Just The Tip - Cassandra Dee Page 0,3

stats. I could be a wretched hag for all you know.”

The voice wasn’t perturbed by my rude behavior.

“Of course, honey,” the woman said sweetly. “Why don’t you come by tomorrow at 11 a.m.? It’s 243 Divisadero Street. Bring two bikinis,” she added. “One in black and one in red.”

“Wait, I didn’t know I had to provide the clothes,” I shot back, but it was too late. The woman had hung up and I was stuck going to the mall later today. WTF? I thought models sold outfits, not supplied them. But it was too late now, and two hundred dollars per hour was cash that I desperately needed.

2

Jenna

I showed up at Divisadero Street, looking around dumbfounded. There were only warehouses here, and nothing to indicate a professional photography studio. Instead, it was clearly an industrial area. Everything was grey, from the sky to the asphalt. The faceless buildings were grimy and dirty. Oh god. I could feel in the pit of my stomach that this was a mistake.

I found the bell to number 243 and rang the buzzer, the electric squawk making me jump. Chilled, I rubbed my arms, hunching my shoulders against the cold San Francisco wind.

After a pause, after which I can only assume I was surveilled by the camera in the corner, the door clicked and I was able to shoulder the steel-reinforced door open. There was a steep, narrow staircase going upwards and I tiredly hoisted my bag over my shoulder, trudging upstairs.

The truth is I’ve been studying out of boredom and necessity. I’d been cribbing off of Tina before and obviously, that wasn’t an option anymore given our contentious relationship. Plus, the girls I’d always thought of my “friends” at law school were curiously dismissive.

“Oh yeah, your bridal shower. I’m so sorry to hear about that,” said Courtney from my contracts class. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Well, I’d love to be taken out to dinner,” I’d hinted. “It’d mean a lot to me.” I’d just been publicly shamed with the break-up of my engagement, and I was hoping some girls would band together and take me out to make me feel like a princess.

But Courtney was curiously evasive.

“I’m sorry Jenna, I’m just so busy,” she said. “Henry’s got exams too, and we’re both trying to cram before things really get hectic.”

That made no sense to me. She’d had time to come to my bridal shower but had no time for a regular dinner? Plus, Courtney hated Henry. She was always begging me to set her up with one of Jake’s millionaire friends.

But I guess once I didn’t have the Jake connection, Courtney’s hopes of marrying rich had gone up in flames and she saw no reason to invest in our friendship anymore. She’d hemmed and hawed some more and I’d let it go because there was nothing else to be said. She clearly wasn’t interested in hanging out unless I had a hook-up to wealthy dudes.

Sadly, that’s how it was with a lot of my so-called friends. They disappeared like smoke once my broken engagement became widely known, giving the most random excuses and not returning calls.

So I ended up studying instead, making the most of my time alone. I could have gone on the prowl immediately, started looking for another man, but my reputation was already damaged enough. It’s not every day your sister steals your billionaire fiancé out from under your nose, and even I recognized that a break was needed to let the drama dispel before I started up hot and heavy with a new guy.

But studying doesn’t pay money. So here I stood, lugging my bag to this modeling gig or whatever it was. Given the dingy surroundings, things didn’t bode well.

Finally, at the top of the stairs was another steel-reinforced door, this one just as heavy and imposing. However, as soon as I reached to knock I heard the lock click open, surveillance cameras whirring towards me once again.

I pushed open the massive steel and was greeted by a wave of warmth. Thank god, because it was chilly and I was shivering, so the humid heat was a welcome respite. There were blinding lights and I put up a hand to shield my face. Holy shit, those were Krieg lights blasting a bright, white glare onto everything on the stark floor space.

The scene inside took my breath away though. I blinked, surprised. Multiple cars were parked, although how they’d gotten them up onto the second level, I