Distance.

One day, after finishing a standard photoshoot with the team, Reina got called to Cynthia’s office all of a sudden. She couldn’t remember anything else that had to be done or anything that was coming up, so she could only imagine it was something personal.

She knocked on the door and was a bit surprised when Anna was the one who opened it. With a small, yet clearly excited smile, the secretary let the model in.

“Come on is. We have news for you,” the redhead told her.

“News? What kind?” Reina asked, now even more curious.

Cynthia was at her desk, casually looking over some papers she had in hand. She set them on the table and slid them over towards her with a soft sigh. “A department store is asking for you. They want you to shoot an ad for them.”

Reina blinked as slowly the words began to sink in. “W-Wait, shoot an ad? As in… a commercial?”

“Yes, and they requested you by name. I’m on the fence, though. You don’t really have any acting experience, right?”

Reina suddenly tensed up, all her senses on alert. All the time she’d been a model, she’d only done photoshoots. At first only for underwear under Ladies Magazine, but as she grew in recognition, Cynthia began to act as her manager and found some bigger gigs. The latest one was for a luxury perfume brand that earned her some really good money. A TV commercial had yet to happen, though. Until now. This was BIG. Reina WANTED this. She had zero experience in this, but fuck it!

“I don’t, but I’ll do it anyway!” Reina insisted, maybe a little forceful.

Cynthia shot her a cold look with a raised eyebrow that cooled Reina in a second. Somehow, that reminded her of how she used to be before meeting Will. Was… Was Cynthia in a bad mood today?

“I understand that there’s a risk, Ms. Cynthia, but this is a huge opportunity for her, isn’t it?” Anna argued. She still had troubles calling Cynthia by name, and especially so at work. Calling her ‘Ms. Cynthia’ was a compromise so as to not continue calling her ‘Ms. Evans’. “She doesn’t have experience, but she’ll never get any if she doesn’t try this.”

Reina’s chest swelled. Anna was vouching for her.

“And if she screws this up, she effectively loses all future opportunities with this company. And a bad reputation here spreads fast,” Cynthia argued back, her tone matter-of-factly.

A chill ran down Reina’s back. It had kind of happened to her before, when she was starting. Before coming to Ladies Magazine, she tried a couple of other companies. She didn’t do very well and they never called her again.

But… This time was different!

“I have a lot more experience in front of a camera now,” Reina said, trying to keep her cool. “I’m confident I can do this, Cynthia! And besides, now I have magic on my side, remember?”

Cynthia’s eyebrow twitched. Reina almost eep’d in fear.

The mature blonde let out a heavy sigh. “I suppose you do. That allure you have going for you might be enough to cover for your lack of acting skills. Very well. That’s the contract. Look it over and tell me if you want to do it. I’ll contact them.”

“T-Thank you.” Reina went up to Cynthia’s desk and picked up the contract. She looked it over, but only to avoid meeting her boss’ gaze. But after a moment, she gathered the courage to ask her what was wrong. After all, even if she was still her boss, Cynthia was a friend now. Hell, they’d shared a bed plenty of times by now.

“H-Hey is… Is something wrong today?” she asked hesitantly. So much for that courage.

“Today?” Cynthia asked. She groaned while rubbing her face. “You know what? It’s nothing. Sorry for talking to you like this. I’m overreacting. You can go.”

“But…”

“Reina, let’s go,” Anna said, opening the door and gesturing with her head for her to follow. Wordlessly, she did.

Once they closed the door behind them, Reina asked in whispers, “Okay, what’s got her so on edge?”

Anna frowned with a wry smile. “Really? You can’t think of anything?”

“Huh?”

Anna sighed. “It’s Will, Reina. Haven’t you noticed he’s been… distant lately?”

“Distant? He’s just been busy,” Reina said. “He has two jobs to manage, his training, all that supernatural underground stuff and not to mention his studies. And isn’t he in the middle of looking for something? Or someone?”

Yeah, Will hadn’t had time for dates recently, but it was understandable and Reina would be patient and give him his space. He had far more on his plate than any of them. For the last few days he’d been going out and coming home late, looking for someone who apparently could help him with the matter of Ishtar’s body.

“It’s not just his time, though. He’s been acting strange. Like… Like he’s forcing himself to be with us or something. I don’t know. It’s strange, and it feels awkward.”

“Will has his own issues, Anna. I think it’s best we give him his space to figure things out. It won’t help to have us get mad at him for not spending enough time with us.”

Anna sighed. “I don’t think Cynthia’s mad at him. I’m not, either. Just… worried.”

“Look, Will is a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for. And I don’t mean this magic stuff or even in fighting. He’s tough. He’ll be able to figure things out.”

“You may be right… It’s not like we’ll be much help if we try to meddle.”

Exactly. The best they could do was focus on their own thing so as not to give Will more things to worry about. Going through with this new deal would mean he wouldn’t have to bother with their special photoshoots.

He didn’t seem in the mood for it, anyway.