Awaken (6 page)

Today did not go as I had hoped.

When Penelope and I walked into the lobby of West Group, carrying all my photography gear, a strange feeling came over me. As we boarded the elevator to the top floor, I turned to Penelope. “I can't believe I worked here for five years. It feels like a lifetime ago.”

“I bet,” said Penelope. When the elevator stopped and we got off, Penelope noticed all the men and women walking by were dressed in conservative business attire. “I just can't believe you dressed like this everyday. How boring,” she muttered.

We carried my equipment toward the main meeting room. We ran into several of my old co-workers along the way. People were very friendly and shocked to realize I was back in the office, not to work as a recruiter, but as a photographer. As we got everything setup in the large meeting room, Emma stopped by to make sure we didn't need anything.

“I think we've got it covered,” I said. “Oh, Em. I want you to meet Penelope, she's a good friend of mine.”

Penelope stepped away from the lighting rig she was setting up and shook Emma's hand. “Hold on a second,” said Penelope. “I think I just went blind. Look at that ring! Now that is some serious bling.”

Emma blushed. “Thanks.”

Then Emma turned to me. “When you're ready, I'll start sending people in one at a time for the shoot.”

“We should be ready in about ten,” I told her.

“Sounds good. Pleasure meeting you, Penelope,” said Emma with a smile, and then she walked out.

We had just finished getting the equipment setup when there was a knock at the door. It was Jane Thompkins, the CFO. We took her portrait for the marketing package. Penelope was a lifesaver and helped re-adjust the lights based on my direction. I couldn't have done the shoot without her. When we finished with Jane, we spent the rest of the morning taking pictures of the remaining executives. Then we broke for lunch.

After lunch, we were notified that the CEO, Cooper West, was stuck in a meeting and running late. With extra time on our hands, we walked around the office snapping pictures of people at work. When we returned to the meeting room, we were surprised to see Mr. West sitting at the head of the conference table, looking at his phone.

He glanced up when Penelope and I entered the room. “I've been waiting ten minutes,” he said in a curt tone. Then he turned his attention back to his phone.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were here,” I said, apologizing. “We were told you were running late so we took the opportunity to take some pictures around the office.”

He stood up. Cooper West hadn’t changed in the three years since I last saw him. He was still gorgeously handsome, with dark brown hair and light green eyes. He emitted success and strength in his tailored suit. “My time is valuable,” he said as he put away his phone. He looked at me, paused, then finally said, “I don't have much time, Ms.…?”

“Winters,” I said, stepping forward and extending my hand. He hesitated and then shook it quickly. “This is my assistant, Penelope Rivera.” I motioned to Penelope, who appeared mesmerized by Cooper West's good looks.

Mr. West nodded. “How long will this take, exactly?” he asked.

“Not long at all,” I said, sensing his impatience.

“I'll hold you to that,” he said as he looked around the meeting room. “Where do you want me?”

I could sense Penelope was about to make an inappropriate comment, so I jabbed her with my elbow. “Right there, next to the window would be great. That way we get a shot of you overlooking the city.”

Cooper took a seat near the window. “Like this?” he asked.

Damn he looked good. “That's perfect,” I responded.

Then his cellphone went off. He reached into his suit pocket. “I have to take this.” He quickly answered the phone.

I looked at Penelope. She mouthed the words “HOT” to me. Then we listened as he reprimanded the person on the other line.

“Chuck, considering what I'm paying you, I expect you to be chained to your desk, do you understand? I never, ever, should be spending one single moment of my day trying to hunt you down. Do I make myself clear? If you don't get me that contract signed and delivered by the end of the day, you can kiss your bonus this year goodbye.” He hung up the phone and turned to me, his eyes on fire. “Are you ready or what?” he asked, more as a command than a question.

I quickly nodded and directed Penelope to adjust the lights and the soft-box. Hastily, I stepped toward Mr. West and checked the light readings on my meter. Then I asked him to tilt his head slightly to the side.

“A little bit more. Do you mind if I touch you?” I asked with some hesitation.

“I don't have all day, Ms. Winters,” he complained.

“Of course, I understand.”

I reached and touched his clean-shaven face. I felt my pulse race as I noticed his defined jawline and smelled his cologne. Slowly, I turned his head slightly to the left. “Perfect,” I said racing back to my tripod. Once I was satisfied with the frame's composition, I looked away from the camera and back at him. “How about a little smile,” I suggested.

He grinned for the camera. I snapped the picture. From the camera's viewfinder, I could immediately tell the smile looked awkward. I was about to take another shot when Cooper West suddenly got up and started walking toward the door. He had his cellphone in hand and was about to make a call. “It was nice meeting you,” he said, not even bothering to look at us.

“Mr. West,” I shouted as he was about to leave the room. He stopped and turned around, his strong gaze fixated on me. “What?” he asked impatiently.

“I was hoping we could get another shot.”

He shook his head. “I don't have time. It's just a picture.” Then he turned and walked away.

Once he was gone, I looked at Penelope and sighed. “That went terrible,” I muttered.

We packed the equipment, and then Penelope and I grabbed a drink at a nearby bar.

“I can’t believe how hot he was,” Penelope said. “A total dick, but still hot as fuck.” She leaned forward. “And he was totally checking you out.”

