Tell Me Something (The "Something" Series Book 1) (18 page)

The first shoot was in a bikini, and I was thankful it was a tasteful, black one. The idea was to be the girl next door down here on vacation, not a supermodel, thank goodness. I could definitely do relatable much better than filling in for a supermodel.

Then I got a good look at my significant other for the shoot. Uh, yeah, he was not relatable, he was gorgeous. Well over six feet tall, clean cut with close-cropped dark brown hair, and already with his shirt off, which displayed impressive washboard abs.

“Hi ya, you must be Haylee. I’m Will.”

Oh, boy, he had an Australian accent.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you, Will.”

His eyes were blue, his smile was perfect, and I was suddenly a bit more insecure about this model shoot. Guys like that belonged on billboards. Girls like me were pretty but definitely not exceptional.

“You’re from New York, yeah?”

“Yes, well, originally from California, but I’m in New York now. You?”

“I’m in New York, too.”

And with that, the staging crew was ready for us to take our places. As we got into the shoot, I realized that it was a lot easier for me to do action type activities in front of the camera rather than merely posing, as I’d done in the other shoot. In-the-moment shots were more natural. It also helped to have Will, who, as it turned out, wasn’t simply easy on the eyes but was funny and easy to feel comfortable around.

“I’m so glad I got you as my partner on this shoot,” he confessed in-between scenes.

I checked my phone for the umpteenth time, still having not heard from Josh. “I’m really glad I got you, too,” I said sincerely.

“Boyfriend?” he inquired, watching me with my phone.

Embarrassed for having checked it so often, I shook my head. I couldn’t tell him either way, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

“Good, that means I can call you. Maybe we can get together once I’m back in a week or so.”

I waited to feel the guilt, but was thankful when it didn’t come. I wasn’t going to be the girl sitting at home every night while my secret boyfriend went out with other women and spent the holidays without even texting me.

“I’d like that Will,” I said smiling.

I was excited to see Catherine again. My self-confidence when it came to modeling had grown after the opportunity in the Bahamas over the weekend, and I was enthusiastic about showing off my mom’s dresses. I had my garment bags in hand and was thankful that I was ushered right in to Catherine’s office on the forty-third floor of her office building.

“Haylee, how lovely to see you. Here, let me help you,” she offered, grabbing half of my bags and putting them onto a rolling wardrobe cart.

Her office walls were quite impressive with framed pictures of celebrities and magazine covers from over the years.

“It’s great to see you again, too. Thank you for taking the time,” I said meaning it.

She waved me off. “Are you kidding? This is a treat. I would suggest we sit and chat, but I must admit I’m way too anxious to see the dresses. Are you wearing a vintage Chanel suit now?” she questioned, spinning me around.

Happy that I had chosen the dark tweed for today, I smiled and nodded. “It’s like finding someone who speaks the same language. I am indeed wearing Chanel. It is from 1968.”

“Gorgeous. So you tell me: where should we start?”

I started with the Jean Desses green dress and then the pink one she had seen previously. Then I moved on to the Dior trapeze dress which had her oohing and aahing. Next was an Oleg Cassini classic suit and two Chanel dresses. The black Givenchy was one of my favorites along with a colorful Pucci dress. They all had her smiling in appreciation.

“And now for the finale, I present the Valentino wedding gown.”

Her eyes got big, and she clapped her hands together. “Oh, Haylee, it’s exquisite. May I?”

I nodded, liking that she asked before touching the lace.

“I have to have these dresses in my magazine, especially this one. Please tell me you’ll do it.”

She seemed so worried that I might not that I rushed to reassure her. “Of course I’d love to. It would be amazing to show them off.”

“I’d want them for my February issue which means shooting next week. We are going to need shoes unless you have them?” She went down a mental checklist.

“I have some shoes, but I don’t have them for the wedding dress or anything that goes with the Pucci print. But I’m happy to show you what I do have.”

“Good. As for a male model, I’ll have to set up some interviews.”

“Well, if you don’t have anyone in mind, I’d love for you to interview someone I know.” I gave her a quick rundown on Will, and she looked curious.

“Sounds good. Why don’t you give me his number, and I’ll set up a meeting.”

It would make me happy to work with Will again instead of taking a chance on a stranger I might not feel comfortable with.

“As for a photographer, I need to make some phone calls,” Catherine said, jotting notes.

“I could see if Bart is available.”

