Dee reluctantly put on her red polo, not interested in making her way to work that day. The best job she had found was that of an assistant store manager at a discount convenience store. The store manager was a total jerk and treated Dee like she was disposable. Her dream was to walk out of there as soon as she found something better, but until she got her law degree, or a job opened as a social worker, this was her only option. She didn’t want to live with her grandmother the rest of her life.
She hated working the closing shift. Leaving the store at night was not easy. She didn’t feel safe walking to her car alone and certainly didn’t like when an aggressive male customer would come into the store looking for a fight. She didn’t get to see her baby after work either, as Keisha was usually passed out by the time Dee made the journey home. She was usually too tired to cook after work which meant eating a frozen meal or going through a drive-thru. She loved cooking but just didn’t have the finances to really experiment the way she wanted to.
Leaving her baby was hard. She felt like she was growing up so fast and didn’t get enough time with her. Everyone else in her family was usually home by dinnertime, so she missed out on a lot of their meals together, getting serious FOMO. She longed for a day when she could just hangout and have someone provide for her, so she could spend her time having fun and laughing with friends and family instead of staring at spreadsheets in a brightly lit cramped office.
The job itself wasn’t that challenging. She mostly just made the schedules, checked the orders, and helped pay bills. She earned a little more than minimum wage, her college education helping her secure the assistant manager spot. It still wasn’t enough, and she didn’t have good healthcare either. It was certainly a struggle that felt endless. There was no way she’d ever save enough or have the time to go back to law school. She was smart and good at studying, but with a little girl and a full-time job, she didn’t have a chance.
She needed to feel more important to the world than what she was doing. The store she worked at was certainly important and had many things that people needed. Still, she wanted to help people and take care of those who needed extra support. This place just didn’t make her feel fulfilled at the end of each day. She also felt that her manager could probably do more than the minimum he was doing, allowing her to have more free time to clean up the store and help out the other employees.
“Hey Dee, someone’s here to see you,” Brittany, one of the cashiers, said to Dee through a slightly cracked door. Dee’s stomach instantly dropped. She figured it was one of her family members, that something might have happened to her sister or brother.
She jumped out of the office chair and towards the front entrance.
Then, she saw him standing there. Ricardo was looking around the store with a slightly disgusted face, still looking pretty dreamy compared to the last time they saw each other.
“What are you doing here? she asked, shocked that she was staring into the face of a man she thought she’d never see again.
“You said you worked at one of these stores,” Ricardo said, smiling at her, “it wasn’t hard to find one with a manager named Dominique.”
Dee didn’t know how to respond. She was embarrassed that he was seeing her there, standing in her red polo and clearance rack khakis. She hadn’t worn makeup to work that day, though she at least still had that Bahamas glow.
“OK, but like, still, what are you doing here?” she asked, still confused.
“Your photographs. They were, they were amazing. I don’t know the last time I took something that made me feel so much. They took my breath away,” he told her. “I want you to be in my fall campaign. We’re finishing up the summer one and I need to start putting together an idea board.”
“You want me to model again?” she asked, a little shocked and confused at what he was asking. A smile spread across his salt and pepper dotted chin.
“Of course, I do,” he responded. “I can’t imagine anyone else that I want as the face for my next project.”
“I don’t know what to say. I can’t go back to the Bahamas,” she said, thinking immediately of Keisha. She hadn’t mentioned her daughter during their encounter at all, not expecting for that information to make any difference at all.
“No that’s fine, I don’t want it there. I want to shoot it in an urban area while it still looks like winter out, so within the next month is perfect,” he responded.
“You’re shooting it here?” she asked, shocked. She hadn’t thought of modeling as a professional career before, but of course, it had to be better than stocking shelves with $1 boxes of noodles.
“Well I came here originally to see you, but I was instantly inspired by the gritty atmosphere. I already have my assistant setting up my loft. I could offer you housing for it too, so we wouldn’t have to worry about scheduling and we’d get a chance to work closely together,” he told her.
“I don’t know,” she said, thinking the offer was a dream come true but still having to take her daughter into consideration. “My job, I don’t know if I’ll have the time.”
Ricardo started laughing. “You don’t need this job. I’ll pay you of course. A model for one of my campaigns usually goes for around 100 so it’s only fair you’d get offered that too even though you don’t have experience. And I’ll compensate you for the photographs from the island that I plan on using as well.”
“Wait, 100, like $100 a picture?” she asked, shocked. Ricardo started laughing.
