Chapter 15 #2
“Being unable to do the poses necessary to execute the vision.”
“I see.” She nodded slowly as she checked her phone. “So you can’t do your job?”
He looked insulted. “I can do my job. It’s her—”
The door opened, and Russ walked our way. His long legs carried him across the roof swiftly, and the photographer turned his back to us in order to address the man in charge.
“Finally! Mr. Long, we need to talk,” the photographer called out.
“What’s going on?” Russ asked, slowing down a few feet in front of him. His handsome face was unreadable as he stared at the man. “What’s the problem?”
“You know the idea I told you about? The one you hired me for? Well”—he turned and gestured to me—“you didn’t tell me that there was a fifth model or that she’s a plus model—”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Russ interrupted.
“She’s making it difficult to get the shots.”
Russ looked at me and then back to the photographer. “I hired you to do a job. Are you telling me you’re unable to do it?”
“No, no.” He shook his head with fervor. “That’s not what I’m saying.”
“We paid you for the memory card with the images. Let me get that from you.”
“Yeah, sure. It’s just the raw images.” The photographer took the memory card out and handed it to him.
“Once I edit the photos, you’ll see what I can do.
And I know I proposed the idea of the models flying because their clothes are fly.
It was going to be a whole thing. And you said you loved my idea.
You know I’ve wanted to work with you for a long time, so I was just trying to give you what you wanted. ”
Russ handed the memory card to Remedy before he responded. “I said I loved how prepared you were. I didn’t realize that was your one good idea.”
“No, it’s not my only good idea. But it’s hard to work with fat—” He hooked his thumb toward me.
“Watch your fucking mouth,” he growled, eyes flashing. He stepped forward, getting in his face. “You’re fired.”
The photographer’s eyes bulged as he backed up. “You said if I did a good job here, I could work with you during Fashion We—”
“You think you can disrespect her… or any of my employees and stay on with me?” His voice was low and cold. “You’re fired.”
“But I didn’t—”
Through gritted teeth, he uttered, “I don’t tolerate disrespect.”
“She—”
Turning toward Remedy, Russ ignored the photographer.
“Set something up for Wednesday and let Angelica know that we’ll be running these same outfits.
” He pointed to a tall man who was hanging back but clearly listening to the entire exchange.
“Pierre, help him get his shit and escort him out. I have a flight to catch.”
Without another word, Russ stalked toward the exit and disappeared through the door.
Remedy chewed the inside of her cheek as she beckoned to us.
“Go to the showroom and give Angelica your outfits. Everything is still the same for Monday, but I’ll email you with details about this new Wednesday shoot.
” She cleared her throat and turned to the photographer.
“When they leave, I need to speak with you…”
The five of us silently made our way to the elevator. As soon as the door closed, everyone started talking at once.
“Holy shit!” Matias said before he burst out laughing. “I don’t even know what happened.”
“Wow.” Jacqueline put her hands to her face. “I’ve never seen anything like that before, and I’ve worked a lot of jobs.”
“I thought Boss Man was about to knock Camera Man out,” Jonah remarked.
Taisha asked, “Y’all didn’t hear how that guy was being shady?” She turned to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered.
“I didn’t hear him say anything shady,” Matias responded. “What did I miss?”
“What did he say?” Jonah wondered. “If I would’ve heard, I would’ve said something.”
“Was it when he asked if you had the right outfit on?” Jacqueline pondered. “I thought that was odd.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that was one of the things he said.”
Jacqueline pursed her lips. “Adding an extra day onto the shooting schedule when it’s already tight and losing a whole photography session.” She gave me a look. “This definitely cost RLF some money.”
“Yeah,” Matias agreed. “Not to mention he probably still has to pay that dude for shooting, even if he doesn’t use the images—even after firing him!”
“You should tell Mr. Long what happened,” Taisha suggested.
The elevator opened and we all immediately stopped talking. The statement hung in the air.