She appeared to be taken aback. “Bart Chesley?”

“Um, yeah, I mean he gave me his cell number…”

“Haylee, Bart is one of the best in the business. If he would do this, I mean, it would be huge. I know he is friendly with Josh. Maybe he could place a call?”

“Well, actually, I saw Bart last weekend. He called me for a last-minute shoot in the Bahamas, and he said to let him know about any modeling that I did. I mean, unless you think he’d be insulted that I would ask him directly. I’m not sure of protocol.”

She still appeared a little stunned which was unnerving because I got the sense that Catherine was never stunned. “So he called you directly to ask you to do the shoot?”

“Uh, yeah, on Thanksgiving.”

“Well, screw protocol. If you have his number and have a rapport, go for it. Are you kidding me? This is all coming together like it was meant to be.”

“Okay, I’ll call him.” I pulled out my phone, and she looked astounded again. Evidently she wasn’t expecting I’d do it right this instant.

I was pleased when Bart answered on the second ring. After a few niceties and compliments about how this weekend’s pictures had turned out, I asked the favor and then glanced over at Catherine. I hung up with a smile on my face.

“He said absolutely he’d do it. To have your office call him to work out the dates.”

She seemed impressed. “As if I didn’t love you enough already, you have Bart Chesley on speed dial.”

My face heated. “I hope he didn’t feel weird. From the look on your face, I’m wondering if maybe I overstepped. He knows I work for, uh, Mr. Singer, and I don’t want that to be the reason.” Crap, now I was overthinking it.

She took both my hands and reassured me. “Honey, Bart Chesley wouldn’t do a favor for the pope unless he wanted to. He works because he loves the art, or because he likes the people who ask him. His price tag is high, but he’s worth every penny. And he has a laundry list of models whom he has worked with only one time, if you get my drift.”

I guess I did. I had only thought of Bart as a nice older man who was kind to me and gave me my first break.

“So, as for your fee, I’ll have Legal draw it up. What is your rate?” she inquired.

Now it was my turn to be dumbfounded. “I honestly don’t know. Both times I’ve sort of stepped in, so whatever you think makes sense, really.”

She mulled this over. “I’ll talk to Josh about the other shoot you did. I want to make sure I’m fair to you.”

I was uncomfortable with that thought but smiled. “So I kind of have a favor to ask, but please know that you can absolutely say no.” I started to get a little anxious even asking. I never minded giving favors, but asking for them was tough.

“Name it. Here, let’s eat. I had salads brought up for lunch. I’m sure you could probably put away anything, but I’ve got to watch what I eat. Especially now, being middle aged and divorced.”

Her self-deprecation threw me. It went to show that someone could look like they have everything from the outside and yet be hurting inside.

“Well, I was thinking about the jewelry. I’m assuming you want vintage, especially the wedding jewelry, and Gamble Advertising represents Delayne Diamonds. They have this vintage line that has everything from wedding rings to everyday-type diamonds. Specifically, Sasha Brooks is their rep, and, well, she is new to the account. I was thinking it could be an amazing opportunity for her.”

“Done. Sounds perfect,” she decided.

That was really easy. Too easy, when I thought of Sasha. “Thank you, but Sasha is, well, she’s proud. She needs to feel like she has earned it.”

Catherine took a bite of her salad and contemplated. “Why are you doing this for her? Is she a friend?”

The question kind of threw me. “To be honest, I don’t know her very well. But I watched as she got ripped apart by a good old boy’s network when she pitched the vintage idea. I think this would be an awesome way of telling them all to shove it.”

Catherine appeared to understand this. “Fair enough.” She scanned her phone and frowned at her calendar. “After tomorrow I’m in full fashion show mode and will be traveling.”

“Would tomorrow work, by any chance?”

“I’m booked all day, but I could do after work.”

“That would be perfect. How about a meeting and then maybe happy hour? Sasha is single, beautiful, successful, and you mentioned going out.”

Her face lit up at the thought. “That sounds great, actually, as long as you think Sasha isn’t one of those catty women. I can’t handle any more of the type who pretend to be a friend and then stab you in the back.”

Considering my first impression of Sasha, I decided to play it safe. “How about we do the presentation, and you can judge for yourself? I think that she can be nice, but she sees women as a natural threat. To be fair, I think it is a defense instead of mean girl mentality, but I won’t mention happy hour to her unless you do.”

