![]() The Secret Lives of Royals
-- EXCERPT: “It’s on Thursday. We’ll meet there at 8PM. A car will come to get you.” He pauses, gives me a once over and says, “The girls in the closet can help you with an outfit.” I’m caught off guard and I just stare at Connor, coolly heading off in the opposite direction as if he hasn’t just casually knocked my fashion sense, my self-confidence and basically who I have been up until this very moment. … “Thursday morning when I step out of the glass elevator at Le Salon, what can only be described as a glam squad descends upon me. When I ask where they came from, I’m informed that Connor has sent them because as they delicately put it, “I need help.” The first blonde eyes me warily as if I’m a 1,000 page report on her desk that she is about to dig into. “You are not, uh,” she looks at the others apparently searching for tact, “meeting a certain standard, uh, in terms of brand image.” I feel like a reality TV star, a “before” to be clear. Though, I would die if anyone from Le Salon knew my thoughts were this basic. The crew sees me, moves their heads up and down to examine me in unison as if operated by the same spine, and exchanges a look that says, “We’ve got our work cut out for us.” To be honest, I’m finding them more than a little judge-y. I wouldn’t say I’m a hot mess. Although it’s true I could get my nails done a tad more often, but I live by the rule of two out of three, which is that if you can hit two of these three things every day, you are doing pretty well: hair, make-up and outfit. Admittedly, I don’t always hit two, but I had been doing okay since starting at Le Salon. I had repeatedly accomplished all three and was very proud of myself, so I’m not sure what these critical bitches are rolling their eyes about. They introduce themselves. “Hi, I’m Sophia.” She extends a hand, Starbucks cup in the other. Sophia has dark hair and olive skin; she’s dressed in skinny black leather pants, a chic purple blouse, black pumps and aged silver jewelry. Very edgy style, but she actually seems semi-nice when compared with the other two. “Kaley,” barely glances in my direction as she sips from her Starbucks cup. Dressed in ripped dark blue jeans and a black blazer, she seems more than a tad intimidating and clearly doesn’t have time for me. “Trista,” with a slight nod of the head, ad for Starbucks pose, black dress and black pumps, appears to be a bit of an airhead though apparently a wiz with a make-up brush. Sophia hands me a coffee, which I think is quite a nice gesture despite their apparent personalities. I feel a set of hands on me as they collectively drag me into an entirely too brightly lit room somewhere left of the large closet that houses all of the fashion we use for various shoots. They push me into the tall black chair used for making-up the subjects of said photo sessions. And that is how I find myself in every woman’s nightmare, staring back at my early morning reflection, pre-coffee, in a mirror lit by at least thirty 100-watt light bulbs, which is when I stop protesting. Seriously, maybe models are not overpaid. I cannot imagine doing this for a living. I immediately develop a new respect for the gazelle-like creatures that float through this place on a daily basis and who, until today, I have been envy-judging with Mads after work in an effort to preserve the last shred of my self-esteem, which has been unceremoniously murdered by Sophia, Kaley and Trista early this morning. RIP self-esteem. You will be missed. I sip my coffee and ingest the singular source of warmth in this room. ![]()
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8 Comments
Lisa Brown
6/11/2018 01:40:52 am
I enjoyed getting to know your book and thanks for the chance to win :)
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Janet W.
6/11/2018 07:32:49 am
Nice cover! Sounds like a really great read!
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Rita Wray
6/11/2018 12:16:28 pm
I liked the excerpt.
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Dale Wilken
6/11/2018 07:21:18 pm
Sounds really great.
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Patricia Barraclough
6/11/2018 07:35:27 pm
This should be an interesting look into image, why some feel it is important, and how important it is to us.
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Jolanda
6/15/2018 01:55:26 am
This sounds like a great book.
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Michele Soyer
6/16/2018 10:58:12 am
What a great cover.. makes me want to learn about this book....
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