Russ was exchanging goodbyes with a man carrying an extra-large portfolio.
As soon as we left the elevator, the man entered it.
I stared at Russ, hoping he’d look at me.
But when he did, a chill ran down my spine.
His face was unreadable, his eyes were narrowed, and his mouth was set in a hard line.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
He broke eye contact and then headed to the right while we turned left. As we headed to the showroom, I glanced over my shoulder to see Russ entering an office. I felt a pit in my stomach.
“I need to talk to Ru—the CEO,” I murmured to the group as I slowed to a stop.
“Do you want me to wait for you?” Jonah asked.
I shook my head. “I need to do this on my own.”
“I think it’s a smart move,” Taisha chimed in. “Get ahead of things. You know people love to call us difficult.”
Nodding, I lifted my hand in a wave. “Yeah. I’ll see you guys later.”
My forced smile dropped the moment I turned my back to them. As I walked down the hall, my heart beat louder with each step. By the time I reached the door with his name on the plate next to it, I was shaking.
Rolling my shoulders back, I lifted my fist and knocked gently against the door.
“Yes,” Russ said sharply.
I’d never been nervous around him before, but that was the best way I could describe the sensation I felt as I pushed the door open. I didn’t know how he was going to react.
“Hi,” I said softly.
It was clear he’d been pacing, because he was statue-still in the middle of the spacious office. His eyes were wide, and his surprise was evident, but he didn’t say a word.
“I just wanted to thank you for what you did on the roof,” I told him from the doorway.
He shook his head. “He shouldn’t have disrespected you and I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
“I appreciate it.” I put my hand to my chest. “Truly.”
“It’s not a problem. You photograph well and you’re doing a good job.”
His response was so robotic. It was professional, but void of all emotion.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. “Do you have a few minutes?”
He checked his watch and then looked everywhere but at me. “I need to be out of here in an hour and I have a lot of work to do before I go.”
I crossed the room until I was a couple feet in front of him. “You can’t even look at me?”
When his eyes met mine, I saw a flash of intensity.
“I’m looking at you,” he uttered through clenched teeth.
The coldness was gone. I wasn’t sure if it was replaced with passion or fury, but it was intense, and he wasn’t masking it anymore. My heart rate went back up, but it wasn’t nerves this time.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, searching his face.
“How do you want me to look at you, Nina?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t want you to look at me like you have beef with me.”
He took a few steps back. “I don’t have beef with you. I just…”
His sentence trailed off and my insides twisted at the distance he kept between us.
I stepped forward. “You just can’t even be in the same room with me?”
He stepped back. “I don’t have beef with you. I have a lot of stuff to do before my flight. So, if you’ll excuse me.”
I was being dismissed.
I exhaled. “Wow.”
Embarrassment, hurt, and shock made my chest feel like it was caving in. My eyes stung unexpectedly, and I wanted to cuss him out for making me feel emotional.
I took a step back. “I didn’t realize that when you walked out of my place, you decided you couldn’t speak to me or look at me or even be in the same room with me anymore. But I get it. You don’t have to worry about it happening again. Fuck this.”
I turned on my heel and stormed to the door. As soon as my hand touched the handle and pulled it open, Russ grabbed my arm. Spinning me around, he pushed my back against the door, causing it to slam shut.
Breathing heavily, we stared at one another. Seconds ticked by and I got lost—lost in his eyes, lost in my desire, lost in the moment. With both hands flat against the wood, his arms caged my head between them. I was trapped.
My breath was coming in shallow bursts and my heart was racing. His lips parted and his gaze dipped to mine. His tongue ran from one corner of his mouth to the other. I didn’t know if he was going to kiss me, cuss me out, or kick me out. That uncertainty made me putty in his hands.
“Fuck me?” he asked in a raspy whisper.
“I said fuck this, ” I clarified.
“You’re the one with the boyfriend, but you’re saying fuck me?”
“I don’t have—”
“Just tell me it’s not that muthafucka that I’m paying to watch push up on you.”
