

“What do you mean?”

“No huge makeovers. We like it simple. No stilettos or fancy outfits.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“Thanks, Margo.”

Lucas heard the smile in her voice. Personally, he liked it simple. He disliked high-maintenance women, even his own female cousins, children of his father’s younger brother. But all the women he dated were high-maintenance. He wished the cycle would stop. He had a feeling the dinner date he and his father were invited to was going to be another set-up.  Another date for him. Another socialite.

He sighed and sat up again, suddenly feeling weird, suddenly feeling nervous at the prospect of tomorrow…all because of Alex Forbes.

Chapter Four: The Dates For the Day

“Alex?” Margo called from the office. “Are you ready?”

Alex quietly stepped into Margo’s office wearing a simple back turtleneck and jeans. By now, everyone in the office knew what had happened. She had heard the most random stories, some harsh ones. Like how she seduced Lucas Conrad into making her the face of Trekker. Only Selma knew the truth about everything that had transpired yesterday. Even Margo didn’t. Margo had just assumed he met her before the conference and found some likeable quality in her.

“Neater than usual, hair combed. A bit of blush,” Margo eyed her, “Good. Good. What shoes are you wearing?”

“Kitten heels,” Alex replied. Please no more stilettos.

“Better than flats,” Margo said.

Alex suddenly missed her trusty black flats.
I wish I was back at home, sleeping in, nursing a cold, anything as long as I’m not here
, she told herself.

“Now you know what to do, right? This time you’re doing the modelling. Don’t screw it up, my dear.”

“I’ll do my best.” How the hell do I do my best when I don’t know a thing?

“Temperley does only the best.”

“Of course, ma’am.”
Oh, God
.

“Confidence is the key. I want this account closed. It’s pretty big.”

She nodded.

“And stop being so timid. Confidence! Confidence!” Margo said, raising her chin. She appraised her personal assistant once more. She had always thought Alex was a pretty little thing, who just needed polishing.

Jason went in Margo’s office with Selma. Selma smiled at her.

“Well, well, the newest star at Temperley. Who would’ve thought?” Jason said flamboyantly. “Now Alex, did you put on makeup? Or is this the kind of makeup we’d call ‘barely there’?”

Alex nodded. Barely there was an understatement.

Jason rolled his eyes. “It really is barely there.”

“Just the way Lucas Conrad likes it,” Margo told her son.

“I kind of imagined Lucas liked his women all glitzy and dressed up.”

“Not this Conrad. You’re talking about the other Conrad.”

“Oh…” Jason’s voice trailed off, trying to remember. “That Conrad! Michael was it? A staple NYPD favorite,” he laughed. “Mother, you know I like my men naughty.”

Alex and Selma couldn’t help but laugh.

Margo rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have a meeting today with Cosmopolitan?”

“Yes, Selma and I are leaving right now. Ta ta!”

Margo’s intercom blinked.

“Yes?”

“Ma’am, Alice Purcell is here for Ms. Forbes.”

“That’s your cue, Alex,” Margo told her. “I’ll see you tomorrow. And remember, confidence.”

“Yes ma’am.” Confidence? She had that for work, not for modelling for crying out loud! What was she going to do there? Look pretty and act stupid? That was what they usually did…

Alex met up with Alice in the waiting area near the receptionist. The receptionist gave her a strange look, as if to say ‘I know what you did’. Alex did her best to ignore it.

“Hello again Ms. Forbes,” Alice shook her hand. “Are you ready?”

“Not really,” Alex admitted. Seriously, I’m not…

Alice laughed. “The car is waiting downstairs, ready or not.”

They made their way to the elevator and Alex pressed for the ground floor.

“How long have you been working for Margaret Temperley?”

“Nearly two years. Straight from college.”

“Have you ever had modelling experience?”

“Never,” she replied, blushing again.

The elevator gave a ding. They stepped out and left the building. Alex’s eyes widened. A Rolls Royce? She’d never ridden in one before…

A chauffeur opened the door for her and Alex reluctantly slid into the car, saying thank you. Alice sat beside her.

“You’ll love the Conrad building. It’s been recently renovated, well more like six months ago. We have cafeterias on the second and fourth floors. A gym, too. You can actually work out there. It’s part of the perks of working for Conrad Retail.”

Alex bit her lower lip to suppress a smile. No Vicious Vicky, she thought in triumph.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence, with Alice occasionally telling her about the Conrad Group, its different sections and the owners. By the end of the trip, Alex already had a mental image of Charles and Michael and a scope of the company. They arrived in front of a beautiful contemporary building; its glass glittered in the morning light.

“Miss Alice, Ma’am,” the guard greeted.

“Hi,” Alex said.

Alice led her to one of the six elevators.

“Mr. Charles Conrad likes a mix of old and new. He’s also a huge fan of art deco so the elevators look vintage but they’re not.”

Alex nodded.

“Eighth floor.”

