Platinum (All That Glitters #3) (28 page)

About half an hour before the show started, Trihn was fixing a zipper on a girl’s skirt when Bryna snuck up behind her. “Hey, I have a surprise for you.”

“Wha—” Trihn asked through a mouthful of pins.

“I need to steal you.”

Trihn took the pins out of her mouth and finished the last stitch on the hem of the skirt. “I think that’s good. Let me know if it doesn’t hold up.”

“Thanks, Trihn!”

She turned back to Bryna with raised eyebrows. “What’s up?”

“I might have called in some favors.”

“Oh, Lord, what did you do?”

Bryna grabbed her arm and dragged her up the stairs to the stage. From their viewpoint, they could see out to the crowd that had started filing into the ballroom. Only a few rows in the back left were still open.

Trihn felt the familiar sense of stage fright take over, and she put her hand on her chest. “That’s a lot of people.”

“Yeah, but look.” Bryna pointed to the front row, and Trihn followed her line of vision.

When Trihn saw who Bryna was pointing at, Trihn gasped and smacked Bryna on the arm. “You invited Gates?”

“Ouch. Take it easy! Of course I invited Gates, but it’s not just that. Look at his date.”

“Fuck,” Trihn whispered when she saw the tall leggy blonde with bright red lipstick in a two-piece white-skirt-and-crop combo seated next to Gates. “Is that—”

“Yep,” Bryna said, popping the P.

“I thought she was dating Calvin Harris!”

“Oh, who can keep up? She’s here with Gates, and that’s all that matters. It looks like she’s brought some friends, too.”

“I can’t.”

“Yeah, I have a feeling this is going to be all over Page Six in the morning. I don’t think they’ve been photographed together before.” Bryna nudged Trihn and smiled. “You’d better win this thing, so you can get your name in the paper, too.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“I know,” she said, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

“Everyone, gather around!”

Trihn looked over her shoulder and saw Teena Hart gesturing for all the students to get together to talk before the show started. Trihn hurried down the steps and shouldered into the lineup.

“Thank you all so much for the endless hours of hard work and dedication to your craft. It’ll all culminate in tonight’s performance. We have some exceptional guests in the front row of our audience tonight, so be prepared for more press than intended. We’re working on controlling the situation, but we didn’t exactly anticipate celebrities showing up to this round.”

Trihn glanced over at Bryna, who snickered.

“In any case, that doesn’t change anything for you. As you know, the winner of this show will go on to New York City to compete nationally. This year, for the grand prize in New York, the winner’s line will be picked up by Bloomingdale’s and be featured in
Glitz
magazine.”

Trihn’s mouth dropped open. Bloomingdale’s was her dream store. Of course, she had a lot of hurdles she would have to jump before she got to that, but just the opportunity was unbelievable. And to get into
Glitz
magazine, where her mother was a senior executive for the company,
without
her mother’s help would be so satisfying.

“But no matter what happens here today, you have all completed your assignments, and you are all winners in my eyes. We’ll be starting in just five minutes. Please get your models ready. Thank you, and good luck.”

Teena left to introduce the fashion show, and all the designers scattered to get their models into order and make final adjustments.

It felt like hours before it was finally Trihn’s turn. Bryna and Stacia squeezed her hand before leaving to go watch her big moment.

Francesca was her first and last model, and before Trihn walked out onto the runway, Francesca enveloped her in a big hug. “Show the world what you’re made of.”

Trihn nervously smiled at her and then took the stairs to the stage. She catwalked the runway like she was born to be onstage. A microphone was waiting for her at the end, and she stepped up to it with her heart in her throat.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Trihnity Hamilton, and this is my designer collection, Clothes by Trihn. The look I’m showcasing for you today is a street-to-runway look that you can wear anywhere. Whether walking the streets of New York City, dancing on a rooftop in Milan, or lining the red carpet in Hollywood, Trihn fashion can take you there because I’ve been there as a ballet dancer in New York City, a model in Milan, and now fashion designer here in Las Vegas. Welcome to my personal street style, Clothes by Trihn.”

At her last line, Francesca walked out onto the runway in Trihn’s signature black cutout dress. The crowd cheered as she and Francesca circled each other. Francesca winked, and then they passed one another.

When Trihn made it backstage once more, she put her hand to her chest and breathed in, feeling relieved. She had forgotten how nerve-wracking it was to be onstage. She worked with the rest of the girls before they went on at their allotted times.

Trihn hurried over to help Francesca into the final piece. She was the only model who was wearing two items, but Trihn wouldn’t have it any other way.

The dress was everything on Francesca’s tall frame. A floor-length gown hugged her hourglass figure. The bottom half was a see-through black-and-silver mesh that wisped and circled perfectly on her figure while half-concealing her tall black heels. It had a heart-shaped plunge neckline and sleeves that snaked loosely around her biceps. It was the only thing in the line that Trihn had never worn, and seeing it on Francesca made Trihn think that no one else should ever wear it.

Francesca walked out in that dress, and it was as if the world erupted. The audience roared its approval. Everyone was on their feet. Trihn stared with her mouth agape at what she was witnessing.

This, this right here, made all her hard work worth it. What she’d had to endure to get that sketchbook back from Neal for this design, the long hours at the studio, the sleepless nights, it was all for this moment.

Bryna and Stacia ran back to Trihn when it was over and practically tackled her.

“You were amazing!” Bryna said

“That dress!” Stacia cried. “I need one just to wear around the house.”

“It really was stunning,” someone said behind her.

Trihn whipped around with her eyes wide. “Chloe!”

“Hey!” she cried. “Surprise! I brought you a present.”

