An Uncertain Affair (The Affair Series Book 2) (9 page)

Tuesday
morning, I was extremely nervous about seeing both Sergio and Adele. My last contact
with each of them had been strained. I hoped all that would be behind us so we
could have a productive meeting as a team. Valerie and I prepped the coffee and
breakfast, and set up each place at the farm table with the reference materials
Dane had shot. He was quite pleased with how the test shots had turned out. The
poster versions were “book ready” and looked outstanding. The rest were included
in everyone’s meeting books for discussion purposes. Even though they were in
the raw format, it was still an impressive body of work for this stage of the
project.

At
ten o’clock on the dot, Sergio, Adele, Nicole, and Cy arrived at the studio. We
hadn’t anticipated Cy attending, although after Friday’s encounter, I should’ve
realized he would be involved. I quickly adapted, adding another coffee cup to
the stack, and then hurried to produce another book of materials. Dane realized
the fire drill I was going through and made small talk with them while I ducked
into the back room to make copies. Sergio split away from the group and found
me deep in the back office. I didn’t hear him come up behind me and practically
jumped through the ceiling when he put his hands on my shoulders.

“Oh,
my sweet Bridget, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He chuckled and leaned in to
whisper in my ear, ”I’ve missed you so much these last few days.”

My
breath hitched and my nipples tightened from the feel of his warm hands through
the fabric of my blouse. My whole body was responding to his touch; this was
not the time or place to be distracted like this. I couldn’t even turn to face
him. I was afraid I might cave and fall into his arms. “Sergio, please. I have
to concentrate on this. I didn’t know Cy was coming.”

He
tried to calm me. “Oh, Bridget, I’m sorry you’re so stressed. How can I help?”

“Please,
just go and talk with the others. I’ll take care of this and will join you in a
few minutes.”

He
kissed the top of my head and left to rejoin the conversation in the other room.
I wasn’t sure if I was more stressed by Cy showing up unexpectedly or by trying
to conceal my attraction toward Sergio in front of everyone else.

**

With
the materials finally staged at each seat, everyone was moving toward the table.
The two poster shots looked regal floating on the rear wall.

“
Wow!
”
Sergio said as he approached them to examine each more closely. His reaction
reminded me of the first night we were together when he discovered my Journelle
ensemble -- genuine surprise.

“This
is the shrimp escabeche from my second book, isn’t it?” Sergio said, more as a
statement than a question.

“Yes,
exactly,” Dane responded.

Even
Cy and Adele had to admit that the shots were stunning.

“Did
you style this, Valerie?” Nicole asked.

“Yes.
It was a pretty simple recipe, but the ingredients are beautiful, so I had a
lot to work with.”

“You’re
quite talented,” Nicole said, with a hint of annoyance that Valerie was showing
off her abilities to Sergio. I was afraid she might feel threatened by Valerie --
like we were trying to move in on her territory -- but all we wanted was for
everyone to be able to work together.

We
sat down and began reviewing the materials. Sergio was even more excited when
he saw all the variations Dane and Valerie had put together. Cy glanced at
Nicole, checking for her reaction to Valerie’s beautiful work. She didn’t look
up and seemed a bit uneasy as she surveyed the thoughtful detail Dane and
Valerie put into every frame. It was way more material than they ever expected we
would prepare for a kickoff meeting, and better than anything they had ever produced
in the past.

Cy
spoke up. “Well, you’re clearly the right team for this job. This is great
stuff.” Nicole glared at him.

Sergio
added, “Yes, this is fantastic! I can’t wait to get started.” He looked at me
and smiled, knowing that as soon as we began shooting, we would see each other
every day. I still didn’t know how I was going to manage that and not let my
emotions get in the way.

Adele
got back to business in her oh-so-abrasive way. “I saw that your calendar has
completion at the end of February. I specifically said we need to be done
mid-month.”

“Part
of the reason we did these test shots was to plan every step of the process
that we had outlined in our original proposal,” I said. “For Dane to give you
his best work, produce the still-life shots and the plating shots as he proposed,
we feel we will need the extra time.”

Adele
responded, “Nicole’s very fast, and I think you’ll find that things might go more
quickly than you expect.” Nicole sat up a little straighter in her chair and
pursed her lips in a slight smirk. Adele’s comment was a direct jab at Valerie,
and Nicole was relishing it.

“Well,
that would be great, and we’ll hope for that,” I said, trying to appear
gracious for her input, but letting her know this was about more than the food
styling. “I’d prefer to leave the schedule as we have laid it out to give Dane
the creative freedom he needs.”

Adele
was irritated and about to object when Sergio interrupted. “I think we can
leave it as-is for now. Those couple of weeks won’t hurt us, and I want to give
Dane the time he needs.” He knew having the time to do it right was important
to me, too, so that was his way of supporting me.

Adele
and Cy looked at each other skeptically but finally acquiesced. Adele added,
“Okay, but if it looks like it’s going to drag on too long, we’ll have to start
cutting back. This book has to be online by the end of-March in time for
Mother’s Day sales.”

Dane
agreed. “I completely understand, and we’ll do everything we can to give you
the most variety to choose from and still finish on time.” With that, everyone
seemed to relax a little. Even my stress began to fall away slightly.

I
felt Sergio studying me as we talked through the next phases of the project.
His riveting brown eyes were drawing me back to him. I had to get a grip. My
head was spinning with all the conflicting images I had of him – my initial
impressions from his TV persona on
Top Chef
, Nicole’s perspective that
she shared with us on Friday night, and my first-hand encounters with him
romantically. Who was the real Sergio Ramirez?

We
wrapped up the main meeting, and Valerie and Nicole adjourned to the prep kitchen
to begin their planning session. Dane and I escorted the others to the door.