“Come on,” Alice said. The floor had large reinforced windows, light filtered everywhere. The office was spacious, with different shaped cubicles all in colourful, neat fashion. There was about twenty staff. They all looked at her as she came in. Some smiled at her, others looked, wide-eyed.

“Hey Alice,” a young man said. “Who’s the lady?”

“Trekker’s newest model,” Alice quickly said, steering Alex into another direction protectively. They arrived at the end of the office with wood panelled doors and silver handles. Alice knocked and they heard a muffled voice.

Alex took a deep breath. Confidence, she told herself.

“Ms. Forbes is here, sir.”

“Hello, Miss Forbes,” he genially said.

“Good morning, sir,” she said in a small voice. He was dressed casually, in Chuck Taylors and a slim fit collared shirt and dark jeans. His light hair glinted in the sunlight.

“Call me Luke.” Ugh, did that sound too smooth or what?

Alice’s brow rose. “I’ll excuse myself, sir. “ Alice left the room and closed the doors slowly. She smiled as she did and Lucas saw it. He smiled a small smile.

“Take a seat, Alex.”

Alex immediately sat down on a couch. He stood up from his chair.

“Do you want anything? Water? Tea? Coffee?”

“Uhm...water will do fine, sir—I mean Luke.”
Man, I gotta get my nerves down
.

Lucas went to a cabinet and slid a door revealing an all glass refrigerator. He took out two bottles of Perrier and then two glasses.

He opened a bottle for Alex and Alex murmured her thanks.

“You’ll get to know the Trekker brand today. The whole day actually.”

Alex nodded. “I’d be honoured.”

“Are you hungry?”

“I just ate.”

“What did you have?” he asked.

“A protein bar.” Better than nothing, really. This gig will have me anorexic in the end…

“We’ll be having lunch shortly at Chez Louis. Have you tried it there? The roasted duck is amazing.”

She shook her head. “Not yet. And I’m semi-vegetarian,” she said this in a small voice, looking at the carpet.

“Well,” he said looking a bit flustered, “They have really good salads too. They have their own farm in upstate New York. Did Alice tell you we’re a green building? We’ve cut down our energy by thirty percent, it’s a good feat for buildings in Manhattan. We even have an organic greenhouse at the roof top. I’m sorry am I blabbering too much?” he laughed. Damn oh damn, Lucas scolded himself.

Alex shook her head.

“So tell me about yourself.”

“I’m…an only child. My mom’s a marine biologist based in Florida.”

“Your father?”

“Marine oceanographer. He passed away when I was ten.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied. That was a terrible question to ask, he thought. “Margo tells me you’ve worked for her for around two years now. How do you like it at Temperley?

“It’s… challenging… learning new things every day.” I get pushed around; I get the brunt of the work, people hate me in the office…

“You’ve never thought of modelling?”

Alex laughed a little. “I don’t think I look like one.”

“But I hired you,” he said with a smile.

Alex blushed again.

“Margo gave me your portfolio. I think she did this in a hurry. So your real name is Alexandra Forbes. I like that name. And it says you graduated from The Art Institute of Lauderdale with a degree in Advertising and a minor in illustration.”

Alex nodded. He liked her name? Was this some sort of trap to get her to say something stupid?

“Let me see some of your works. I collect art.”

“I’ve noticed,” Alex said looking at the walls. They were tastefully chosen, some were contemporary, some charcoal drawn. “How did Trekker come to be?”

“I’m a gym buff. So, I was at the gym one day and I thought about how expensive sports clothing and gear was. I wanted a market for the middle class; it’s the fastest growing bracket in America, despite the economic flux. By the way, how did you find the yoga outfit and the shoes?”

“Very comfortable,” she said. It was the truth.

“Glad it is,” he told her, “It took us six months to come up with a perfect fabric for every kind of clothing. Even for the shoes. I didn’t outsource at all. Everything is proudly American made, thus the middle income bracket for my products.”

“You’ve done a great service for the country’s economy,” she mused. What a lame thing to say.

He shrugged. “All in a day’s work.”

He checked his Patek Philippe watch. “Ah, it’s quarter to eleven. Let’s go have lunch.”

He stood up and so did Alex. He opened the door for her as he grabbed his suit jacket hanging beside the door.

“Thank you,” she said.

Alice saw them come out of Lucas’ office. She quickly called for Ben, Lucas’ chauffeur. “The car’s ready sir. Lincoln this afternoon.”

“Thank you Alice.”

Another car? Was this guy born in a bank? Well, he was a Conrad after all, but how many cars did he have? And maids? And butlers? Did he even wash his own underwear? Did he cook? She stared at him blankly.

“Are you okay Ms. Forbes?”

“Yeah, just a little uhm—overwhelmed,” she admitted self-consciously.

“Don’t be. You’re carrying a highly comfortable brand. We’ll be doing print-ads and television commercials—”

“Television?”  she gave a little gasp. No one told me about television! How am I supposed to model on television?