She seemed satisfied with that answer and then remarked. “Haylee, there aren’t a lot of women in this corporate world who look out for one another. It’s nice you’re doing this for her, and I hope she can appreciate it.”

We finished up our lunch with small talk. I looked forward to calling Sasha when I got back and hoped she would be as excited as I was.

***

Josh was on a conference call when I arrived back at the office. After Nigel left early for one of David’s appointments, I settled in and decided to call Sasha.

“Sasha Brooks here.”

“Hi Sasha, this is Haylee, Josh’s assistant.”

“Uh, yeah, Haylee. Yes, what can I do for you?”

“Well, I have what could be a good opportunity for you to feature that vintage diamond line.” I filled her in on the details of the shoot and Catherine.

“I don’t know what to say,” she finally admitted after my explanation.

“Um, well, I was hoping you’d say yes. The only kicker is that she has to meet you tomorrow, though not until the end of the day. Time is tight because she wants to try to get the spread in the February issue, which means the shoot has to be in the next couple of weeks.”

“Oh, shit, that’s quick. Do you have the dresses there in the office? I would need to see them in order to get a sense. I need to talk to the client. Actually, maybe I should get the project first before I mention it, not like they are going to say no.” I could hear her brain running a million miles an hour.

“Mr. Singer is leaving at six o’clock for an appointment. Why don’t you come by here afterwards? I have the dresses here, and I’ll help you work on whatever you need tonight.”

“That’s great, yeah, I’ll come by. See you then.”

We hung up, and I found myself looking forward to this evening.

***

I didn’t see much of Josh until he was ready to leave for his business dinner, and even then he was on a call. He gave me a smile and a wave on his way out. Although I was used to this routine, sometimes it irritated me to not know outside of his work calendar if we in fact would see each other later. I had intended to tell him about pitching to Catherine, but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that it was my plan. Considering his inability to share his plans, perhaps it was time that I wasn’t so forth coming.

Sasha trekked over from the Gamble Advertising office six blocks away, arriving at my office on time. Not surprisingly, she looked impeccable and appeared genuinely excited for the opportunity.

The first fifteen minutes were spent showing her the dresses. I saved the wedding dress for last.

“Wow, the whole collection is amazing. But this wedding dress is absolutely stunning,” she exclaimed.

I smiled, knowing she meant it sincerely. You couldn’t look at the Valentino and not fall in love.

“All right, so do you think she wants different jewelry for each dress?”

“I think so, although I can’t tell you for sure which dresses she’ll pick. I think we should give her options for each.”

Taking out her notepad, she was clearly eager to start. “Okay, let’s go through the wardrobe. I brought the catalog of everything vintage. Maybe we can make a list of those pieces we think will go with each dress.” It was going to be a late night, but her enthusiasm was contagious.

We were finishing up with the preliminary list of items when Josh walked back in, still in his suit. He appeared completely surprised by the image of Sasha and me with our heads together on my desk, both looking at my computer. “I— Hello, Sasha.”

She straightened up, looking way too guilty for something so innocent.

“Oh, Josh, sorry. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Considering this was his office, he only raised a brow.

I interjected quickly. “Sasha was nice enough to come by and help me with which dresses to pick out for the Cosmo shoot.”

“Uh, great, that’s nice. I, um, forgot something. If you ladies are going to be here awhile, you are welcome to use my office. Order up some dinner.”

It was almost eight o’clock, and I realized he was most likely back here for me. “Thank you. Appreciate it.”

As if remembering he forgot something, he went into his office and came back out with a folder in his hand. “Ladies, have a good evening.”

Once we heard the elevator ding, we both took a deep breath and then, burst out into giggles.

“You know that it’s bad when my boss’s boss is shocked that I’m being nice,” she divulged, sitting back in her chair. “Why are doing this for me?” she questioned.

“First and foremost, I liked your idea, and, well, the vintage opportunity presented itself, so it kind of made sense. Secondly, I like the notion of having you show Brian, and especially Warren, that your idea was a good one.”

She mulled this over. “Thank you Haylee.”

I smiled as we finished up for the evening. I made my way home feeling good about the night.

***

It was close to eleven o’clock by the time I rolled in, and was thankful for Rafael’s assistance in getting my dresses upstairs. A short time later there was a knock. I opened the door and I smiled at Josh who was dressed in his pajama pants and a soft white T-shirt. I ran my hand down his chest, a gesture that seemed to amuse him.

“Petting me now?”