The Model's Secret Bankroller

Miranda's POV

I dropped the notes in my hand on the bed and went into the kitchenette that I shared with my hostel mate, Ashley, who is also my best friend, to put on the coffeemaker. I have loads of notes to read for the test tomorrow and I have a photo shoot immediately after the test on the other side of town. Thankfully, the coffeemaker would stop once the coffee was ready so I had enough time to get a hot shower before I would drink the coffee.

I got into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The water cascaded down my body in rivulets and I massaged the liquid body wash into my skin with the help of my bathing loofah. I am built like an hourglass if I do say so myself. I have grey intense eyes and rich deep red hair that goes all the way to the middle of my back.

I am 5 feet 7 inches and have worked as a model since I was 17. Now 19, going to 20, I have worked for over a hundred magazines both locally and internationally. Juggling my modeling career with schooling has not been easy but I am determined to finish school and get my medical degree no matter what.

I shampooed her hair and gently worked the conditioner in to prepare my hair for the photoshoot tomorrow. When I was done, I sat in front of the dresser and blow-dried it before working in the mousse and putting it up in massive rollers – I wanted big bouncing curls.

I was neck-deep in student loan debt and hoped that I would be able to pay off all my debt before graduating from school. That was why I hadn't stopped working as a model. It paid most of my bills as I got little support from home.

My mother died when I was just five years old-when I was just old enough to know what she looked like. Father worked as a foreman in a shoe factory and he made just enough money to get by. Between paying the rent, payment of taxes, gas fees, car maintenance, and grocery shopping, he had just enough money to save and send to me for my upkeep. I knew Father was struggling, so I did not really bother him for money. It was why I started working as a model to support him and my younger siblings, Aaron and Sharon.

By the time I was done drying my hair, the coffee was already cold. I warmed it up and poured out some in a mug. I carried the mug to my reading desk and readied myself to start reading. About thirty minutes into studying, Ashley came into the hostel. She dumped herself on my bed and flayed her arms in tiredness. I guess she had just finished studying at the school library with her study partners.

"Hey girl, what's up? How was your day?" Ashley asked.

"Well, it was pretty good. Except for these tests tomorrow, my day would have been splendid, but hey, I have to study."

"Sorry about that mahn! All the best in your test tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"What do you have? I'm so hungry," Ashley whined again.

"You know, now that you mention it, I guess I'm hungry too. I've only had sandwiches and hot chocolate to eat all day. If I don't eat something soon, this coffee is going to get at me really bad."

"Let's order in then," Ashley suggested. We both ordered Chinese and waited for the food to be delivered. While we waited, Ashley went into her room to drop her bag and have a bath.

A few minutes later, the delivery guy arrived and I collected our food and tipped the guy. I knocked on Ashley's door to tell her that the food had arrived. Ashley came out after about five minutes and we both settled into my bed as we ate the food from the boxes.

I got up to get bottles of water from the fridge and we talked about my photoshoot and what I was going to wear as we ate. "You know Sarah Coker is the one styling me, right?" I told Ashley who looked at me wide-eyed. "Stop playing," she said as she slapped my shoulders lightly. "Sarah Coker of Hollywood? As in the same Sarah Coker who styled Madelene Cyrus for the Golden Globe Awards and styled Rebecca Simpson for the Academy Awards?" she asked, unbelief clearly written all over her face.

"Yes," I replied. "It's the same Sarah Coker, the A-list stylist who is styling me for The Orange magazine photoshoot tomorrow."

"Wait a minute! The photoshoot tomorrow is for The Orange Magazine? As in, THE ORANGE MAGAZINE, the most widely read and widely talked about magazine in America?" Ashley asked again, this time her eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"Yes baby, it's the same Orange Magazine. My agent helped me secure a three-year contract with them."

Ashley jumped up from the bed, screaming excitedly. "Girl! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," I said, getting up from the bed too and picking up the food boxes to throw them in the trash can in the kitchenette. When I got back into the room, Ashley hugged me tightly and spun me around. "Congratulations girl!!!" she said as she spun me.

"Thank you!" I said when Ashley eventually let me go. I tried to steady myself so my breathing could go back to normal as my head had started reeling from the spinning around.

"Let me leave you to focus, so you can ace those tests tomorrow," Ashley said as she left the room.

