Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(54)

“I see what you’re saying, but I recommend you find a specific story for your line. The judges will need something to latch on to. Don’t be afraid to get personal.”

“Right. Thank you for your insight,” Trihn said. She made notes in the notebook she was carrying. She had a long list of things she needed to do before she would be ready for the runway. As far as she was concerned, getting personal was the least of her concerns.

“And do you have your models yet?”

“Not yet.”

Teena carefully eyed her. “I don’t have to lecture you on the importance of having the right models for your line.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Gucci, right?”

Trihn nodded. She was surprised that Teena knew that she had modeled at all, let alone who she had modeled for.

“I’m going to have a model call in the next week or two. I have some people in mind, but I’d like a variety.”

“Excellent. I do hope this is all cleaned up before the fashion show,” Teena said, blindly gesturing to a few of Trihn’s designs.

She froze, wondering what the hell Teena was talking about. After that comment, Trihn would have to go over every single stitch and extensively work on them. Preparing for this fashion show was taking up so much time on top of her already busy class schedule. She hoped it would all be worth it.

“Thank you,” Trihn said.

Teena signed off on the paperwork for Trihn’s samples and jotted out the suggestions she had made. “Keep up the good work. Next time I see you, you’ll be directing your models down the runway.”

Trihn sighed and plopped down onto a barstool by her station. That had gone better than expected, but she still had a mountain of work to do. Just looking at it was giving her a headache. She needed to take a break, yet she had no intention of leaving the studio until she had some of this under control. Not to mention, she now had to get a model call together.

She buried her face in her hands and took a few healing deep breaths. She could do this. It was possible.

She could finish her classes for the semester and rock this fashion show. She could push back her apprehension about Damon’s newfound success. She could resist the all too-present fear about the future and her relationships.

For so long, she had been cautious about relationships. Time and again, she’d had her heart shattered to the wind. Now, she could feel she was falling for Damon. He was stealing her heart away, and this time, if something happened, she didn’t think she would be able to rescue it.

Damon was different from everyone else. He was so sincere. She hadn’t realized the difference in Preston and Neal because there was none. But Damon wasn’t like either of them.

She so desperately wanted it to be the truth and to never change that she worried she was strangling it, strangling herself. Her own insecurities were real and raw. He knew about them, of course. She’d told him about all of her issues. But that didn’t mean it would change anything in the end.

She shook her head, frustrated with her dark thoughts. Fishing out her phone, she dialed his number, desperate for a friendly voice. It went straight to voice mail, and in shock, she glared at her phone. Her breath started coming out quickly. She had to close her eyes to try to push back the threat of hyperventilation.

“Fuck,” she whispered. She needed to get this under control.

What the hell was happening to her?

When had she turned into this shell of a woman?

She gasped and looked upward. Her frustration was replaced with anger—anger at herself for letting this get to her. She needed to put this into her art, not obsess over a phone call.

Damon would call her back. He would.




Hours later, Trihn’s phone lit up.

She looked up, bleary-eyed, at the display. She had been staring at her designs all night. She had made some headway on a few, but overall, she felt like she was too close to the clothes to really see how she needed to move forward.

She reached for the phone and answered it, “Hey.”

“Trihn, f*ck, I’m so sorry. I meant to call you back hours ago,” Damon said.

“Oh, that’s okay,” she lied. “I’ve just been at the studio. What have you been up to?”

“Chloe’s manager called me. I was on the phone with him when you called me, and then when I got off the phone, Chloe called right away.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah. So weird that Chloe Avana called me. What is my life?” He laughed huskily. “We talked for a while. She was on her way to New Orleans for the last stop on her tour.”

“Great.” She lacked all emotion in her voice.

“Are you okay?”

“Yep.” No.

“Okay,” he said softly. “Well, they listened to the other stuff I’d sent over, and they liked it. They’re going to take it to the studio heads to see what happens. Still no guarantees, but Chloe thought that meant I should hear soon what they want to do.”

“Did she think that?” Trihn knew she sounded catty, but she couldn’t help it. She had been trying so hard to be happy about all of this. Her near panic attack earlier was making her bitchier than normal. Not to mention, she couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten.

“Okay…you seem upset. What’s wrong?”