19. Vincent
19
VINCENT
I closed my eyes and threw my phone on my desk.
Our social media director had forwarded me an Instagram post featuring our carefully selected Evermore campaign model in the tackiest, most low-rent money grab post imaginable.
Why the hell did a $10k-a-day model feel the need to do sponcon for something called “flat tummy tea”? Ingrid Olafsson had just wrapped an incredibly lucrative cosmetic campaign and had signed on with Summit to be our “face” for the Evermore campaign, but there was no way I was going to attach our good name to a model who shilled dangerous drinks that promoted disordered eating and a negative body image.
“Linda,” I barked into the intercom. “Please get my team in my office, now .”
Even though I led the request with “please,” I’m sure she could tell how unhappy I was.
“Okay,” she replied meekly, and I realized once again I’d come off like an asshole. It wasn’t her fault things were going into the shitter.
“I appreciate it, Linda,” I said quickly. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” came her much perkier reply.
My office was full within five minutes. Everyone who mattered was in the room looking as sick about Ingrid as I felt, but no one was willing to make suggestions.
“What about swapping her out for Lucy McBride?” I asked.
“Nope,” Bradley frowned. “She just signed with Remarkable, and they’re getting ready to introduce a new fragrance line.”
“Fuck,” I seethed.
We didn’t have much time, and a pre-campaign pivot was the last thing I needed.
“What about Maya?”
Every head in the room swiveled to Piper as she made the suggestion.
“Oh, no way,” I said, shaking my head. “Absolutely not.”
“Why?” Piper asked. “She’s a legacy model with Summit, and she has brand loyalty. It’s the obvious choice.”
Obvious? Maybe. But that didn’t take into account that Maya was a walking disaster zone, a train wreck wrapped in designer silk. She was also the last person I needed in my life again. “She comes with baggage,” I reminded Piper, giving her a look I hoped would make her get the hint and stand down.
“What’s worse, a little baggage on a shoot that’s already been scheduled to the hilt, including all our staff, make-up artists, and the male model, or scrapping the whole thing and starting from scratch, which could potentially delay the launch?”
A ripple rolled through the crowd at her obvious common sense, which just fueled my annoyance. Of course she was right. Piper was always right. But it didn’t make the suggestion any easier to swallow. Not when the name “Maya” brought back a legion of aggravating memories.
And yet here Piper was, completely willing to rise above the petty exchange they’d had the night we met my dad for dinner. She was such a class act—a true professional. All she wanted was for the campaign to succeed.
Fuck, I could take a lesson from her.
I glanced at our booker Stephanie. “Do you think you could make it happen?”
“Definitely,” Stephanie replied. “I still have her agent on speed dial, I’ll get to work securing her.”
“Please do.”
Piper gave me a commiserating smile, and I tried to focus on that and not the gnawing distress in my gut at the thought of the two of them in the same room again.
Miraculously, everything came together, and a week later, we were ready to go. Yeah, we had to basically kneel before Maya and beg her to do it, but she came around after we’d tossed her enough dollar signs and perks.
The chaos in our studio was actually normal on a shoot day. The music was pumping, and dozens of people were running around the space taking care of last-minute prep. Rodrigo, the male model we’d hired to pose with Maya, was already shirtless and oiled up.
Piper was locked in work mode, bouncing between the set, the lighting controls, and the computer where the images would be viewable as she shot. As usual, I kept to the back of the room so I wouldn’t be a distraction as everything got underway.
Before long, showtime.
Maya emerged from the make-up corner and sashayed across the studio to where Rodrigo was already waiting on set. I turned to watch Piper’s face as Maya got closer and was relieved to discover that she was damn good at faking a total lack of reaction. No one else would have a clue Maya had been a raging bitch to Piper just a few weeks ago.
Wardrobe for the shoot was minimal since both Maya and Rodrigo were supposed to look nude in photo. Maya was wearing black leggings and a tiny peach bandeau that barely covered her breasts, but all I wanted to stare at was Piper in her jeans and button-down.
She clapped her hands to get everyone to focus on her. “Hey team, we need to get going now. Everyone off the set but Maya and Rodrigo, please.”
I loved how the woman could take charge.
The crew scurried to their places, and the models got into position, with Rodrigo standing on a crate so he’d be a few inches taller than Maya, and her looking up at him in profile.
“Ready to go?” Piper asked them warmly.
“ Always ,” Maya replied, locked onto Rodrigo like she wanted to eat him alive.
They shot for a solid hour, and I was relieved that the trio worked beautifully together. I could see exactly how Piper’s vision was going to come to life once the raw image was edited.
“Let’s take a hard ten,” Piper finally said. “We can all use a break.”
It was the perfect time for me to disappear, but before I could make it down the hall to the elevator, I heard Maya calling my name.
Damn it.
I turned around slowly to find Maya slipping a silk robe over her shoulders as she headed toward me. Instead of tying it, she left it wide open, deliberately displaying her nearly naked breasts.
