Before I signed the modeling gig for the swimwear company, I'd done a little research on the brand to make sure I wasn't going to hate them. Xochi Swimwear was a new company, barely ten years old, that was named after the Aztec word for flower, and coincidentally a shortened version of the Aztec goddess of love and beauty, Xochiquetzal. The founder was the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, and they'd started out big by selling to the locals in San Diego, many of whom were descended from Central Americans. It didn't take long before they started shipping across America, and getting a lot more notoriety, and I loved the look of their suits because they weren't all designed for stick thin girls. They were proud of the fact that their suits were made by immigrants, and they tried to give a lot of them jobs.

But now they wanted to go worldwide.

When I'd talked it over with my manager, Madison, we were impressed by what they were offering. The cover of the catalog, a new line of suits inspired by my shark experience, and a twelve month calendar. I was shocked. They didn't care that I wasn't a trained model. According to them, they preferred it because they wanted to connect with real women that would wear their suits. I was thrilled to be a part of this, though mildly terrified that I wouldn't be cut out for the camera.

But if it worked, then it could be the beginning of even more for me. I had to suck it up and just do it!

I had a nice coffee and a bagel on the way to the office, sitting and enjoying the fragrance of the coffee as it seemed to warm me from the inside out. It was a nice day, and with food in my stomach I felt relaxed and ready to take on whatever was coming my way today. With a renewed sense of purpose, I left the little coffee shop and made my way to my trusty Honda Civic and finished driving to the Xochi office.

Once I'd parked, I went inside, hoping to find out where I was supposed to go. "Can I help you?" asked a beautiful young woman with dark hair and brown eyes sitting at a receptionist's desk. Damn, even the receptionist is hot? This is going to be torture.

"Hi, I'm Trish Poole. I'm supposed to have a fitting today. I have an appointment at 10am with Ms. Navarro," I told her, while trying to remain confident.

"Hi Trish! I'm Paulina, and it is so nice to meet you!" the receptionist gushed. I had to admit, I loved the attitude already. "I'll bring you to Ms. Navarro, though I think they're still in the middle of a shoot, so it might be a bit."

"Oh no, that's fine. I can wait," I assured her.

"No way, come on! You might as well see what's going on here." Paulina stood and opened a door to a hallway that led deeper into the building. I followed her eagerly, thinking that the door was like a portal to the beginning of my modelling career.

The building wasn't huge. A few offices and storage rooms. Half a dozen dressing rooms and a pair of conference rooms and a break room. All of that seemed pretty straight forward. But in the back of the building was an artificial beach that was pretty amazing. A huge glass ceiling let in the sun, and a ton of sand lay on the floor behind a small barrier to keep it from going all over. I imagined that they could make the beach look however they liked, and it would suit their purposes. Behind the beach was a giant projection screen that currently showed what appeared to be a surf competition while a beautiful black haired Hispanic girl struck poses in the sand. Moving around her was a tall man with dark hair and a brooding look that kept snapping her picture. What looked like a teenage girl with shoulder length ginger hair was hovering around him with her own camera, taking pictures as well.

Paulina walked quietly until we were next to a girl that looked like someone who walked in off a casting call for a California surfer girl. She was fit, tall, blonde and very sexy. She glanced at me as I stood next to her, then did a double take and looked me over with a little more care. "Hey, I'm Amy. That's Leila on the beach. Are you the new model?"

"Yeah, I'm Trish," I stuck my hand over and she shook it slowly, running her thumb across the back of my hand.

"And you're letting me take you to dinner tonight, right Trish?" Amy asked as she bit her lip in a seductive manner.

The fuck? Are models always this bold? Do I have the right attitude? Should I just dive in? "Sure. I can always find an excuse to eat."

