Campaign for Love (22 page)

 

Several paths led down to the whitest beach Suzy had ever seen. It
extended as far as the eye could see in both directions. It was like
paradise, a perfect setting for the glamorous shots they would be
taking.

 

 

The three women were assigned to the guest house, while the men
would
be in the main house.

 

 

The guest house was built in the shape of a square with a gorgeous
fountain courtyard in the center. Each bedroom opened onto the
court.

 

 

The fourth side of the house was the living area. Suzy and Helene
were
at opposite sides of the court, with Candy at the end. Each room had
a
private bath. Suzy looked around in awe. She knew she came from a
good
background, but she had rarely seen such opulence.

 

 

Joe and Max threw their luggage into their rooms without bothering
to
unpack, and went out to scout for colorful locations for stills, and
ocean tide-pools or reefs for action shots.

 

 

Quentin said he would unpack, and join them in a short while.

 

 

Candy had the houseboys carry Suzanna's wardrobe into the guest
house,
where they opened the cases immediately to avoid further wrinkling.

 

 

Suzy gasped when she saw some of the fabulous nothings she would be
wearing in the commercials. They were obviously designed to show a
great deal.

 

 

Helene asked her to try one of the more concealing costumes, since
it
would require more fitting. She couldn't believe Suzy's waist could
be
that small, but it was. Everything fitted perfectly.

 

 

Joe came to the door a short time later, and said, "We'd like to
take a
few stills before lunch to try the lighting. We'll do the befores
first. Suzy, get your makeup off except for lip gloss. Bruce, put up
her hair. Helene, the girl-next-door cover-up she's wearing will be
perfect. Change into some plain white flats and come out as soon as
you're ready."

 

 

"Okay," said Suzanna. "Be with you in a minute."

 

 

When she had finished, they called her over to the main house where
they shot the 'before' shots of her seated, then standing at a desk.
She even had her fake glasses on in one. Candy oversaw the work with
the digital camera. When Joe was done, she checked each on her
computer
screen.

 

 

Next they took some video of her down on the beach, making the most
of
the early morning light before the sun got too strong.

 

 

Then it was time to film the afters. This time her hair came
tumbling
down, and she got the full make up treatment from Bruce. They took
the
same shots as before, and then they posed her against a palm tree in
a
white strapless sarong-type dress with a splash of scarlet across
the
breast and down the deep side slit.

 

 

There was a matching stole with a six-inch fringe, and she looked
like
a siren luring men to their deaths on the rocks as she posed down by
the reef.

 

 

Candy had to admit that her figure was not perfect, being a bit too
rounded in the hips for the standard waif-like models that were the
trend these days, but whatever Suzanna had, it was obvious it was
all
hers, without the benefit of starvation or hours in the gym.

 

 

Even the cameramen and Bruce, whose tastes were somewhat jaded from
photographing and making up the same perfect bodies and faces for
years
on end, were overawed by her sheer sexuality.

 

 

Now that she was doing the 'after' shots, Suzanna performed like a
'pro'. As Max called directions, she smiled, pouted, flirted, and
threw
sultry looks at the camera over a bare shoulder.

 

 

Occasionally, Max would give her the once over and tug at the tops
of
the dresses, up to improve the line, or down to show more cleavage,
but
it was an impersonal gesture, and Suzy did not feel threatened by
it.

 

 

Quentin was there for the entire shoot, but Suzy was too busy to
notice
him. It would have done her heart good, though, if she had seen him
scowl whenever Max touched her clothing.

 

 

Later in the day they had her scrub off most of the makeup and go a
bit
more natural with the swimsuit they had planned for her. Candy
helped
her get ready, which entailed using more wax than ever before.

 

 

"I feel like a plucked chicken," Suzy complained through gritted
teeth
as her bikini line became a Mohican.

 

 

"Sorry, dearie, it's just too revealing to take a risk," Helene
apologized.

 

 

The swim suit, the exact color of her skin, was a long, thin
triangle
of silk jersey in front and a very short one in back with a string
to
hold it around the neck, and a series of strings attaching the front
to
the back. Once she hit the water in it, she looked almost nude.

 

 

"We sure as heck won't be able to use these in some of the ladies
family-type magazines, but they should do well in Cosmo and a few of
the others," said Joe with a grin.

 

 

Quentin looked as though he had swallowed something sour, and got
up.
He walked down the beach and clearly tried to ignore Joe and Suzy
sporting themselves in the surf, with Joe taking underwater shots as
well.

 

 

They had been so busy, they'd completely forgotten about lunch. It
was
only at about two that the housekeeper called them to say that she
had
set out a buffet.

 

 

They decided Suzanna needed a break, since modeling was not her
chosen
career and could be exhausting for a novice, and despite all the
sunblock they kept putting on, they last thing they wanted was
sunburn
on their first day.

 

 

Lunch was the first time she was been able to talk to Quentin
privately
since that morning in her hotel room. He came up behind her as she
was
fixing a plate for herself from the elaborate salad bar. There were
platters of roast beef and turkey and bowls of cold shrimp and
langostina with a variety of sauces as well as fresh-baked bread and
rolls. He joined her in the small line, filled his plate, then
followed
her out of doors to sit at a table for two shaded by a striped
umbrella.

 

 

"You know," he said to her when they were seated, "I'm not sure it
was
the brightest thing I ever did when I asked you to take this job."

 

 

She stared at him in surprise. "Why not? The pay is good, the work,
though tiring, isn't really hard, and I get to wear these luxurious
clothes."

 

 

"That's part of it. You mean the clothes you almost wear--like that
swim suit you have on under the robe."

 

 

"I know what you mean. It barely covers possible."