“Vincent,” she pouted. “You’re not staying to watch? Are you jealous of Rodrigo?”
Oh, yes, deeply threatened. I sighed. “Maya, I’m thrilled you have chemistry with him. It’ll be great for the ad.”
“I knew you’d find a way to get me back here at Summit,” she purred. “You need me!”
I bit my tongue to keep from saying something that would piss her off, like how right now, the only thing I really needed was for my life to be Maya-free again. “Summit is very happy to have you back for this stand-alone campaign.” I stressed the word so she wouldn’t get any ideas.
“I was shocked to see you arrive with your little friend behind the lens. The two of you are honestly still together? I still can’t believe she’s enough for you.”
And there it was.
I should’ve known better than to think we’d get through this without a swipe at Piper. Maya’s jealousy was a finely tuned art form, right up there with her ability to weaponize silk robes. I took a deep breath, silently counting to ten.
Piper’s enough to run circles around you any day of the week , I thought. But instead of saying that out loud and lighting another fire, I forced a tight smile and pretended like my frustration wasn’t building to a boiling point.
“Maya, let’s just?—”
“Look at her, then look at me.” Maya traced her hand down her body, skimming her fingers along her breast. “You clearly traded down.” She giggled.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“I’d say that’s a matter of opinion,” I said. In my opinion, Maya on her best day couldn’t even begin to measure up to Piper, but saying that directly wouldn’t accomplish anything. “Let’s not have this conversation,” I concluded as I backed away.
“That’s fine, but when you’re ready to upgrade again, give me a call. We were good together.”
I barked out a laugh. “You know that’s not true. We were a goddamn car crash.”
My accidental word choice reminded me of Piper. Sometimes car crashes led to good things. Maya, however, was more like the kind of accident that leaves a fifty-car pileup and a trail of wreckage across multiple counties.
“And you’ve been trashing me in the media every chance you get since we broke up,” I continued. “What kind of idiot would I look like if I got back together with someone who treats me like that?”
“Oh, come on. You know the public loves a reunion story.” She took a step closer to me. I instinctively took another step back. “I can already picture how it could play out. We stage telephoto shots of us running into each other in Central Park. So unexpected! So adorable! That’ll get people talking, like, are they trying again? Then we do more shots of us having coffee together a few days later. Nothing too intimate yet, just us figuring out what went wrong between us. Then we could do some of us walking my dog, laughing and holding hands.”
“You don’t have a dog, Maya.” I sighed, so very tired of this nonsense. Everything with her was so staged, so artificial. So different from Piper, who was dynamically and defiantly herself at all times.
“Whatever, I’d borrow one,” she said quickly. “Dogs are good for engagement.”
It took real effort not to roll my eyes. Was there a limit to how much nonsense a person could spew before they’d spontaneously combust? Because if so, Maya was about to hit her quota.
She stepped even closer to me. “I know you must miss some parts of being with me…” Maya grasped my hand and placed it against her breast. “These parts.” I pulled my arm away immediately. How the hell she read that as encouragement, I couldn’t say, but she gave me a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin and proceeded to squeeze her breasts herself, putting on a show. “Just know that all of this will be waiting for you when you’re ready for an upgrade from that little photographer.”
“Because you miss me so very much,” I said, voice dry as a bone. “Not because you miss having me foot the bill for all the crap you’re too cheap to buy for yourself.”
Maya grew up struggling, and no matter how successful she got, she still hated spending her own money on anything. I could respect the grit she’d used to propel herself into success. Hell, I could even respect her being frugal and actually knowing the value of a dollar. But the way she acted like she was doing me a huge favor by allowing me to cater to her every whim aggravated the crap out of me.
“I can’t miss both?” she asked with a wink. “I deserve a man who’s…well-endowed in every way, and you deserve a woman who’s a ten, not a five.”
“You’re such a romantic,” I snarked.
At that, she laughed out loud. “We both know romance isn’t real,” she trilled. “I don’t need you to love me. I don’t even care if you like me. All I’m offering is some mutual satisfaction. Think about it…and know that the offer won’t stay open forever.” With that, she sauntered off.
I heard a cough and glanced behind me. Piper was in the doorway.
“Too bad we’re only halfway through the shoot,” she said.
“Oh shit,” I walked over to her. “You heard all of that?”
Piper nodded. Her face was pale.
“She’s ridiculous—we both know that. Ignore her. I would never get back together with Maya.” I reached out to grasp her shoulders.
She looked up at me and managed a smile. But it looked a little forced.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Just tired,” she said. “Long day. But it’s going well, right? I think we’ve gotten some really solid shots. And I think you’ll like our next setup.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, eyeing her.
Piper gave me another smile and set off for the studio. I followed behind her, fighting the feeling that something was off with her.
She had every right to be tired. She’d been working her ass off on this campaign, and the day’s stresses couldn’t have been easy for her to handle. But it was fine—we’d get past it together. We were going to see this damn campaign through no matter how awkward it got. And then everything would be fine again.