Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(60)

“You cannot pay for this!”

Bryna shrugged. “I can do what I want.”

“Well, that’s not necessary,” Francesca said. “We’re doing this for fun. I just wish I could have gotten a few more people together for you.”

“No, this is perfect. I just have to pick another ten then,” Trihn said in wonder and bewilderment.

“Oh, let me take a look,” Francesca said. She leaned over the images they had been sorting through before she’d shown up. “Hmm…”

With ease, she went through them and picked out nine. After a minute, she selected the redhead as their last model.

“That’s who I would go with. They seem to fit the Trihn I know. And we can work with them in the meantime,” Francesca said. “It’ll be like a three-week mini vacation.”

“This is going to be amazing,” Trihn said, feeling more excitement than ever for this project. For the first time, she really thought that she could do this.

Trihn reached for her phone that she hadn’t looked at in hours with all the interviews they had done. She had missed a few texts and a video message from Damon. She clicked on the message and was transported to LA where he was standing in what looked like the midst of a recording studio.

“Hey, love. I just got into the recording studio. Chloe wanted to show me around. Here’s Chloe. Say hi, Chloe.”

The camera veered over to Chloe with her dark hair piled up into a ponytail on the top of her head. She was in dark jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. She waved at the camera. “Hey, Trihn!”

Damon flipped his phone back to face him. “We have to work bright and early tomorrow morning at eight a.m. I have no clue what I’m going to do with myself that early in the morning. All I know is that I’m missing you like crazy, and I hope that your model call went well. Call me back when you get this message.”

The message ended, and before she could even sigh or smile, Francesca leaned over and looked at her with wide eyes. “Was that Chloe Avana?”

Trihn laughed. “Yeah.”

“And Damon Stone?”

“You mean, her hot rock-star boyfriend?” Bryna said with a wink.

“Girl, we have a lot to catch up on,” Francesca said.

“I guess we do,” Trihn said.





AS MUCH FUN AS IT WAS to have all her model friends around Vegas for the days that Damon was gone, it was also exhausting with all the work Trihn had to do. She had stayed up late into the night and gotten up early every morning just to try to finish her papers while working on this project.

It hadn’t hurt that Damon called every morning and every night before she went to bed to fill her in on what was happening. It’d sounded like a long, tedious process, but he’d said, other than one hiccup, everything had been running smoothly, as planned.

He was supposed to come home in the morning, and she was all jittery ready to see him. She knew he finished in the studio around ten at night on a late day, so she was sitting around the house working on one of her papers and waiting for his call.

Bryna and Stacia were wandering around the house in short cut dresses and dancing to a playlist Stacia had put together on Spotify.

“Trihn,” Stacia cried, “come on! Dance party!”

Trihn looked up at them over the top of her MacBook. “As much as I’d love to, I have work to do.”

“All work and no play makes you as bitchy as Bryna,” Stacia said.

“Hey, I’m queen bitch. Trihn is just a moody, angsty, serious bitch. There’s a big difference. I was born this fabulous,” Bryna said.

“I’m not bitchy. I’m just the only person in this house who cares about my education.”

Stacia laughed. “We all care…sort of.”

Bryna cracked up. “Come on. It’s Friday. Let’s go to Posse and have a drink. Maya is working, and you could probably stand to get out of the house.”

“I’d love to, but I’m going to pass.”

“You can’t just sit around and wait for Damon to call,” Bryna said. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed her quintessential stare on Trihn. “And don’t try to deny that’s what you’re doing.”

“Fine. That’s what I’m doing. I’m that girl. But he’ll be coming home tomorrow, and then I won’t be freaking out anymore.”

“Or you could just trust him,” Bryna said.

Trihn closed her eyes and counted to ten. “I do trust him. I just miss him.”

“We both know you well enough to know that you’re worried,” Stacia said, taking the seat next to Trihn.

“And we think it’s in your best interests to get out of the house. Damon isn’t Neal,” Bryna said. “There’s really no reason for you to be so stressed.”

“I don’t think he’s like Neal,” she said. “In fact, maybe he’s the opposite of Neal. I just want Damon to be home.”

“Well, he won’t be home until the morning. So, a party it is,” Stacia said. “Plus, everyone is going out tonight—the whole football team and all the cheerleaders. We only have a week until nationals, and the guys are playing their spring game the weekend we get back.”

“So, you want me to go and hang out with your boyfriends—”