 

 

"Without a doubt, you have the wildest collection of sayings I've
ever
heard-but usually apropos. Is that another one of grandma's?"

 

 

"Yes. One day I think I'll put them all in a book so I can hand them
down to future generations."

 

 

"Does that mean you're planning to have a family of your own some
day?"

 

 

She glanced at him in surprise. "Of course. Does that thought
disturb
you?"

 

 

Quentin considered the idea. "No," he said. "Quite the contrary. But
tell me. How did your German grandmother pick up all those old, wise
old sayings?"

 

 

"Oh, she didn't. The sayings come from my witty Irish grandma."

 

 

"You seem to have inherited the best traits of both. But you've also
managed to change the subject on me. I swear, if that Max puts his
hands into your cleavage again, I'll tear his heart out."

 

 

Suzanna grinned. "You noticed? Don't let it disturb you. It was all
very impersonal. He didn't really touch me. He was only trying to
make
the dress show a bit more skin. Besides, why should you care? Only a
dog in the manger would want to keep a man away from something he
doesn't want himself. You've never shown the slightest interest in
my
cleavage or anything else."

 

 

"That's an out and out lie and you know- Oh, damn it all, here comes
Joe. That means they're ready to shoot again."

 

 

Suzanna had to wolf down her food and change again, this time into a
white net string bikini with two circles and a triangle of opaque
white
satin latex in strategic spots. Sensible Suzanna was becoming
Sizzling
Suzy right before everyone's eyes, including her own, and truth to
tell, she rather liked it.

 

 

She could see Quentin he was inwardly fuming, but for the life of
her
she couldn't figure out why. In the meantime, as the agency
representative, she suggested certain still shots for layouts she
had
in mind, and tried to jolly him along into offering his opinion.

 

 

Suzy herself struck poses of her own designed to sell more
cosmetics.
She bent over a tide pool and looked up at the camera, holding a
tiny
starfish as if showing it to a watching lover. The make-up was
featured
as being water-proof and perspiration proof, and so far as she could
tell, it was holding up well as she put it through its paces.

 

 

The video-camera caught her in a fast, though one-sided, game of
tennis, and on a boat, as well as just sunning her long, lithe body.

 

 

They worked while the light held, with Suzanna stopping only long
enough to have Bruce change her make-up colors, and for Helene to
get
her into another exquisite costume.

 

 

Toward evening, they put Quentin in a dinner jacket and asked him to
be
a back-drop for her. She was like a fairy princess in a flame
colored
ball gown, held in his arms as they danced in the charming
courtyard.
He was in three-quarter profile, while Suzanna looked at him
starry-eyed as the camera caught every romantic nuance.

 

 

"You're some actress!" the crew congratulated her when the scene was
over.

 

 

"I don't know of a professional model who could have done that more
convincingly," Candy praised.

 

 

Suzanna smiled demurely and said, "Thank you."

 

 

At last, they had finished shooting for the day. Dining was to be
'al
fresco', with the Bahamians preparing a sort of mini-clambake in a
metal drum. There were giant crayfish, the lobster of the tropics,
clams, potatoes, and corn on the cob all steamed in seaweed.

 

 

Conversation was lively, and there was some good-natured kidding
about
the brevity of Suzanna's costumes. Quentin didn't seem to find the
remarks very funny, though he managed a polite smile.

 

 

When dinner was over, they retired to the living room to see the
results of the day's 'takes.' Although the video tapes had been
monitored as they'd been shot, all wanted a chance to see them on a
big
TV screen.

 

 

They figured they had done enough footage for one week of
commercials.
If they could do as well on Sunday and Monday, they'd have it made.

 

 

There was a hush as they slid the tape into the player, turned on
the
set, and pushed the play button. First came the 'plain' Suzanna
sitting
at the desk, putting on glasses, taking notes, talking on the phone,
just an average, efficient personal assistant doing her job. There
were
a few scenes with her face and hands applying makeup, then her hair
being brushed out.

 

 

The next scene was the one that would make every female rush out to
buy
'Femme Fatale.' Right before their eyes, an ordinary girl had turned
into a sex-symbol, a gorgeous creature to capture any man's heart.
They
would use the exotic Bahaman locales to make her fantasize, and then
live the fantasy.

 

 

As the tape came to its breath-taking end, there was complete
silence
in the room. Quentin was the first to speak.

 

 

"Well, folks, it looks as if we've pulled it off. We have the start
of
a campaign that will be an all-time classic. It's perfect, every
frame.
We can use every inch of that footage."

 

 

The crew concurred wholeheartedly. Only Suzy sat tongue-tied. She
couldn't believe that she had so naturally fallen into such
seductive
poses, or had unwittingly revealed the open invitation in her eyes.
She
and Quentin stared at each other across the room, his expression
unreadable.

 

 

The spell was broken when someone suggested they all take a
refreshing
dip in the ocean before going to bed. Within minutes, they were all
in
their swimsuits and running into the calm, transparent water.

 

 

"Hey, Suzanna," Quentin said as he splashed into the sea right
behind
her. "Congratulations. You were fantastic." He looked down at her
black
nothing of a maillot and said, "If that is your own suit, it's
almost
as bad as the ones Femme Fatale picked for you."

 

 

"Almost as bad! Any other man would say almost as good!" she fired
back.

 

 

"Sure," he said hotly, "but any other man doesn't happen to be in
l--
Er, I mean, doesn't happen to care about you."

 

 

Suzy's heart turned over. She knew how close he'd come to saying 'in
love with you'. But she let it go, and remarked, "And you do care
about
me, I suppose."

 

 

"Of course I do," he replied gruffly.

 

 

"You have a funny way of showing it."

 

 

"We aren't going to start fighting again, are we?"