Chapter Fifteen A Makeover for the Ages

Christina eyed Mark on the other side of the set. There was quite the bustle of people coming and going with equipment and extension cords. The talk outside the trailer was all business.

The second photoshoot was scheduled for one o’clock in the morning; technically, two days later. The pictures were to be taken in the subway, and since they were to include pictures of the train, they needed to be taken after hours.

Christina asked Mark if she should come to work the day before the shoot, but Mark said there was no need. He wasn’t going to work that morning either. Apparently, he simply took over Alexander’s contract, with the exception of pay. Mark wasn’t worth as much as Alexander. She overheard Trevor offering him less than a quarter of what they were going to pay Alexander. Trevor apologized for the cut, but Mark shook his head and said it was part of their agreement that he would model for Trevor whenever he needed him, so it was fine. He laughed and said he was happy Trevor wasn’t considering him a complete freebie.

Then he came back to Christina. His bad mood seemed to have evaporated. It was one of the tricks of a PR officer. He could turn it on and turn it off. “Sorry Christina,” he said. “I’d like to take you to my place to rest tonight, but Trevor is going to be there as soon as he finishes here, so we wouldn’t have any privacy.”

“That’s okay,” Christina said smiling, but she couldn’t help but wonder what Mark was thinking. She hadn’t stayed over at his place once. Why would she start when she was so bleeding tired? “I’m just going to go home and have a hot bath, and I’ll see you in the subway tomorrow night, okay?" Then she started walking away.

“Wait,” Mark said, grabbing her arm. “Can I see you tomorrow? We have the whole day off.”

Christina laughed. “Maybe you have the whole day off. Since I don’t have to come to work, Mindy booked me. She was really worried she wouldn’t have enough time to doll me up for the subway shots because I wouldn’t get home from work until six, but now that I’m free, I’m sure she’s figured out an entire day of soaking and steaming. Hopefully, I’ll come out looking smooth,” Christina said with a wink.

“Can’t you make a little time?”

“Maybe in the morning,” Christina said quietly. He was certainly persistent.

“What time?” Mark asked.

“I don’t know—early.”

“I’ll be over early then.” He kissed her on the cheek and let her go.

Christina stumbled away to find Mindy since they were supposed to be driving home together, but she couldn’t get his expression out of her head. What was it about glamorous Tina that never failed to captivate Mark’s interest? No matter what he said, he always acted differently toward her when she was dressed up like Tina. It was clear he was far more attracted to her… and that stung.

***

The next morning, Christina’s nose felt itchy. She scratched it and rolled onto her stomach. Then the itch moved to her ear. She scratched that, too. Then the side of her neck, her elbow, the back of her hand, and then her neck again. Fed up, she sat up and scratched everything.

“Good morning, Tina,” a deep voice whispered.

Christina woke herself up the rest of the way and saw Mark sitting on the edge of her bed. He was holding a long white feather. He’d been tickling her with it.

She looked at the clock and saw not only a bra hanging over the nightstand, but also the time—seven… am. She snatched the bra and shoved it under her pillow. “Mark, what are you doing here?”

“You said early,” he said, leaning back on his elbows.

“Yeah, early. Couldn’t you have called?” she asked as she jumped up to find any other offending pieces of clothing she might have left lying around. “Or at least knocked before you came into my bedroom?”

“But I wanted to come over before you woke up. You look so cute when you sleep,” he teased.

“Did Mindy let you in?”

“She’s nice, isn’t she?”

Christina stood there in her pajamas and stared at him. After his behavior yesterday, she would have expected to find him a wolf today—predatory and hungry—for a lack of better words. But instead, he was laughing and chummy. He had even dropped the feather, so there wasn’t the faintest hint of a forthcoming seduction scene. It felt like their fiery kiss in the trailer the day before hadn’t happened.

Christina snatched her blue moon housecoat off the hook and put it on. She ruffled her short hair until it practically stood up on end. “Would you like something to eat?” she asked.

“Couldn’t I take you out for breakfast again?” he invited.