"Mmmmm, me too." She was almost purring at this point, and I quickly glanced back at the beach scene to keep my composure. '

"Damnit, stop slouching!" the photographer bellowed at Leila, making both her and his assistant jump. The assistant glanced in my direction, and I caught a glimpse of gorgeous green eyes under messy red hair meeting mine before she smiled and ducked her head. Evidently Laila did what the photographer wanted, and both he and the assistant started taking more pictures.

"That's Izzy. She's only 17, and I have dibs when she hits 18," Amy nudged me in the shoulder causing me to glance at her in annoyance. Dibs? On a person? I don't think so. Not that it mattered, Izzy wasn't exactly my type. Do I even have a type? Should I reconsider everything?

Paulina scoffed at Amy regardless. "Dibs, my ass. If you went anywhere near her, Jeremy would kill you." She nodded at the photographer, who I assumed was her father.

Amy shrugged but didn't deny the statement. We spent the next 15 or so minutes watching the rest of the shoot till Jeremy finally groaned and stood up straight. "Fuck it. We're done! This shoot was horrible! Leila, you better be in a good mood tomorrow or I'm not even going to try with you!"

He then stomped off, leaving his tiny assistant to help Leila out of the sand and then straighten up the set. "Is he always like that?" I asked Amy and Paulina while Leila headed past the beach and towards the dressing rooms.

"He sure is. He sucks. But he takes great pictures, so we can't complain," Amy acknowledged.

"Come on!" Paulina grabbed my hand and pulled me past the set. I caught one glimpse of the assistant, who flashed another smile at me before I was whisked away to one of the offices. After a quick knock, Paulina opened the door. "Ms. Navarro, I have Trish Poole here." She said through the opening.

"Oh! Let me come on out!" came an excitedly high pitched voice.

I heard footsteps rapidly approaching the door, and then a delightful looking middle aged Hispanic woman with black hair and dark eyes bustled out before pausing to look me over. "Oh, my goodness, you're even more beautiful in person! Trish, it is so nice to meet you!" She was like everyone's favorite mom merged into one, and I was instantly happy to be in her presence.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Ms. Navarro," I replied with a broad smile. I had been nervous after seeing how Jeremy acted, but I felt a lot better after meeting her.

"Stop, call me Tia. Paulina, I've got her from here. Thanks for your help, dear!"

"Any time Tia! Good luck Trish, I'll see you later!" Paulina walked back down the hall towards the front of the building, while Tia walked around me in a circle taking me in.

"You're going to look stunning in the suits we're making for you, never fear. It will be a surprise once they're done. Today we're just going to get your measurements and find a few suits to wear for your test shots tomorrow. We'll get you used to Jeremy and make sure everyone understands what we need," she explained while walking towards a little office down the hall. Inside was a harried looking woman pinning fabric together on a dress form in the shape of a bikini and muttering to herself. "Lila, do you think you could get Trish's measurements for me please? We want to pick out some suits for her."

"What?" asked the startled Lila, who hadn't even seemed to realize we were in her office. "Oh, yes!" She pulled out a tape and started measuring me. "Very good! 36C, 29, 36. What colors do you like? I can set some suits in dressing room 3 for you to try on tomorrow. With your darker skin, you'd look great in some pink or yellow."

"Pink and yellow sound great. I like turquoise, orange, and lavender too. But I'll go with whatever you think would be best though." I'd always loved my darker skin tone. It was nice to get some contrast with the lighter colored suits I liked.

The rest of the day was getting paperwork signed, going over the contract and expectations, a little bit of a tour, not that there was a lot to see, and the schedule for the next few days. That was pretty much just some test shoots, tomorrow in the office and the next day some shots at the beach. By the time we wrapped up it was almost 4pm, and I had completely forgotten about Amy. But she hadn't, and she was hanging out at Paulina's desk waiting for me.

"Hey there! I was wondering if they'd ever let you go!" she exclaimed when she saw me. "Do you like tacos?"

I had an instant flashback to a taco truck with Lylah, and then stuffed that back down in my mind. "Yeah, I love them!"

"Perfect! I know just the place!"