“Are you kidding me?” I said, nearly spitting out my 7 and 7. “No he wasn't.”

Penelope rolled her eyes. “He totally was. When you ran back to the tripod, I caught him checking out your ass. And when you were adjusting his pose, he looked down your shirt.”

I glanced at my chest. “Do you think this outfit was too revealing?”

Penelope rolled her eyes again. “Maybe if you were in a monastery.”

I sighed. “You have an overactive imagination, Penelope. But even if you're right, I don't care if he was checking me out. He acted like a jerk, and I'm really annoyed I didn't get a good shot of him for the marketing package.”

“I'm just telling you what I saw,” said Penelope. “There's one thing I'm good at noticing… and that's sexual attraction. And he was feeling you, trust me.”

I sighed again. “I worked for his company for five years, and he never noticed me once.”

“But that was three years ago. You're a different Lacey now. You're more confident, sexier, with new and improved tits.”

“Whatever,” I said and took another sip of my drink.

Penelope threw her head back. “How can you say
whatever
to that guy.”

“Because you said it yourself: He was a total dick. I would never want to be with somebody who's so rude.”

Penelope leaned forward. “I'm not talking about marrying the guy. I'm just saying, he was checking you out.”

I shrugged. “Well, I'm not interested. Unfortunately, Cooper West is an asshole. And I won't sleep with a guy like that. Even if he's hot as hell and interested in me.”

Penelope looked at me in a curious way.

“Oh, I get it,” she said. “You're just saying that because you had sex with the Master. Sex with that stud can keep a woman satisfied for at least a year.”

I put my drink down. “Wait a minute,” I said. “Have you had sex with the Master?”

“Of course I have,” she revealed. “I waited a whole month for his assistant to pick me.”

I took another sip of my drink as a strange sensation washed over me. Was it jealousy? That's ridiculous, I told myself. I looked at Penelope. Ever since I saw her and Nico at the club, I’d been meaning to ask her something. “Can I ask you something? It's a little personal,” I finally said.

“Sure,” Penelope said leaning back.

“How do you and Nico handle jealousy?”

“You mean when I'm watching Nico fuck another woman,” said Penelope a little too loudly. I looked around nervously and confirmed that no one had heard us.

“Yeah.”

Penelope shook her head. “Maybe in the beginning that was an issue, but when you realize it's just sex and not love, it really frees you. The problem is when you confuse the two things. Great sex doesn't mean it’s love. Just like love sometimes doesn't come with great sex. Luckily, Nico and I have both. But we also have very strong sexual appetites. So we decided, why go hungry? Thank goodness for a place like Nectar.”

Cooper West is officially the biggest jerk on the planet! He called me today, and he was even more of a dick than last time.

“Ms. Winters?” he said the minute I picked up the phone.

“Yes,” I responded, not knowing who it was.

“I thought you were a professional?” he said in a harsh tone. “I'm looking at the picture you took of me, and it looks horrible.”

“Oh, Mr. West, it's you.” I felt a rush of anxiety. “Well, that's why I wanted to take one more shot, but you were in such a hurry.”

He wasn't interested in my excuse. “This picture can't go into our marketing package. It's unacceptable. And the package needs to go out by the end of the week. I refuse to pay for such poor work. You're going to have to take another picture. Can you be in my office within the hour?”

I cringed. Penelope was working today. That meant I would have to lug all the equipment into Manhattan by myself. There was no way I could be there in an hour. “Unfortunately, my assistant has the day off today, so it might take me a bit longer than an hour.” I anxiously glanced at the clock on my phone. “I could be there by three o'clock,” I said.

“That won't work,” he complained. “I have to catch a flight to Boulder this afternoon. Where are you located?”

I told him my address.

“I'll have my driver stop there on the way to the airport,” he said, rushed. “This is just a headshot. The background doesn’t matter.” He hung up on me.

My body tightened up with anger. What a jerk! I took a deep breath to calm down. I had to remind myself that he was the client, and I needed to act like a professional. I quickly arranged my studio so it was ready for Cooper West's arrival. Two hours later, he entered my apartment, his eyes glued to his phone.

“Get it right this time,” he said.

I nodded and directed him to the chair in the corner. I quickly checked the lighting and stepped behind my tripod. Satisfied with his positioning, I said, “Smile.” He did, and I snapped several pictures.

I was surprised when he got up quickly and walked in my direction. He was like a force of nature coming right at me. “Let me see,” he commanded. I showed him the pictures I had just taken from my laptop.

“They're terrible. Again,” he ordered, not satisfied. He returned to the chair.

 
“Okay,” I said, miffed and began snapping some more. But Cooper West didn't like those either.

“How hard is it for you to take a picture?” he complained as he returned to the chair again.

The truth was, the picture was technically fine. The composition and lighting were perfect. The problem was the subject. Cooper West was acting like such a jerk that it showed in the picture. Even though he was being unreasonable, I took several more shots, just as he asked. But once again, he wasn't satisfied.

“How did you get this job?” he demanded. “These pictures are just terrible.”
 

I had had enough of his attitude, client or no client. I looked into his eyes and said, “Mr. West, the picture isn't the problem: you are.”

I noticed the surprised look on his face. “What did you say?”

I stood up straight. “You heard me. The camera doesn't lie. You're acting like a jerk, and the camera is just capturing what it sees.”