“Dane,
we’re so impressed and appreciative of your passion for this project,” Cy said.

Sergio
was nodding. “Yes, the work you’ve done really helped me understand your vision
and how fantastic it will be.”

Adele
stood between the brothers with her arms folded, impatient to get out the door.

“Thank
you, gentlemen,” Dane said, beaming. “It helped me get grounded and formulate
the approach, too. We’re excited to get started.” He shook hands with Cy and
Sergio, and reached out to shake with Adele, but she just nodded and escaped
quickly.

Cy
shook my hand and followed her out, but Sergio hung back for a moment. He held
both of my hands in his as he had the first time we met, but this time he kissed
me on the cheek. “I look forward to seeing you soon,” he said, and nodded to
Dane as he left.

Dane
looked at me as if to say,
Is he “Mr. Red Roses”?

“Stop
it,” I said. “It’s not what you think.” He didn’t seem to believe me. “I need
to see what’s up in the kitchen. We’ll talk about it later.”

“Yeah,
they definitely need a referee,” Dane said, rolling his eyes and shooing me
toward the prep kitchen.

As
I walked in, Valerie was presenting Nicole with
her
list of duties the
way
she
saw it. It was a version of the document Nicole had given her Friday,
but on Val’s terms. I could see Nicole’s expression change. She was not used to
an assistant standing up to her or setting her own ground rules. Valerie would
give her some room to be the boss, but she wasn’t going to be subservient the
way Nicole was seemingly accustomed to. I could see I would have to watch them
to be sure there wasn’t too much of a grudge building that could reach a
breaking point.

Nicole
read over the list in silence. Finally she said, “I realize you have way more
experience than my typical assistant. I’ll accept these terms, as long as you’re
willing to accept that I’m in charge and you’ll follow my direction.” I could
tell she was annoyed that she even had to have this conversation, but she had
to admit, Valerie was a talented stylist. She could be a huge asset if Nicole
gave her the room to use her knowledge.

Valerie
seemed okay with that. “Yes, ma’am, but if I have a suggestion, I’m not going
to keep my mouth shut. We’re all in this to make it the best book possible, and
if I think something could be better, I’m going to say so.” Nicole seemed taken
aback by Valerie’s straightforward attitude, but she agreed it would be a team
effort. They shook hands and got down to business.

I
put on a fresh pot of coffee and went back to my office to check my messages.

“I
heard that,” Dane said as he flopped down in a chair across from me. “Do you
think it’s going to be a problem?”

“I’ll
keep a close eye on them and try to diffuse any issues before they get ugly. I’m
hoping after a week or so, they’ll find a rhythm working together and it won’t
be a problem at all. They’re both strong personalities, and it’ll require some
give and take to make it work.”

“And
what about Sergio?” Dane asked. “Are you going to be okay working with him? He
seems to be quite enchanted with you.”

I
could feel my face flush. “Sergio’s fine. I think his Latin mannerisms tend to
exaggerate his actual level of enthusiasm for everything. I can manage him, I
promise.” I looked away, hoping Dane wouldn’t detect my uncertainty about the
situation.

He
accepted that. “Okay, if you say so. By the way, thanks for making the point that
the proposed schedule is about having time to be creative. I’m not going to let
that catfight going on in the other room drive this thing. I want this book to
be stunning for everyone’s benefit. You know, it could really put me on the
map.”

“I
know, and I‘ll do everything in my power to make that happen,” I said, smiling
at Dane. I really wanted him to shine with this project. He had given me an
opportunity to start a new life, and I wanted him to have all the fame and
fortune he deserved.

I
rejoined the girls and poured fresh coffee for everyone. They were marking up
their calendars and making shopping lists of food and props that would be
needed for the still-life shots and recipes. Nicole said she could bring some
bulk items from the restaurant that they purchased at deep discounts to help
the budget. Valerie had a great contact at the international market that could
even get out-of-season ingredients from reliable sources at a reasonable cost. These
two had it down. It already seemed like they were getting along better, but
then again, the real work hadn’t begun.

They
worked through lunch and finally wrapped up around four-thirty. Nicole took a
quick tour of the space she would inhabit every day for a couple of months.
With a little attitude creeping back in, she said it was “adequate.” I could see
Valerie clenching her teeth. She’d worked very hard to outfit that prep kitchen,
and she turned out some exquisite food from within those counters. I suspected Nicole’s
comment was her way of exercising control over the situation.

Valerie
and I saw her out, and returned to the kitchen to talk.

“Man,
she can be one arrogant bitch,” Valerie said.

“Don’t
let her get to you. She’s going to have to work in your space for this project,
so she probably feels like she has to puff herself up a bit to be in control. I
know it’ll take some getting used to for both of you.”

“You’re
probably right. It just shouldn’t have to be this hard.”

Dane
joined us. “How’re my two best girls doing?”

“Valerie
was just telling me about how much she’s already learning from Nicole. Isn’t
that right?” I said, joking with them.

She
rolled her eyes and said, “It’s going to be fine. It’s just weird having
someone else running my kitchen. You know how protective I am of my space.” She
put her hands on her hips and pushed her nose in the air, teasing that she was
out of joint about Nicole’s attitude.

Dane
laughed. “Valerie, you’re a star. No one can out-style you in this kitchen, but
we’ll both have to make some space for Nicole to do her thing.” He went to the
refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine to toast to a productive day. He
was in a great mood after a successful meeting, and Steve was on his way to
pick him up to go to Buena Comida as Sergio’s guests for dinner. He was totally
jazzed about it. “Bridget, what did you have when you went to dinner with
Sergio?  I’ll bet he picked all the best dishes.”