Undercover: Book 1 — Chapter Thirteen

I woke from the feeling of someone shaking me. Peeling my eyes open, I saw a woman with brown hair looking at me. Mary.

"Clover, wake up, we're here," she said, causing me to groan.

I forced myself to get up and stretch a bit so I wasn't so tired.

“I am so happy to be here!" Tori exclaimed as we went to the bathroom to fix our hair before we got off. As soon as we stepped off the plane, the airport luckily only had a few groups of paparazzi on the side. You’d think they'd get tired of doing this after a while.

I’d changed before we landed and was now wearing a leather jacket from last year that said on the back: Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show NYC. And the year, of course. Tori was wearing something from Pink, since she wasn't actually in the show at the time and wasn't allowed the jacket. We both wore matching gray tank tops underneath that came from Pink as well. Both of us wore a pair of blue skinny jeans and black heels. We both looked pretty good for just getting off a plane.

Victoria’s Secret provided us with a vehicle to get around with, so it was easy to get to the place we were staying at.

"Okay, so at noon tomorrow you two have an interview with Ricki Lake and they may ask some personal questions like about school, relationship statuses, and a few about the upcoming fashion show, too. So, I hope you both are prepared because you’ll have an hour to get there by the time you get up tomorrow for your runs," Megan, Tori's manager, said.

We both nodded. This was going to be easy. Every interview I've ever given, they always ask the same questions and all I do is give them what they want to hear. It helps with getting more publicity, which is why Mary doesn't even bother to tell me what to say anymore since I know what I'm doing.

"You both look fine and gorgeous as always so when you get there, they are just going to fix up your hair. Clover, you're going to change, and then you girls are going to be set to go to your own photo shoots," Mary said with a large smile on her face.

"I thought you just said we looked good? Why do I have to change?" I questioned.

She grabbed my arm, motioning for me to move closer to her. "Clover, you aren't in second grade anymore. You don't need to match your best friend. And, your photo shoot isn’t with Victoria Secret, so I expect you to look nicer than that." She pulled away, giving me a fake smile before focusing on Megan.

"There's a car downstairs, so you two can go ahead," Megan said.

I held up my hands and took a step back, “Wait we just got here. What do we have to do already?”

Mary rolled her eyes. “We went over this schedule a million time, Clover. You both have two different photo shoots tonight. Victoria’s is with VS and yours is for the new Daily NY Magazine.”

“What am I modeling exactly?” I asked in confusion.

She sighed, shaking her head. “Does it matter? Just go before you’re late.” She pushed me lightly to the door.

"Great, it’s settled! Have fun, girls, I know you'll both do well," Megan said, before pushing us both out of the penthouse. We took the elevator down to the lobby.

"You ready?" I asked Tori.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she said, and we both put on our designer sunglasses and stepped outside, almost running to the car.

"We're in New York City!" Tori yelled as soon as we sat down inside. I laughed at my best friend as she started fist pumping dramatically. The driver only glanced back through the mirror, shaking his head before focusing on the road again. I used the remote and started blasting music. About a half an hour later, we finally arrived at my stop, making the usual butterflies fill my stomach.

I stepped inside the new place, putting my sunglasses on top of my head. The furniture was all black and white and the walls all held elegant photographs.

“Can I help you?” a lady questioned in a nasal voice, completing interrupting my thoughts.

“I’m Lucky, I’m here for a photoshoot,” I said, and she typed my name into her computer before standing up suddenly.

“Right this way,” she ordered, not bothering to see if I was following her. We were led through multiple hallways before we stopped right in front of a door.

I walked in and looked at the set up. It looked like it was going to be pretty basic from the curtain that hung as the background.

“Lucky, wonderful that you’re here. We’re looking forward to working with you today. Your clothes are already set up behind that door right there. Please go get your hair and makeup done and get dressed and then we’ll get started.”

***

The next day wasn’t much different, as we followed a list of things to do. Starting with an interview. Tori and I walked into the building but got quickly taken by our hairdressers to our chairs in front of the large, lit up mirrors. My hair was left down and only a few small bouncy curls were added in less than fifteen minutes. When they finished, I was pushed over to a room where there was an outfit already waiting for me.

I quickly changed into the black, ripped jeans and a nice white shirt that rested a little below my shoulders. I slipped on the black heels before heading to the side of the stage, passing Tori on the way, who was still getting ready.

"Next, I would like to welcome one Victoria’s Secret’s angel that you all know and love. Here she is, the one and only Lucky," Ricki said, standing up and clapping with the crowd, and I walked onto the stage smiling and waving. We all took our seats again, and Ricki crossed her right leg over the left.