“There’s something I have to tell you,” she said, afraid about revealing to him that she has a child. This convenience store was not the place that she was interested in having this conversation. The deal seemed pretty unbelievable, and Dee would have normally jumped on an offer like that. Would it still even be an option if he knew that she had a child, however? Of course, she would want to bring Keisha to live with her as well. They would have the opportunity to spend all day together with Dee not having to worry about working.
“Look, whatever it is, it can’t be that big of a deal,” he told her. He seemed pretty inspired about the idea and Dee didn’t want to turn him down.
“I don’t know about that. Just listen, I—” Just as Dee was about to spill the truth, her boss interrupted.
“Dominique, I need you to take care of a lady at the register,” Steve, her manager said. He was usually gone by this time, but the monthly inventory was keeping him past his 4 P.M. clock out time.
“I’m sorry I’m with someone, can it just wait,” she said back. Normally she’d be pretty submissive and just do what he asked, but she wasn’t interested in being his doormat today.
“Is he a customer?” Steve asked, looking directly at Ricardo. Ricardo was so much taller than Steve and looked like a movie star when they were in comparable distances.
“Who is this man?” Ricardo asked, his thick accent showing. He was wearing a scarf over a wool coat, something a guy like Steve wouldn’t be caught in. Dee couldn’t resist but think about how good he looked.
“He’s my boss. Look, I’m sorry I’m just kind of in the middle of something,” she said, stressed out about dealing with both these men at the same time.
“Look Dom, I’m already past my normal time and just want to go home. This lady has a return,” Steve said. Dee knew that he was perfectly capable of taking care of the woman himself, but he didn’t like interacting with customers and usually made Dee do his dirty work.
“No, not Dom Steve, I told you. Dee or Dominique,” she responded, not wanting him to continue with that nickname.
“I’ll be waiting outside,” Ricardo said, understanding now that he should probably just walk away.
“I don’t care what you prefer, I just want you to take care of the customer please,” Steve said, walking away as well.
“No,” Dee said, building up confidence to really tell him off.
“Excuse me?” the bald-headed dweeb said, turning around.
“I’m done with your shit Steve. What kind of man has to boss a woman around, treating her like a maid? You know why you’re so lonely Steve? It’s not because women don’t appreciate ‘nice guys.’ It’s because you’re a jerk!” Dee said, taking off her red polo to reveal a black tank top. She threw the shirt on the ground and walked to the office to grab her purse. She started to freak out a little bit, but if the offer with Ricardo was good, she certainly didn’t need to answer to Steve anymore.
“I want to be your model,” Dee said as she met Ricardo in front of the store. “I don’t know what you see in me, but I’m glad you do. I do have one condition, however.”
“What? You can have anything,” Ricardo told her.
“You have to let someone live with me,” she explained.
“What, not your husband or boyfriend I hope?” Ricardo said joking.
“I have a daughter,” she said, afraid of how his face might look once she revealed the truth. Her chest felt thirty pounds lighter.
“A daughter?” Ricardo said, a little confused. “I don’t like kids.”
“She’s only three,” Dee explained. Ricardo winced.
“I suppose I can make that work,” Ricardo told her. Dee was shocked.
“Really?” she asked. She thought the kid might be a deal breaker, but she was instantly relieved to realize it wasn’t.
The sun had set, and a misty rain had started, causing the air to feel twice as cold as it already was. Dee’s coat felt cold against her bare arms, and she was excited to get back home to take a hot bath.
“Well, I should probably go home,” she told him, feeling strange that she was still standing in front of the place she just quit.
“Right, I’ll walk you to your car,” he said.
“Do you need a ride?” she asked.
“No, I’m fine, I rented a car. Here’s my card, text me when you get home and I’ll let you know where to meet me. You can move in as soon as you’re ready,” he explained.
Dee was feeling a little overwhelmed again as she walked to her car. What would her family think? Of course, they wouldn’t turn down an opportunity like that. Dee knew that this was the best thing for her and her daughter. It would give her the money and time to study again and build a better career for herself and her daughter. Ricardo pulled out a cigarette and lit it, a habit that normally grossed Dee out. On him it looked good.
“Why not Dom?” Ricardo asked.
“Huh?” Dee said, completely zoning out, still in shock from quitting on the spot.
“You were upset when that large pink man called you Dom,” Ricardo said, puffing his cigarette.
“Oh, right. It’s just, my ex—my daughter’s father—he was the only one who used to call me Dom. It just takes me back when I hear someone say it now,” she responded.
“I’ll remember to not do that.” He smiled. “Goodnight.”
Dee smiled and watched him walk away, wishing he would have kissed her before leaving.
