Snippet #1862804

As promised, Adriella's mom appeared around ten minutes after they'd arrived at the big house. It was a little early to eat dinner, but the meal was wholesome and tasty all the same. Though it seemed that the two adults sitting at either end of the ridiculously long table seemed to be having quite a good time, the red-haired senior was as bored as bored could be. While they talked over politics and fashion, she picked at her food. She'd only downed about half the dish and it seemed that the more she ate the most sick she felt.

"Say, Adriella," her mom piped up, grasping her attention, "did David mention that he is in the fashion industry? I thought you might be interested. You spend so much time studying that sometimes I wonder how you even know what fashion is."

You're the reason I study all the time, the redhead wanted to say, but instead put on a polite smile. "Yeah, he mentioned it in the car. But I'm not interested. Really."

Her mom seemed a little put off. "Oh? I thought the money could help us out a little bit." In other words, her mom was interested in this man because of the money she could get from her daughter modeling.

"Yeah, I guess," Adriella replied stiffly and returned to poking at her food.

David cleared his throat while setting down his silver-ware. "How about this, Adriella: we're having a photo-shoot tomorrow. You can model for one day and I'll pay you for that. You'll also get money for the pictures that are sold to magazines and other such sources."

"I'm not interested. Really," the redhead repeated, glaring between the two of them. Her mom was crestfallen. Adriella sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You know what, fine. One day. But I have to talk to my boss about it." Upset that she was being used for her mom's greedy nature, she stood abruptly and headed out of the room. Brief chatter and footsteps behind her told her that someone was following, but she could have honestly cared less. She was heading out the door when a hand caught her by the wrist with painful strength.

"Adriella, you should really be kinder to your mom," David scolded while pulling her around to face him. Her wrist burned in his grasp. "She's doing this for you. She asked me to do this so she could put food on the table. Don't you think you should have a little humility?"

The redhead stared back in a mixture of shock and rage. "I don't need some guy like you telling me how to act. You're doing this for your own benefits. Do you think I'm stupid?" There was a pause between her words and his reaction. The slap wasn't all that painful, but it startled her to the point that she staggered backwards and into the rain.

"I am astounded that a girl your age doesn't know how to talk to someone of my status. I expect you to be at the photo-shoot tomorrow, Ms. Justice." With that the door was closed, Adriella standing in the rain with a look of humiliation on her face. Suddenly caught up in anger, she stomped down the sidewalk and down the street, convinced that once she got home she'd do something about Mr. David Longhorn.