“No,” Christina said, she opened the door to her bedroom and went out into the kitchen. “I have to get dressed up later and I’m not doing it twice when I’m this tired. I’m making eggs on toast for myself. Would you like me to make some for you, too?" Christina opened the fridge and started pulling out ingredients. There wasn’t much there that belonged to her.

Mark followed her into the kitchen and started looking in the cupboards for a frying pan. He found one and put it on the burner for her. “Tell you what, since I was so inconsiderate, why don’t I cook for you? You said you wanted eggs on toast? I’ll make them for you. You sit down and I’ll do all the work."

He led her toward the table and Christina dropped herself into one of the chairs.

Mark opened the fridge and found some orange juice. He was about to pour a glass when Christina stopped him. “Don’t drink that!” Christina said urgently, stopping him in mid-pour.

“Why?” he questioned, confused.

“That’s Mindy’s. I didn’t buy it.”

“You and Mindy don’t buy groceries together?”

“No,” Christina said, shaking her head. “She had some bad experiences with her last roommate and so she said she wanted to buy things separately. I bought the milk, so you can have that.”

“I was pouring this for you, not me,” he said, returning the orange juice to the fridge and taking out the milk. The way he said ‘for you’ made Christina’s heart skip. He brought her the milk and turned back to the stove where he started cracking eggs into a bowl. “You know,” he said lazily. “I was thinking you never got to try my stir fry.”

“No, I didn’t. Laura and Dominic interrupted us.”

“Yeah,” he said, deliberately keeping his back to Christina. “I feel like whenever we get a few minutes alone together we’re interrupted by someone. Yesterday, it was Mindy and Trevor; both in the trailer and when I took you out for lunch. It feels like there’s always someone in line who wants you, wants me, or wants both of us. I’m starting to get fed up."

“It does seem like we’re suffering from some rotten luck,” Christina admitted. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking dreamily through the kitchen window out onto the sun-dappled parking lot. “And it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. We still have two more photo sessions, and then the wrap-up party. We’re going to some club, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” he answered quietly.

Christina didn’t catch the frustration in his voice and continued, “Then we’ll both be back at our desks working. It’s kind of hard to be a couple at work, isn’t it?”

Mark turned around and looked squarely at Christina as the eggs crackled in the frying pan behind him, “Maybe we won’t be back at our desks. At least, I might not be.”

“Why not?”

“Trevor found a job for me,” Mark admitted.

Christina giggled. “Working as a model?”

“No,” Mark said, looking uncomfortable. “It’s a job in public relations. Trevor has been after me to take it since he got back. The offer was pretty impressive.”

The reason for Mark’s discomfort was becoming clear to Christina. “It’s not here, is it?” she asked.

“No, it’s in London. That’s why I don’t want to take it. To me, it looks like just one more obstacle. I want to be with you, but… it pays a lot more money and I’d be the director of the public relations department instead of just an officer. So, I’m tempted.”

“Are you asking me what I think?” Christina asked, taking a sip of milk.

“Well,” Mark said. “You are my girlfriend. You deserve to have your say before I make my decision. I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Christina sat quietly for a second, thinking. Mark was leaning against the counter examining her expression and waiting for her reply.

It was going to tear her apart to say ‘good-bye’ to him, but she couldn’t stop thinking about their relationship. It always felt like he liked Tina far more than Christina, and she couldn’t tie him down if the one he liked wasn’t her true self. She had always thought he was more than she could handle. Why would a guy like him want to be with a plain-Jane girl like her?

“Mark,” she said quietly. “It sounds like a great opportunity. I think you should probably take it.”

“You don’t want me to stay?” he asked as he turned around and started scrambling the eggs crossly.

“Of course I want you to stay, but I also don’t want to hold you back. You know, it’s a delicate balance, but…”

“But what?”

“But,” Christina swallowed hard and braced herself for what she was about to say. “I was never really good enough for you to begin with. You’re incredible, fascinating, and you have it all together and I… just pretend. You deserve someone who doesn’t need to dress up to get your attention.”

“Is that how you really feel? Is that how I make you feel?” he asked. His voice was tight and dry.

