Page 120 of Blue Gold

The fire exit door opened, and one of the show assistants came out.

“Elliot, the producer is here,” she said.

I nodded at her, and she walked back inside, leaving me alone to finish my cigarette. I took one last long drag, savoring the taste of the nicotine, before tossing the butt to the ground and stomping it with my shoe.

Back inside, I noticed there was a small gathering of people around the stage. Curious, I pulled one of the other models I knew closer.

“What is this about?”

“Kyle was in a car accident last night, and Vito had to find a new producer at the last minute.”

My lips parted with shock. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, but the new producer is really good. She’s a New Yorker, and I got to work with her before,” she said as we began walking toward the rest of the crew.

A New Yorker?

I had a bad feeling about it, and rightfully so, because after a few people cleared the way and I saw Claudia, I knew I was screwed.

Merde.

Surprisingly, in the last few months I’d lived in New York, I hadn’t run into her. Daniel saw her often because Maya ended up living with her, but me? I had no reason to get close to his ex-wife, not until right this second, when she became my producer. While she didn’t know I was the person her husband had left her for, it was still a shitty situation, and just looking at her made my stomach twist with guilt. But knowing I’d have to be as professional as I could, I swallowed down those feelings and strolled toward her, a smile on my face.

“Bonjour, Claudia,” I immediately greeted her with a kiss on each cheek. “It have been too long.”

We were always friendly with one another, and even went out for drinks once, so nothing should go wrong if I acted normal, or so I thought, until she spoke.

“Have you been smoking?” she asked, her nose all scrunched up with disgust.

My cheeks had never turned red this fast, and embarrassed, I immediately pulled back.

“Huh… Oui, yes.” I let out a nervous laugh while attempting to cover my mouth. “Sorry, I forgot chew gum.”

While the others around us watched the situation unfold, Claudia kept quiet, a polite smile on her lips until she moved on to talk to someone else. With the attention away from me, I ran to grab my bag from where I’d left it this morning. Tossing my stupid cigarettes inside, I then took my mints and emptied half the pack. Thankfully, I also had a breath spray with me, which I used until my throat burned. But overdosing on menthol was a much better option than my boyfriend’s ex-wife telling me I smelled.

Putting the breath spray back in my bag, I covered my face with my palms. “Get it together, Elliot,” I urged myself before I moved my fingers up to my hair and took a deep breath. “You got this.”

And I did.

Being the professional model I was, the rest of the day went smoothly with no other incidents. And with the rehearsals behind us, there wasn’t a question about tomorrow being a success. Even Vito seemed overjoyed when he paid us a visit earlier, and that was enough to put us all in a great mood. And despite my intuitive fear, working with Claudia ended up being amazing. She really was great at her job, as funny and as kind as I remembered. And I wasn’t the only one to think that. The whole cast absolutely adored her. And with my job being done for the day, I was ready to go back home, only I’d have to pick up my bag first. Caught up in a conversation with a photographer, it seemed like everyone had left in the meantime. Or so I thought, until I saw Claudia was still here, also grabbing her stuff.

“I thought I am the only one left,” I said, moving toward my bag. “Today is very good. You are talented.”

I expected her to say something in return. When she didn’t, I turned to see her pulling her phone out of her purse, but as she did, her lipstick fell to the floor.

“Oh, let me.” I bent to pick it up before she could. After grabbing the small lipstick, I rose, eyes focusing on the makeup. “This is nice color, suit you⁠—”

A hard hit to my face took me by complete surprise, and only after I touched my cheek did I realize she’d slapped me. With eyes wide open and lips slightly parted, I stared at her, unsure of what had just happened.

Grabbing the lipstick from me, she put it in her purse and zipped it back up.

“When you’re screwing one’s husband, the least you can do is have the decency not to play innocent.”

Feeling like all the air was sucked out of my lungs, I froze on the spot. Shocked, scared, ashamed—a wide range of emotions ran through me during those seconds in which I kept staring at Claudia like a complete moron who’d just been caught.

“I-I… It is not⁠—”

“Oh, please, don’t even bother.” She tsked, not meeting my eyes as she put her phone back inside her purse.