I joked and said, “I thought the banquet was Saturday. Do I need to be dressed now, too?”

I wasn’t exactly slumming in my tall boots, blue jeans, and blue Air Jordan tee, but that surely wouldn’t get me into anyone’s banquet like Kim’s purple suit would.

She said, “I just woke up feeling good this morning. Is that a crime?”

“Certainly not,” I told her.

Kim stood around five-five herself, and one hundred sixty pounds. She would have been what they called a short, plus-size model.

“So how many bags do you have?” she asked me. “You probably just have your suit bag and your carry-on with your underclothes, accessories, and shoes in it, right?” She already knew.

I chuckled and said, “You pulled my card on that.”

She nodded and told me, “You’re an old pro, Terrance.”

I had been modeling for fourteen years, straight out of my sophomore year of college.

Out of the blue, Victoria Mason approached me.

“Hey, I hate to bother you again, but is it possible for me to get in touch with you? I mean, I know you have to be quite busy with your traveling and everything, but maybe I could, you know, leave you a message or drop you an email or something from time to time.”

Since it was all about business, I figured I would introduce her to Kim, who dealt with models.

“Hey, Kim, this is, ah, Victoria Mason. She wanted to get into the modeling business but they told her she was too short.”

Kim immediately pulled out her card.

“You give us a call, and we’ll see what we can do about that.”

Victoria took the card and looked startled by it.

“Oh, okay. So you work with Terrance?”

“Yes, we do, and he’s one of our very best.”

Victoria looked at me and smiled. “I bet he is.”

“Nah, I’m just one of the guys,” I commented. “Hey, here comes the luggage.”

We all turned to walk toward the baggage belts.

“So how long are you in town for?” Victoria asked me.

I didn’t know what I was feeling from her. One part of me said she was desperately trying to take care of her business, while the other part told me she was inquiring about my personal life. But she was definitely a heartthrob. I looked into her face again and confirmed it.

“I’m only here till Sunday,” I told her. “Then I’m back to Atlanta.”

“Are you from Atlanta? I was only visiting there for a marketing conference,” she responded.

I said, “I live there now, but I’m originally from Gary.”

“Gary, Indiana? Oh, so you’re originally from this area.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m originally from South Jersey,” she told me. “My family moved to Chicago right before my senior year of high school. I hated it. But now it’s kind of grown on me.”

She just continued to talk to me. But why? Was I showing her any interest?

I located my bags and pointed them out to Kim. She was closer than I was.