She’d screwed up. He didn’t take it as a compliment at all. What could she say? She felt tortured. She had to come up with a way to smooth everything over as quickly as possible, but no ideas were coming.

When she didn’t answer him, Mark turned around and approached her. “You know, sometimes I feel like my feelings are too close to the surface. Maybe I leave my face too open and you read exactly what I think and feel—and then you say exactly the right thing to either excite me into ecstasy or to twist the knife that much deeper. Are you doing it intentionally? What exactly do you want from me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m not like that,” Christina cried.

“Really? What about yesterday during the shoot? Trevor wouldn’t have cared if we kissed on the set, while he was taking pictures of us. No one would have cared, but you kept on turning your face away over and over again.”

“I didn’t do it to insult you or to push you away. I thought you weren’t serious and you were just hamming it up for the shoot.”

“And then in the trailer? I fell on my face when you pushed me away,” he accused.

“But Mindy and Trevor came in! It wouldn’t have been professional!”

Mark stared at her wide-eyed. “Are you really that straight-laced? Give me a break. You had no problem with public displays of affection when you worked as an escort. Why be squeamish now? Besides, it was Trevor and Mindy. I can’t even think of two people who would have cared less if they caught us kissing.”

Christina exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry Mark, but I keep telling you that I’m not experienced when it comes to that sort of thing. Apparently, I make stupid mistakes. I honestly wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. I’m not like that.”

“Well, I’ve been trying very hard to figure out who you are, Christina. Sometimes, you’re so hot it seems impossible a woman like you exists and sometimes you are the girl-next-door to a T.”

“I am the girl-next-door,” Christina said sorrowfully. That was the truth and she might as well get it out in the open. He might as well know who he was dealing with.

“Bull!” Mark accused. “If that was all there was to you then it would be impossible for you to pull off being Tina. Maybe you’re not a little girl anymore and you don’t want to deal with the fact that you can be a skilled man-eater.”

“But you are never attracted to me when I’m not dressed like Tina!” Christina wailed, finally saying exactly what was on her mind. “You’re always trying to get me to go out with you while dressed like her.”

“For your information, it’s not just how you look. It’s how you act. You can think I’m shallow if you like, but I promise, it’s not just the long hair and additional curves. You act flirty. It’s cute.”

Christina bit her lip. She was listening carefully to what he had to say, but her vision got blurry when she realized that what she’d believed all along was true. He did like her better as Tina.

“You’d better go,” she said quietly. “Thank you for making me breakfast." Then she got up and headed towards her bedroom.

“Wait,” Mark said, grabbing her arm.

“Don’t say anything else, Mark,” she said, jerking her arm free. “Look, everything is cool between us, but if we keep talking it won’t stay that way and we need to work together tonight. So, just consider this a breather and I’ll see you tonight. Okay?”

“Okay,” he said and made his way to the door. Apparently, he understood as well as she did their need to get along for the sake of the campaign.

Christina listened to him put on his shoes and go out the door. She heard his footsteps down the hallway and she even heard him open the door to the stairs. What if it was the last time he came and the last time he left? The thought was too much for Christina.

She’d always felt like Mark was too good for her. She wasn’t the kind of girl who could win a guy like him, was she? Her conversation with him had done two things. First, it had made her miserable. Second, it let her know how she could not only get Mark but also how she could make him happy. Did she like him bad enough to make the sacrifice? To give up being Christina?

When her determination became concrete, she got up and went into Mindy’s bedroom. She wouldn’t be able to go through with her plan without Mindy’s help.

After Christina explained, Mindy laughed. “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s sort of intense, and it could end badly.”

“I want to,” Christina said boldly, rubbing the tension out of her shoulders. “I want to see if he means what he says. If he’s really that far gone over Tina, then let’s see how far he’ll go if we give her to him.”

“Are you trying to drive the man insane?”

“Maybe.”

Mindy shrugged her shoulders. “And what about Christina? What will happen to her?”

“She’s me. She’ll always be me, so it won’t matter if I give this a try,” Christina said stiffly.

“If that’s how you feel, then I’ll help you, but today is going to be brutal. Prepare yourself!" Mindy grabbed her cell phone and started making calls.