“No!” My voice came out as an anxious burst of air.
“You have this all wrong.” I searched his eyes and the longer I stared into them, the more out of sorts I felt.
“I don’t have a boyfriend now. I didn’t have a boyfriend then.
I haven’t had a boyfriend since high school.
I brought a date with me to the ball and ended things with him before I even ran into you,” I explained to him in a rush.
“And there’s nothing between me and Jonah. ”
He didn’t say anything.
With every inhale, he sucked my breath from me. His presence pressed me against the door. His energy made my stomach flutter. His eyes bore into me.
My heart constricted.
“Is that why you’ve been keeping your distance from me?” I murmured.
His face twitched and his lips parted.
“Nina…” One of his hands left the door and relocated to the middle of my chest. “You really think that’s the reason I keep my distance?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. The heat from his hand seared through the material of the shirt and scorched my skin.
I swallowed hard. “If that’s not it, why?”
Sliding his hand up my chest, he wrapped his fingers around my neck.
“Because every time I see you, I want to touch you.” His hand tightened around my throat.
“If I look at you, I’m always looking over my shoulder to make sure no one caught me staring.
If I’m around you, all I want to do is put my hands all over you.
” He brought his forehead to mine. “When I’m in the same space as you, all I want is this… ”
His lips crashed into mine and my entire body instantly caught on fire. When his tongue grazed mine, my knees went weak. As he deepened the kiss, my nipples hardened, my panties were soaked, and the desire that curled in my belly felt like I would instantly combust.
“Mmmm…” I moaned as I grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. Feeling his erection pressed against me made me dizzy with want as I moaned into his mouth for a second time.
Breaking the kiss abruptly, he dropped his hand from my neck and stepped back.
I could still feel his fingertips on my skin. I could still taste his kiss on my lips.
“This is why,” he uttered, adjusting himself and backing away from me. “I can’t be close to you. I can’t look at you. I can’t be alone in a room with you. I just…” He shook his head, taking another step back.
“Russ,” I whispered, stepping away from the door.
Even though he was about six feet away from me, when I moved forward, he moved back.
I stopped in my tracks.
It felt like he was recoiling from me.
My mouth felt dry. “Russ—”
“Nina, please,” he interrupted, walking to his large black L-shaped desk. He took a deep breath and sat down in his chair. “You should go.”
My hand was on the door handle, but I was rooted in place. The gentle squeak of the wheels rolling back was the only sound in the room for a moment. Avoiding eye contact, he started grabbing at files and loose sheets of papers, lifting them, and putting them down. “Go.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, I pulled the door open and left. Making my way to the showroom, I had several thoughts running through my head at once.
“I was wondering where you were,” Angelica stated as soon as I entered the space.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized distractedly as I went behind the first partition and changed out of my clothes.
A few minutes later, I handed her the garments.
Without a smile, Angelica looked me up and down. “I’m going to nominate you to walk the final look in the runway show for Fashion Week.”
Her words chased every thought out of my head. My eyebrows flew up. “What?”
“Print modeling and runway modeling are two different beasts. The clothes need to move a certain way. And you have the walk.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Thank you.”
“There’s no guarantee,” she clarified, turning around to put my outfit on the rack with the others from the shoot.
Knowing Angelica, I knew that was the end of the conversation.
“Thank you. See you Monday!”
I walked out of there with the biggest smile on my face.
I’d only made it halfway down the hall when Russ and Remedy came out of his office. The minute I saw him, my body reacted.
His kiss still remained on my lips.
His touch still inflamed my skin.
His words still rang in my ears.
Remedy’s back was to me while she talked to him. Russ stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. As I got closer to the elevator bank, our eyes locked. He was listening to Remedy, but he was watching me.
His gaze sent a chill down my spine, and I shivered.
Suddenly, Remedy turned around and looked at me.
Shit!
Not knowing what else to do, I lifted my hand in an awkward wave and then turned right to the elevator.