Exposed by Sierra Riley

case.
    It was probably the pressure of networking, knowing he’d be running into certain familiar faces.
    About this time, Julius would be going over the expectations for all the new faces. Gabriel would be trying to hide his wide-eyed unfamiliarity with London behind his cool façade, and the other models would be pouting and lounging around, trying to subtly one-up each other even in these behind-the-scenes moments.
    Briar smiled to himself. It was kind of cute to witness, really. Maybe he’d drop in and see how it was going.
    He had to meet a whole slew of people this week, though. He’d barely have time to watch the shows his own models were working, and when he did, it would be alongside very important people and their important attitudes.
    “Dinner,” he murmured to himself, running a hand back through his hair. He was expected to join the table reserved by his agency and show his pride and investment in his models.
    And he was proud of them. He was confident in Vince’s choice of this slate of new faces, none of them more than a couple years into their careers. All of them had been carefully honed and trained over the last months or—in Gabriel’s case—weeks, at least.
    They wouldn’t fuck up.
    Every one of them except Gabe had years of experience, and half of them had been here last year.
    Gabriel was the wild card, but Briar was willing to put his neck on the line to show him off. He wanted everyone to see who he’d scooped up from the street and what he could turn him into in a matter of weeks.
    No other agency could brag that .

    * * *
    “ R emember : each one of you represents the top male modeling agency in the world.”
    It was the same speech Briar had given last year, but every model was hanging onto his every word.
    Every model except Gabriel, who was watching red buses circle Trafalgar Square, his arms folded.
    “And as such, you’re representing me . I’ve spent a long time building up Exposed’s reputation as the go-to agency. Every year, we get better and better. That’s why we’ve taken the chance on all of you: we can show a slate of fresh faces who perform just as well as the same tired old hags they drag out every year.”
    There was a ripple of laughter, and Briar indulged them with a small smile.
    “You’re going to kill it. I’ve watched every one of you in front of the camera, and most of you on the runway.”
    His gaze flickered to Gabriel. With two weeks’ notice, they hadn’t been able to squeeze him onto a real-life runway before. They’d trained him, over and over, but there was nothing like the narrow strip of land in the sea of judgmental, admiring, and critical faces watching every tiny movement.
    This was the break of a lifetime for Gabriel, and the gamble of a lifetime for Briar, but he always listened to his gut instinct, and that told him Gabriel was going to shine.
    Just in case, the biggest shows weren’t first. There were smaller shows for the first two days, and then the events got more and more important. They could pull Gabe at any moment and fly someone else out for the next night.
    It was a trial by fire.
    Despite how thoroughly disinterested Gabriel looked, he was barely breathing.
    He’s scared shitless.
    Briar tore his gaze off Gabriel before the other models noticed him looking. He didn’t need jealous attention from the rest of them this week, of all times.
    “But don’t get complacent. Never get complacent. Every step you take is going to be photographed and watched by people you wouldn’t believe,” Briar told them. “ This will move most of you from the new faces department into the runway department. Your careers will be made or broken here.”
    Now none of them were breathing that much, the smiles gone as all eyes were fixed on his every word.
    “Luckily, Vince, Julius, and I picked all of you because—well, because the client wanted you, and also because we believe in every one of your abilities to do the job and do it right. Enjoy