I continued reading after she left and took down a lot of notes on my jotting pad. This was my reading routine because jotting stuff down helped me to commit it to my memory. Eventually, after studying for about six hours, I decided that I knew enough to ace the tests, so I decided to sleep.

Luke's POV

The desktop computer on my work desk is blank, and the laptop has some codes displayed on it. I grunted and pulled myself up. I had just two days to complete this set of codes and deliver the finished product to the clients. My sleep was rough and I longed to have days when I would be able to sleep for at least six hours again. Working as a program developer meant that I would have to forfeit sleep on most days. It's not that I am complaining. I mean, I love my job. It's just that some days, I need extra motivation to pull through.

I know exactly what would wake me up fully. Sunlight and hot black coffee. I spoke to my virtual assistant, "Alexa, open the window blinds." The blinds open and immediately, sunlight flooded the room. This made me fully awake. Sunlight has a way of waking me up fully. I picked up the intercom and requested for coffee. A few minutes later, my chef, Alvin, came with it. He knew just how I liked my coffee, plain black and very hot.

I got into my ergonomic chair and proceeded to put on the desktop computer. I needed it to make my work faster. Once it was on, I clicked on the file I wanted to work on and placed the coffee on a saucer far enough from the laptop and the desktop's keyboard. I then get up to brush my teeth. It would take a while before I could shower because, at the moment, I could only concentrate on the task before me.

I switched off my phone to avoid distraction and buried myself in work. As soon as I started working, I came alive, and every piece I needed for the code puzzle just practically started to fall in line. It made me happy and I knew I was going to complete the task in no time. When I looked up from my computer to check the time, I realized that I had been working for four hours straight. I was hungry and needed to eat something.

I rarely had breakfast on most days so, the chef knew not to bother except when I specifically asked that I wanted to eat breakfast. I dialed the intercom again and asked that something be made for me for lunch. I was itching to go to a proper restaurant for fine dining but that would have to wait until this project was completed. Then, I would be able to go out and celebrate with my friends, Jake (my best friend) and Lily, a close female friend. I haven't seen both of them in a while and it would be good to get together again.

I switched my phone back on and took a break from work while I waited for my food to arrive. I was on Instagram when I saw her on the cover of a magazine. This girl again, I muttered to myself. I have seen her a lot on magazine covers and I also knew that she modeled as an influencer for some fashion and beauty brands. Other than that, I knew nothing else. I was crushing heavily on her and would love to make her mine.

I checked her Instagram profile but she never posted anything other than work. It was hard to figure out who exactly she was. Aside from her name, I knew nothing. Even when I tried to search for her online, nothing came up except her work profile. I liked the intensity of her eyes. The way she posed for those pictures on the magazine covers would make even the strongest of men fall to their knees in worship of her.

I wanted her to be my princess, the queen of my kingdom. I knew there was nothing I wouldn't do for her if I could get her to be mine. But how would I get her? Where exactly does she stay? Should I find out when next she has a photo shoot and just show up there? All of these and many more thoughts were going on in my head at the same time. I didn't know what to do. I was completely clueless. I thought to call Jake, he always knew what to do in situations like this.

As I was about to dial Jake's number, Alvin came into the room with my food and I directed him to place the tray containing the food on my bedside table. After he had left, I dialed Jake's number. He picked up almost immediately. "What's up, dude? You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I responded.

"Cool. What's going on?" He asked.

"Erh, I need your help." I couldn't help but imagine the surprise on his face when I said that.

"You need my help? Woah, that's new," he replied again. "So, how may I help you, kind sir?" He said jokingly.

I proceeded to tell him about this girl that I had been crushing on for a while now. I told him her name was Miranda and that she was a model. Other than that, I knew nothing else.

I knew he had contacts in the entertainment industry and if he pulled a few strings, I would get all the information I needed. This was easier for me rather than employing the services of a private investigator, as I had earlier thought to do.

"Sure, I'll see what I can do," Jake responded after I had finished talking.

"Can you give me like two days to do this? I hope it's not too long?" He asked.

"No, that's okay. It's completely fine with me." I responded.

"Alright then. I'll let you know what I find soon."

"Thank you, man," I said as I proceeded to end the call.

I was in high spirits knowing that Jake was going to do something about it and very soon, I would be able to tell the whole world that the hottest model in town was mine.

I moved to the bed and drew the bedside table close to me as I dropped my phone and started to eat.

