Granted, I wouldn’t be facing anyone of this caliber in high school, but it did make me listen to Connor a lot harder. I made sure I was completely focused and gave my best effort on every drill they had me run. I now understood Ridge’s approach when I met him at the USC camp. I at first confused his approach as being self-absorbed and even a little arrogant. I later learned he was so focused on the task at hand that he wasn’t worried about getting to know me.
After lunch, I met with Donnie. We worked on making my delivery more uniform to eliminate my tells and improve my pitching technique. He didn’t want to do anything drastic since I was still in season. We then went to the batting cage and he used high-speed video to capture every nuance of my swing. I had another modeling gig with Ford, so we made plans to break down my morning workout another day.
THE CHICAGO-AREA DESIGNERS were doing a Spring Fashion Show. They were putting together a catalog for buyers who would be attending. Ford basically had all their models show up at a huge studio. When I walked in, Deb Thomas was acting as a traffic cop.
“Tiffany has your schedule. Go down the hall and to the left and you’ll find her,” she directed me.
They had a centralized place where you’d get your makeup done. I found Tiffany checking the makeup on a cute redhead.
“Good, you’re here. Take your shirt off and get into this chair,” she said and pointed.
I sat down and one of the ‘artists,’ as Ford called their makeup people, started working on me. Tiffany pulled out my schedule.
“I’m going to need you to be fast today. When the designers found out you were here, they almost all wanted you. We were able to bump you up to a premium billing. If you could talk Adrienne into working today we could make a fortune.”
I knew Adrienne was meeting with a model she’d worked with in the past who was looking for a change in management. I dialed Adrienne’s number and handed it to Tiffany. She about dropped the phone when she realized what I’d done. I could tell they were in an intense discussion. I was mystified when Tiffany took off with my phone. Kendal came in with a big smile a few minutes later.
“What did you do?” she asked me.
“I’m not really sure. Tiffany said if Adrienne would agree to work today we could make some money, so I hooked them up.”
“I heard Deb tell your agent to get other models to cover your shoots today. At first, I thought you’d pissed them off. I’d bet Adrienne had a hand in the change of plans,” she clued me in.
I shrugged, knowing Adrienne would help me out. Then my stomach growled. I’d picked Chinese for lunch and I was hungry again. Kendal heard it.
“What do you want? I saw a deli and a pizza place as I came in.”
“Greg told me I should try a gyro. If they don’t have that, I want an Italian sub.”
I was done with makeup and was relaxing in a lounge area when Kendal came back. She handed me a gyro and she had a Greek salad. We were eating when Deb Thomas found us.
“You do make it interesting. Adrienne agreed to help us out if she worked with you. When everyone found out, we had a bidding war start. Adrienne told them she was only willing to do one session, and it has to be with David,” she said and then handed Kendal the contract.
I was shocked when Kendal started signing without even asking me. I was already under contract with both Adrienne and Ford. I wondered why we had to sign a new one. Once she finished signing, Kendal handed it to me. I flipped through it and two things jumped out at me. The first was the designer: it was Alice Ural. She did stunning custom wedding gowns. The second was the number on the contract. My compensation was a lot more than I would have otherwise made today. According to the contract, my combined fees to Ford and Adrienne were reduced to be the amount I normally paid Adrienne alone. Even after they had both dipped into my pocket, I was ahead by a large margin. I wondered if I would ever make the kind of money Adrienne could command.
Adrienne had agreed to pay Ford for finding the job. I was sure it was so Deb Thomas could say she delivered Adrienne for the shoot. This way they could tell their customers they could deliver the best possible models. I knew Adrienne sometimes missed the work. I think it was part of the reason she had agreed to do the Range shoot with me. I suspect she’d come out of retirement a few times a year for the rest of her life. It was just so much of who she was.
As soon as Adrienne arrived, Deb took the two of us to meet Alice. She looked to be in her late 40s and was slightly overweight. She was wearing a huge diamond ring.
“Thank you for coming out of retirement and consenting to wear my design. It has been a dream of mine to have you model one of my creations,” Alice said, fawning over Adrienne. “I have the perfect dress in mind. Come, we need to get you fitted.”
I chuckled when Adrienne was whisked off. Two minutes later Alice came rushing back.
“You must be David. I apologize, but I wanted to get them working on her dress right away. Follow me, we need to get you fitted as well,” she said as she took my hand and led me to a room with several people measuring Adrienne.
Alice stood me up in front of a trio of mirrors so she could get a view of me from different angles.
“Bring me the Gucci, Prada and Brioni tuxedo jackets.”
A harried girl rushed to bring the three jackets. She had me try them on. Alice wasn’t happy with any of them. She seemed to be stumped when a distinguished-looking gentleman came up.
“Darling, he would look gorgeous in the Canali suit. It’s playful, and with his young looks he could pull it off.”
“Which one are you talking about?” she asked.
“Rachel, could you get me the Canali wool jacquard suit with a subtle decorative motif?” he asked the young assistant.
“Do you mean the one from their Festive Formality line?”
“Yes, dear. Bring me the charcoal-gray one.”
The girl brought out a jacket which at first glance I thought was made from someone’s drapes. It was a dark charcoal gray with a swirling, slightly lighter gray floral design. Alice tilted her head and had me turn around so she could see me in the jacket.
“Yes, this will work. Put him in a white silk shirt and find some colorful cufflinks. Rachel, go down and talk to Robert and see if he has a tie to go with this,” she said, deciding. Then she turned to the gentleman. “Carl, get him fitted and ready. We need to hurry to get the photos taken. I know you’ll make him look marvelous.”
“Of course, Darling. I know exactly what we need to make him shine.”
Satisfied that Carl had me in hand, Alice hurried off to make sure Adrienne’s fitting was going well. He found the slacks and had me put them on. They needed to take in the waist and hem the cuffs. I was surprised when he didn’t use pens or chalk; he just hemmed them with me wearing the pants.
“Try not to move too much or it might come undone,” he suggested.
I was getting the jacket fitted when a man came in with an assortment of ties.
“Rachel? Honey, bring me the cufflinks, please!” Carl called.
She had two options, a black onyx or a set with rubies. Carl had me put a different one on each arm.
“Alice, dear! I need your opinion, please!”
Alice looked at both and then the ties. She ended up picking out the ruby cufflinks with a thin dark red tie. When I was done, I had to admit they knew what they were doing. I would never have thought to wear a suit with a floral pattern on it. I was a little nervous to move too much because they’d made everything a snug fit. I didn’t want to pop a seam and delay the shoot.