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“Hi, Jordan. Do you have an appointment with Nicole?”
“She’s meeting with prospective clients this morning and was going to see if they minded me observing the process. I forgot to ask if it was okay yesterday, so came on the off-chance they’ve agreed. Could you let her know I’m here?”
“I texted her when I saw you coming.”
“Great.” He handed Chelsea a cup of coffee. “This is for you, in case you want it.”
“Thanks.”
He eyed a chunk of amethyst crystals sitting next to her work area. “That looks new. Are you getting swept into the crystal craze next door?”
“It was so pretty, I couldn’t resist when I went by earlier this morning. Anyhow, when I got up today I decided to do something special for myself, and this turned out to be it.”
Her face was brighter and happier than she’d looked for years. Jordan wanted to ask if the reason was the job, the new city, the guy next door or simply Ron’s absence. But his sister had been very direct in saying that most of those subjects were out-of-bounds.
It was a new experience, having Chelsea set boundaries. But he couldn’t bemoan the development.
A thought struck him that she could do well to take Nicole as a role model, as least in regards to her strength of mind. Of course, Chelsea had also spent time with Terri and Terri was strong as well, except that her strength seemed to be grounded in defiant belligerence. Nicole’s example might be healthier, which was a startling conclusion—he would have given an entirely different answer if asked about it a few weeks ago.
Jordan frowned.
He couldn’t afford too much of a rah-rah attitude about Nicole. He had to maintain objectivity and not let the articles he was writing become her public relations pipeline.
“Good morning, Jordan.” There wasn’t any hint in Nicole’s face that they’d parted the previous evening on poor terms. “I emailed the family I’m meeting with and they just sent back a message saying it’s fine for you to be there, provided you don’t take any pictures or use their names.”
“Family?”
“The daughter is underage, so her legal guardians are part of the process.”
For the next hour, he sat in the background as Nicole talked with the parents and their daughter. The eight-year-old girl appeared shy and Nicole had to coax her out of her shell. It seemed to him that one of the things she was trying to learn was whether the kid really wanted to be a model. She also seemed to be checking on the parents and how reasonable they were about expectations.
“Didn’t you become an internationally known model when you weren’t much older than Amber?” the father asked at one point.
Nicole’s face became guarded. “Yes, my parents were in the clothing business, which gave them extensive connections. It meant a lot of doors were opened early for me. So luck was a—”
“But wouldn’t you have the same connections to use for Amber?” he demanded.
“It doesn’t work that way,” she said smoothly. “In the meantime, please read the materials I’ve given you and perhaps we’ll talk again.”
With that she graciously ended the interview. She sighed and dropped into her office chair once they were gone.
“Is it tough to deal with families like that?” Jordan asked.
She jerked as if she’d forgotten he was there. “To an extent.”
“When it comes to a minor child, is part of your decision based upon how well the parents may fit into the process?”
“For me, yes.”
Jordan rubbed his face. “Look, I know I’ve been a bulldog on this issue and I know you want your parents to be off-limits, but as you already pointed out, there are gray areas where it’s hard to know the dividing line. Is there any way to separate the experience of how your parents handled things, with how you view any child models you might decide to represent?”
Nicole tossed her pen onto the desk. “Probably not. I asked before, and I’ll ask again, how much do your mom and dad influence your view of the world?”
She was good at throwing questions back at him, but he wanted to stop that game. For good or ill, his parents had influenced him the way any parents influenced their children. But at his age, he was responsible for his own thoughts and feelings, he didn’t need to blame his childhood. Of course, Nicole was probably trying to say the same thing about herself.