Miranda's POV

I was so happy when I entered the lecture room and saw my test questions. Most of the questions were based on what I had read. I quickly got to work and began to answer the questions. The two tests I did went well, and I rushed out to get a cab as soon as I was done. I checked the time and saw that I was running late. If I did not get a cab in ten to fifteen minutes, I would end up being late. If I had to calculate the time in traffic, it would be terrible. I silently hoped that the roads would be free and I wouldn't need to be stuck in traffic.

Not long after I arrived at the bus stop close to my school, a cab stopped and I hopped in. I gave him directions and he stepped on the gas. It was as if he knew I was in a hurry. It didn't take long before I arrived at the building that housed The Orange Magazine. I gave my name to the lady at the front desk and she directed me to the prep room. Models and stylists were everywhere. Moving boxes, make-up artists were making people up, and stylists moved around with their clothes racks.

Sarah spotted me first. "Hey, Miranda," she beckoned to me, "over here." I moved across the room so I could get to where she was setting up. I was just on time. "The make-up artist would be here anytime soon," she said. I nodded and dropped my bag beside me as I sat in front of the dressing table.

"Let's check out dresses for you before the make-up artist gets here, shall we?"

"Of course," I replied to her, taking off my jacket and my blouse so that I was only now wearing my underwear on the upper part of my body. She got a red sequined blouse off the rack and asked me to try it on. I did and it fitted me perfectly, but I wasn't sure if it would give the sophisticated look that the magazine had told me they wanted.

I asked Sarah if she got the brief because the clothes she was asking me to try on did not exactly match what was in the brief. She responded that she had read it. I thought to myself, well then, if she got the brief and still brought these clothes, I don't think she understood what was required of her.

I told her that I was supposed to look sophisticated, so nice dresses and power suits were what I should be wearing and not just random dresses. She agreed with me and in the end, we settled for two trouser suits and four corporate dresses. The hairstylist arrived after we had finished sorting out the clothes. He asked if I was ready for him, and when I said "Yes," he immediately set to work, doing his magic on my hair.

Videographers and photographers milled around the room and they took pictures and made videos at intervals. In about 45 minutes, my hair was transformed and I got up to sit in the make-up artist's chair so that she could start doing my makeup. The make-up didn't take long and when I looked at myself in the mirror, all I could see was a princess looking back at me. I smiled broadly and allowed Sarah to perform her magic on me.

The first look was the Marilyn Monroe professional look complete with the carefully coiffured short blond hair. My lips were in a deep red Ruby Woo lipstick and the off-white satin shirt, the midi-length navy blue midi pencil skirt, and the houndstooth blazer looked so good on me. I posed for the camera and the photographer took several shots.

Afterwards, I dressed in a dinner gown that was made by Eleanor Smith. I couldn't believe I was wearing an Eleanor Smith dress. Her dresses were very expensive and most people who had them got them from keepsakes. It was a fuchsia pink gown with fur around the neckline. The back plunged to my lower back, and the bottom of the gown was finished with frills. This must be heaven, I thought to myself.

I lay on a fur carpet and the photographer directed me on how he wanted me to pose for each of the pictures. This photoshoot was one of the best I have had in a very long time and I really wished that I could have such photoshoots every other day. After about three hours of taking pictures and changing clothes and make-up, the photoshoot finally came to an end. Even though I was exhausted, I was very happy and I couldn't even wait for the magazine to be published.

They even said one of the pictures would be used for their billboard advertisement. This was a dream come true for me. Me, Miranda Rowlands on the cover of the most widely read magazine and a billboard, this was insane. The editor-in-chief came in just as we were packing up and informed us that we would get their payments the following day. This payment was more than other payments I've received in the past and it made me so happy.

After I changed back into my clothes, I sat down to eat the salad I had brought with me. One of the fashion assistants tossed me a bottle of orange juice and I gave her a thumbs-up in appreciation. It was already getting dark when I eventually left the studio. It had surprisingly ended up being an amazing day.

I didn't have to wait for too long before I got a cab to take me back to school. I was so hungry and tired and I wished that there would be food miraculously when I got back to the apartment. The cab driver finally stopped in front of my apartment and I paid him and got out.

I got into the elevator that would take me to my floor and it took all my willpower to stop me from sleeping in the elevator while standing.