*****
Dee looked at the massive loft in front of her eyes. She had always wondered what one of these renovated spaces would look like. She loved riding as a passenger in a car or cab downtown when she could see all the lights on between the different buildings. She envied those who had nice massive apartments that they could call their own, and Dee was in one of them. Though the space was pretty open, she still saw a few hallways both on the top and bottom floor that likely lead to long hallways filled with mystery doors.
“Keisha, this is Ricardo,” Dee told her daughter as Ricardo reached down a hand. Keisha got a little scared and hid behind her mom’s legs. “She gets scared of some guys sometimes. Nothing personal.”
“It’s fine, I’m shy too,” he told Keisha. “So, take a chance to look around a bit and see where you’re going to be living.”
Dee set her suitcase down and started walking around the apartment a bit.
“I could not believe that it is possible to get in Detroit for so cheap,” Ricardo said as he picked up her bags. The real estate was incredibly low in Detroit. At one point, houses were even being sold for $1 just to encourage people to buy a house. Many of the places needed to be renovated, but Ricardo obviously had the money to buy a place that was already made over. There weren’t many wealthy people that would choose to live in Detroit, but it was the place to get an insanely nice apartment for pocket change. Dee figured it still cost more a month than their entire house, but for him, he probably wouldn’t even notice the difference in his bank statements.
It was a massive open space, with two sitting areas, a dining room, and a kitchen all in a two-story open space. A spiral staircase led to the second floor. A path wrapped around the outside of the loft, leaving the middle area open, creating a massive feeling space.
Exposed brick walls made it feel luxurious. She felt like the design was something that she’d see in a magazine. She could feel the history of the factory through the way it was preserved in the architecture, wondering what the building had been before it was the luxury apartments it was now. Dee wondered if there might be an eerie history behind the place, but that wasn’t something she was about to ask Ricardo about.
Everything was meticulously designed, from the open airducts to the vintage lighting. The kitchen was insanely massive and looked like something that a cooking show would be staged at. Dee was excited to get the chance to make some nice meals for her and Keisha in a place that looked like it was from the future. She hadn’t been in a place that made her feel so nice in a while. She liked her grandmother’s comfortable home and the little things that reminded her of childhood, but it was still certainly outdated.
Places like this reminded her that Detroit wasn’t completely dead. There were broken-down houses all over the place, and many buildings had burned down just from safety violations or accidents related to violence or drugs. Factories and stores crumbled, and parts of it looked like something out of an apocalyptic movie. There were still plenty of people that cared about the state of the city, and whoever renovated the loft she was standing inside was certainly one of them. She hadn’t felt that hopeful about the city that she loved in a while.
“Of course, it was cheap, but you know, it’s not the greatest city.” Ricardo laughed. Dee was a bit hurt that he was dissing her hometown at the moment. She knew that Detroit wasn’t for everyone, but in her heart, it was the greatest city. It was where she fell in love the first time and had her beautiful baby girl. It was where she always knew she could see her mother and sister and the place that her little nephew was growing.
“Well, let me show you to your rooms,” Ricardo told her.
“We each have our own room?” she asked. She walked into Keisha’s room, something she could never say she’d done in her life.
“Yeah, of course,” he told her. He whispered to her so Keisha wouldn’t hear, “I know what happened last time we were together, but I don’t want you to feel in any way that means we have that relationship still. I asked you here, so you could be my model.”
“Right, I understand,” she told him. She followed him up the stairs and towards the end of the hall.
It didn’t look like a little girl’s room, but there were still a few toys that looked like they’d been placed nicely.
“What do you think honey? This is your room!” Dee told her daughter.
“Wow! I love it!” Keisha said, Dee not knowing if it was genuine or not. Keisha knew how to be polite despite her young age and wouldn’t insult someone to their face necessarily.
“My assistant Anastasia put those there, but we can certainly get more for, um,” Ricardo stuttered.
“Keisha,” Dee responded.
“Keisha, right. Sorry, still adjusting. She can get whatever she needs to make her feel more comfortable,” he explained.
“That’s fine, she brought some of her own things too, so we’ll be all right,” Dee told him.
“I also have a few interviews lined up for a nanny to help out when we have to work on shoots or other things,” Ricardo explained. “I don’t want to have her here to interfere with the work.”
“Oh, right, that makes sense,” Dee said. She always wondered what it would be like to be wealthy enough to have a nanny to take care of her child.
“We should probably start getting you fit,” a small cold voice said behind the three of them.
“Anastasia! There you are. This is Dominique and Kesha,” Ricardo said.
“Keisha,” Dee responded, getting a little annoyed that he still wasn’t catching on.
