“As you are undoubtedly aware,” he continued, “in my line of business, beauty is a large part of a model’s success. You have a natural and uniquely strong glamour. Your desirability is not something that need be enhanced; your appearance is just as compelling as your character.” He smiled widely. “What will be the key to your success, young Jaxxon, is that pair of eyes you have. They take on a certain intensity when you are…shall we say frustrated? They literally smoulder. It is most entrancing. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. I’m sure we can somehow manage to frustrate you a little during the photo-shoot.”

The latter sentence distracted Jaxxon from contemplating whether he was a little nuts and had missed his medication. “Photo-shoot?”

“Yes, I’d like you to come and meet my business partner, have some test shots, and then together we can go from there if this is something that we would all be happy with.”

Jaxxon might have sent him on his way with a snort and an insult if it wasn’t for the fact that her instincts seemed to like him. She trapped his gaze with hers. “You’re really who you say you are?”

Richie wondered if she had any idea just how enthralling her gaze could be. Like she was literally yanking the truth from his soul. “Indeed I am.”

“This isn’t some kind of scam?”

“No, it is not.”

“You are honestly considering me as the face of your new cosmetics range?” She didn’t hide how idiotic she found that idea.

“Yes I am.”

“You’re not a fruitcake?”

Richie laughed. “I understand this may seem a little surreal. I don’t suppose opportunities like this just crop up all the time.”

He had that right. It was certainly not every day that someone like her was approached by a modelling agency, and then be told that she was super because she was sort of damaged and rude. It would have made sense for her to be experiencing some kind of shock at this moment. However, Jaxxon had long ago concluded that life had so many twists and turns that trying to anticipate anything in life would be downright stupid. ‘Expect the unexpected’ – wasn’t that what they said? She still lived according to the theory that it was best to always roll with the punches. And as punches went, this risk wasn’t even a slap. It wasn’t as if she had anything to lose.

And yet, for her to reach for this opportunity would make her feel somewhat of a fraud. Sure she knew suffering and pain, but so did a gazillion other people; it made her nothing special. “Listen, if what you’re looking for is someone who’s experienced real pain then you should go further down the poverty drainpipe. Plenty of people have been through worse than I have.”

“True, but the depth of your pain is not the main factor here.”

“And I really don’t get this ‘entrancing’, ‘compelling’ crap that you’re saying about me.”

Richie’s lips curved into a smile. He liked that she wasn’t vain. “That is merely a matter of self-confidence. We can work on that.”

“The trouble is…you’re not really considering what you’d be letting yourself in for. Something tells me I’m not the kind of person you’re used to having around you.”

“How so?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not friendly or polite.”

“Most pleasantries, pleases, and thank-yous are insincere, I find.”

“I don’t smile much.”

“Your intensity is what I like.”

“I don’t pose, and I don’t know how to strut – nor would I want to learn.”

“Has nobody ever told you that there is an effortless sensuality to your movements?”

God, this bloke was persistent. “I don’t work well by myself, or as part of a group.”

“Then you’ll be dearly frustrated, which will very conveniently bring that incredible spark in your eyes for the photos.”

“I wouldn’t think twice about hurting someone who tried to touch me if I felt I needed to.”

“I shouldn’t worry about that − you’re scary enough to make people hesitate to touch you anyway.”

“I curse like a sailor.”

“We can always say you have Tourette’s syndrome.”

“Even someone with Tourette’s syndrome would be wide-eyed by some of the things that come out of my mouth.”

He shrugged. “That is simply because you are an expressive person. There is nothing at all wrong with that. It is part of what makes you so intense and puts that look in your eyes.”

“So, basically, what you’re saying is that you want me as the face for this range of yours because I’m a bitch who doesn’t care that she’s one?”

He grinned at her opinion of herself. “Even bitches can get a break in life.”