"Welcome! It's honestly a pleasure to have you on my show today," she said, smiling warmly.

"It's a pleasure to be here," I said, sending her a closed mouth smile.

"Okay, since we don't have a lot of time with you before our next guest comes on, we wanted to go straight into some questions from the fans. Is that all right with you?"

"Sounds good," I replied, nodding.

"What is your relationship status? @james62 asked."

"Single," I said, letting out a small laugh. Her eyebrows raised in surprise at that answer.

"I have a special question for you then,” she said before doing that dramatic pause as the crowd went silent, eager to hear what she would ask next. "Now, we all have seen the videos of two guys fighting over you and you leaving in your boyfriend Damien's car or well, your now ex-boyfriend. A source has quoted you saying, 'Whatever we had is over.' Do you have anything to say about that? And if you don't mind me asking, why haven't we seen you two together in years?"

"Well, it’s kinda a long story so I’ll keep it short," I said and the crowd listened carefully for my response. “He was someone very close to me for years, but when he came back, he just wasn’t that person anymore. Finding out he was using me was my final straw, so I ended it," I said, shrugging, and claps and cheers came from all around the room.

"Well, good for you, Lucky. We woman have to stay strong and stick together. Now, you’re officially on the market again so we have to know, is there anyone you are currently interested in?" She wiggled her eyes suggestively as a picture of me and Andrew kissing popped up on the screen. The crowd went crazy, laughing and clapping with wide smiles on their faces.

I gave a wide grin, trying to not show how not innocent I truly was in this situation. “I think that one’s going to have to stay with me, but he’s someone in my life, that’s for sure,” I said honestly. Andrew Carter always found a way in my thoughts and now that he knew my secret, he was for sure to be almost a permanent part in my life.

“I take it this boy, Andrew Carter, which an insider told us about, goes to your school?” Ricki asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“That’s something that’s going to have to stay with me as well,” I said, smiling.

"Well, then that will just lead us to our next question from Twitter. What school do you go to? @Katty9 asks."

"Next question," I said after a minute of silence. In reality, I knew they'd edit this small part out so people who would watch it on TV an hour from now wouldn't actually hear us skipping that question.

"Okay, we only have time for one more quick question. What is the most exciting part of each fashion show?"

I smiled, thinking carefully about my answer. "This is going to sound cheesy so bear with me,” I said, sounding apologetic. “I love everything about it. That feeling when you’re running up and down the steps after a quick change, the energy you feel in the air as you’re walking down the runway with nothing but a pose you choose. It’s all a feeling I hope I never forget.”

Ricki smiled kindly. “Cheers to that,” she said, clapping her hands. “Now, you’ve modeled for Vogue, Calvin Klein, Victoria’s Secret, and many more. You’re currently the face everyone knows. You’re number one and Ford’s list proves you’re making the most money when compared to other models because of your talent. We, the world, the crowd, and I can’t help but wonder, why hide your real identity?”

I thought about it carefully, partially considering skipping the question. “Privacy is such a big thing for any celebrity. Being a top model is fun, but it’s stressful and it has it’s good and bad days. Being a normal person, a normal student, where no one knows who you are underneath. All they know is your real personality and they base it on your insides. All that doesn’t even compare to any other feeling,” I told her honestly.

She set down her cards and smiled. "That sounds like a good feeling. Well, we are very excited for tomorrow night's show. Thank you so much for finding time to come today during your busy schedule. It was great having you,” Ricki said, shaking my hand.

"Thanks for having me, I had a great time," I said before someone yelled cut.

“Thanks again,” Ricki said, smiling as someone came rushing on stage, powdering her face again.

Since Tori had a slightly different schedule and still had her interview, we parted ways and I got dropped off at my location.

"Welcome, Lucky, welcome! I'm so happy you could come. Now, we are in a hurry so please go put this on in your dressing room down the hallway. When you are done come to the door on the left that's where we are taking the photos," Cierra said, ushering me to my dressing room. I wasn’t late, a couple minutes early actually, but these places always liked to act like I was, since they would probably have to take 100 pictures of every pose.

I quickly put on the black and white strapless bathing suit and went over to the next room.

When I walked into the room, there was a green screen set up and they explained to me that it would be as realistic as standing on an actual beach.

"Lucky, as requested, you are going to be posing with someone today. He should be here any sec—oh, look, here he is,” Lyndsey said, looking at the door that was slowly opening.

"Damien?"