“Pleasure. I have to fly back to L.A. tonight to present some of your ideas to the manager of the fall collection, so we should probably get started on her fitting because I’ll need to give him those numbers too,” Anastasia explained. Dee was having a little trouble keeping up. She was starting to feel overwhelmed again, not even aware that she had a fitting that day, or that she’d need a fitting at all. She was approaching this new job with a sink or swim mentality it seemed so far.
“Right, and I have a conference call that I’ll take in my office. Dee get comfy, and I’ll see you for dinner,” he said, walking towards the end of the hallway.
Dee towered over the small nosed Anastasia. Her squinted eyes pierced right through Dee. She had long blonde hair that split right down the middle of her head. She had bright blue eyes and looked like she was barely a college student. Dee started to feel insecure, wondering what sort of relationship this attractive young girl had with her handsome and older boss.
“Well, I don’t have a nanny yet for Keisha,” Dee explained to Anastasia.
“You can bring her with you. Follow me,” Anastasia said, leading Dee across the other side of the apartment and through a small door.
“Come on sweetie,” Dee said, grabbing her daughter’s hand.
“Have you seen any of the fall collection?” Anastasia asked.
“No, I’m really not all that familiar with his work in general,” she explained. She felt so rushed getting home to see Keisha that she hadn’t even done too much digging on Ricardo’s work. She just knew that he was a well-known photographer that worked for celebrities.
“Are you serious?” Anastasia asked. Dee just shook her head. “He’s brilliant. You should look up his stuff when you get a chance. Lucky, he found you on the beach, huh?”
“Mhm,” Dee responded. Keisha was just looking around the house as she held onto Dee’s hand tight. She was usually quiet when meeting new people.
“You’ll want to be topless for this, so you can get a really tight fit,” Anastasia responded. “Don’t worry about it, I’m a fashion student.”
Dee would have felt more comfortable if she was a medical student, or other healthcare professional. Working in the fashion industry, Dee figured Anastasia didn’t get a lot of exposure to mothers’ bodies or women who were a little out of shape and curvier. She was still lucky to have a flat stomach, but she had little muscle and plenty of stretch marks across her torso and legs.
Dee slipped off her clothes and stepped onto a stepladder, so her chest was level with Anastasia’s eyes. She pulled out a tape measure and started from the top down. Anastasia could barely reach Dee’s head, but it was easier than her having to bend down. Dee kept her underwear on, but she still felt exposed with her top gone.
Keisha sat in the corner of the room on her tablet, something Dee felt bad exposing her daughter to as many people shamed her for using an electronic, but it still came in handy when she needed a distraction. Keisha mostly just watched educational cartoons anyways.
Dee could feel Anastasia’s long nails scratch up her goose bump riddled skin. She could tell she had acrylic nails, another sign that Anastasia really put a lot of effort into her appearance. Dee felt she just couldn’t compare. Her nails were chipped and needed a polish.
She felt uncomfortable with her breasts exposed, still experiencing insecurities from the way they looked after she had breast-fed Keisha. She always had a large chest and got stretch marks on them at an early age. She kept things covered up, but once she breast-fed, her nipples enlarged, and she got even more insecure about her appearance. It was a while that she let anyone see her breasts without being totally horrified at what their reaction might be.
“Mommy your boobies!” Keisha shouted as she looked up from her tablet and laughed as she saw Dee’s breasts were exposed. She would walk around naked in front of Keisha sometimes still, but only out of necessity, like if she forgot something in the bathroom or needed to get a clean shirt from the dryer. It wasn’t so often that it happened, and the older Keisha got, the easier she understood that those were a bit of a private possession that not everyone saw. Dee just laughed, already feeling uncomfortable around Anastasia. It was nice to know that her daughter didn’t care what her boobs looked like and just thought nudity was funny. That was the comforting part about children.
“All right, I think we’re about done,” Anastasia said, finishing up the measurements.
“Great,” Dee responded, not knowing what to do next.
“So, he had me order most of the decorations and linens, so if anything isn’t to your liking, let me know and I’ll order something different,” Anastasia told her.
“You mean this place wasn’t furnished?” Dee asked shocked.
“Well, some stuff, but for the most part, I ordered it all yesterday and set things up last night and this morning. He likes his places away from home to really feel like home,” Anastasia explained.
Dee could barely afford to decorate her own home, so the fact that he could just bop around from place to place and set up camp was incredible to Dee. Anastasia said her goodbye and left Dee to wander around the massive apartment. It might have felt like home to him, but to her, it was a whole new world.