Damon appeared from around the corner with a huge smile on his face. Trihn forgot everything else. She only saw her boyfriend standing there. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He was supposed to be in LA, filming a music video. He’d been gone for a week already, and she’d missed him so much.

“Damon,” she said, throwing herself into his arms.

“Hey, love.” He kissed the top of her head and breathed her in.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, stepping back.

“You think I could have actually missed this?”

“But you’re supposed to be filming,” she insisted.

“We wrapped up early,” Chloe told her. “We thought it’d be fun to surprise you. Plus, the song is releasing tomorrow, and Damon wanted to play it for you before it went up.”

Bryna narrowed her eyes at Chloe. “Up to the same antics as ever, Chloe?”

“What are you talking about?” Chloe asked.

“We heard the song,” Trihn said, meeting Damon’s eyes. “A radio station leaked it early.”

“Shit, I wanted to play it for you first,” Damon said.

“Come on, girls. Everyone, get onstage, so I can announce the winner,” Teena said, breaking the moment.

Damon looked like he wanted to say something more, but Trihn briefly kissed him on the lips.

“You can play it for me later,” she said before walking away to the fate of her career.

“
AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION
by the judges, we announce the winner of the eleventh annual Teena Hart Fashion Show…Trihnity Hamilton.”

Trihn’s hand went to her mouth, and she felt her legs turn to Jell-O. “Oh my God,” she cried.

The crowd applauded, and her designs were paraded out onto the runway one more time to showcase the winning talent. Francesca took Trihn’s hand in her own and raised it high overhead. Trihn laughed brightly and wrapped her friend in a big hug. Cameras went off all around them. The audience rose to their feet once more to celebrate, and then it was all over.

As Trihn stepped offstage, she truly realized what this moment meant. Her designs were going to be on a runway in New York City. She would be competing for a spot in Bloomingdale’s. There was still a chance her dreams could all be realized. Despite leaving NYU’s fashion school and walking away from this very possibility, it was within her reach all over again.

Backstage was a mess of a cleanup. Trihn was so busy that she didn’t even have time to talk to Damon about the song issue. In fact, Damon and Chloe basically got bombarded by people who realized who they were. Chloe had to step out with her bodyguard, Mateo, to get some breathing room, which was perfectly fine with Trihn.

By the time she was finished and all the models had changed out of the clothes, Teena took ahold of her designs for safekeeping, and Trihn was free to go. Everyone was standing around, waiting for her, even Gates, his date, and her friends.

“All ready!” Chloe said, appearing out of nowhere. “Let’s go!”

“Wait, what?” Trihn asked.

Damon sidled up next to her. “Well, this was supposed to be a surprise, but it seems the radio ruined part of it.”

She looked up at him with wide eyes. “And here I thought
you
were the surprise.”

Damon wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Well, this whole night was supposed to be about you anyway. I’m so proud of you. You deserved to win everything and more.”

They followed the group to a giant stretch limo that Chloe had waiting for them. It just barely fit their entire entourage as it whisked them down the Strip and to a private club where Chloe had reserved a booth with bottle service.

The place was a standard nightclub with high-tech lights and loud music. Girls were dancing on platforms scattered throughout the room, and scantily clad girls were taking drink orders and pouring drinks at tables. This place was exceptionally elite. Trihn could see a dozen other celebrities in the VIP area, and everyone seemed to be in their element.

Trihn took a seat next to Damon, and Chloe plopped down on the other side of him. Across from them in the booth, Bryna was talking rapidly with Gates. His date didn’t even seem to mind. She and her friends were standing around and dancing with drinks in their hands. Stacia was eyeing Chloe’s bodyguard, who was pretending not to notice the attention.

Chloe had a girl pour out tequila shots, and everyone took one. Chloe nudged Damon and winked. He laughed at her and just shook his head.

Chloe raised her glass high. “To Trihn and her amazing clothes!”

Trihn raised her glass with a smile. Her boyfriend was here. She had just won a major fashion show. She was on top of the world.

Yet when she looked between Damon and Chloe, Trihn couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

She tipped the shot back without a second thought, ignoring the burn in her throat. She gestured for the girl to pour another round as Chloe leaned in and whispered something in Damon’s ear. He smiled down at her and said something back that Trihn couldn’t quite hear. Chloe laughed and nodded back.

“I think now is perfect,” Chloe said with a coy smile.

Trihn’s stomach plummeted, and she tried to remind herself that they were just friends. That was all.

Trihn quickly reached for her shot and stood, raising her own glass. “To Chloe and Damon’s new single.”

Everyone reached for their glasses and took the shot with her. Bryna kept glancing between Chloe and Trihn with concern on her face. It was bad when even Bryna was worried.

Trihn plopped back down in her seat and looked away from Damon and Chloe. She was about to get up and join Gates’s date when she felt Damon touch her arm. “Trihn, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He laced their fingers together and kissed the top of her hand. “I’m sorry that you heard the new song on the radio first, but I thought you’d like to hear it again with me.”

Trihn’s eyes flickered to Chloe, who seemed preoccupied with staring at Bryna and Gates. Her eyes were wide with wonder and something else Trihn couldn’t quite place. At least she wasn’t staring at Damon.

“And with Chloe?” she asked.

He shrugged. “She requested it.”

Just then, the DJ started speaking, “And with a special request put in, here’s the new one by Damon Stone and Chloe Avana, ‘We Never Met.’”

Damon started singing the song directly to Trihn. He only had eyes for her. It was as if they were sitting in his apartment again with him strumming along on his acoustic guitar as he poured out his heart and soul. She stared into the endless depths of his dark eyes and felt herself melting all over again. Just hearing him sing it to her changed everything.

Then, Chloe tugged on his arm, leaning into him with big puppy-dog eyes. “Damon, come on. Sing with me.”