Chapter 17
We knew what time dinner would be served that evening, and I went to my room beforehand so that I could get ready. I still had another hour to go when I heard a knock at my door. I assumed it would be Jonathan. I made up a whole scenario where I would open the door and he would tell me that he was too bored and excited to be in his room alone and he wanted to stay in mine.
I was smiling and expecting that to happen when I opened the door, but instead, Nick Butler was standing there. Deadpan. I had been at his house for the last eight hours, and I had never met him in person. I knew what he looked like—a dark-eyed mysterious, tattooed, Zayn Malik-looking guy. He was larger in person than I expected. He was as tall as John-Michael. I smiled, trying not to look disappointed when I noticed that it wasn't Jonathan.
"Hey," I said, blinking. "Hello."
"Hello, yourself," Nick said staring at me with a wide smile. His eyes were heavy-lidded and his expression was full of mischief.
"I'm Sadie," I said.
"Shy, right?" He spoke calmly, his voice low.
"Yeah, Shy."
"Not too shy, I hope," he said, grinning at his own joke as he shook my hand. He held onto it, and I pulled back casually, pretending I didn't notice what he was doing. "Do you mind if I come in?"
I stood back and extended a hand. "It's your house," I said. "Thanks for having us."
"Thank you for being here," he said, coming to stand inside my room. He looked around before making eye contact with me again. His hands were clasped in front of his body. He had on a three-piece suit in brown. Even with long sleeves and his collar buttoned, I could still see plenty of tattoos—they were all over his hands and neck, spilling onto his face. He had thin dreadlocks that were different shades of brown and blonde. He was a photographer's dream since he had so much going on visually.
"I mean for you to eat tonight, Shy, but I want pictures from the event, too."
"Sure, I planned on working during dinner. I can eat whenever."
"Tonight's for the staff. It's a dress rehearsal, if you will, for tomorrow night, so they'll all be dressed as they will be tomorrow night. I won't have you dress as the raven, but I would prefer all black, please. For you, and please inform your assistant. I have a pig on a spit that's going to be served by Filipino tribesmen after we are seated. Tonight is my gift to my servers for doing such a good job tomorrow night."
"That's really nice of you. "
"I'm sorry that you won't get to relax and enjoy it tonight. I will want photographs."
"That's no problem. That's what I'm here for."
"Great," he said, that broad smile stretching across his face. "And I might have one more small job for you… after dinner."
"Oh, okay, w-what would that be?" I asked nervously.
"Don't be shy, Shy." He smiled, and I smiled back, but I was sincerely interested in having him elaborate.
"Because after dinner, I'll use that time to do some editing before bed."
"I was hoping we could do some portraits, like we talked about. A birthday portrait… not necessarily in my birthday suit, but, you know, maybe with a little abs showing, you know what I'm saying?"
"No, I, I think I'm going to need that time to… I really will need to get some editing done so that I can have more room on my camera for tomorrow night. I can either have Jonathan take some pictures of you later tonight, or we can wait till tomorrow."
"When tomorrow?" he said. "In the pool before the party?"
I shrugged, making a face like I was thinking about it. "Before the party, maybe. Or I can get Jonathan to do it for you tonight."
"I don’t even know who that is. "
"My assistant. He's in the room next door. He's the one who got you in touch with me."
"Please tell him he'll need to wear dress code tonight since he will likely be in a few of the pictures. The staff uniforms and masks are in the kitchen."
"Do you want Jonathan to wear a special brand? I thought he just needed to wear black."
"No. I've changed my mind. He needs to dress like the rest of the staff. You don't, because you're taking all the pictures, you won't be in any of them."
"Okay, I'll go tell him now," I said, moving toward the door.
"Did you get the cash?" Nick asked.
"Yes, thank you."
(About an hour before, someone had delivered a covered silver platter to my door. They left it inside my room, bowing as they retreated. I opened it to find twelve thousand dollars in cash—a thousand over what he had promised.) I wondered if these extra requests were because of that. I wanted to tell him that I didn't need the tip and that I'd just stick to the original plan.
But he left my room before we got into any of that. I went to Jonathan's room, only because Nick saw me knock on his door. I wanted to go get his outfit alone, so when he answered the door, I told him that he would need to wear a certain mask to dinner tonight, which was the truth. I said it would be delivered to his room, which was also the truth .
I left there and went straight to the kitchen. There were stacks of pants, shirts, and masks. There were signs for women and men with sizes marked, and I walked through the men's section, taking two of everything and making it look casual. I had brothers, and I made good guesses at their sizes. I ran into Andre on my way out, and I told him I was getting them for my assistants. He knew me from earlier, and didn’t ask twice about it.
I brought both sets to my room before taking one of them to Jonathan's room. He was already dressed for dinner, and he wasn't happy, but he changed quickly. I had no idea how I was going to get the uniform to John-Michael, but I was so happy that I had it. I held onto the fact that he would be there with me the following day.
Dinner was served at 9pm, and it was a huge ordeal with live music and dancers. Nick was a showman and he gave speeches and made toasts. His actual birthday was a few days before, and he told stories about how he spent his day. The staff laughed as he talked, and photos of the whole scene basically took themselves.
Everyone loosened up and started dancing when the dinner was over, and I took pictures the whole time even though Nick told me I should put my camera down and enjoy myself. I assured him that if my camera was down I would not be enjoying myself, and we laughed about how I was more comfortable behind the lens .
He wasn't outright inappropriate, but I was hyper-aware of every time his hand brushed me, and I always moved and maintained a certain amount of professional distance.
It was a beautiful dinner, a photographer's playground. The art came easily. I knew I would have beautiful work to show him. The problem was that he liked me. That was more and more evident as the night went on.
If this had all happened to me a few months ago, I would have been fine with flirting back with him, but things were different for me now, and I wasn't able to do it.
It was exhausting for me to concentrate on getting good work done while at the same time conveniently avoiding Nick and pretending I did not notice his advances. I kept telling myself that he would be busier tomorrow night and therefore he would be less of a challenge.
I stayed by Jonathan once I was finished taking photos, and we made it back to our wing of the house by midnight. Jonathan tried to talk to me about Nick and the possibility of a love connection between us, and I shut him down and acted completely oblivious. I pretended to be hyper-fixated on processing the evening's photos and preparing for tomorrow.
I was relieved to find a text on my phone from John-Michael when I went to my room. Looking at his name felt like home to me. I missed him and E so much.
His text said that he would be up until midnight and that I should call if I had time, if not, he would touch base and see me the following day. I was overjoyed when I read it because it meant that his plans were solidified and he was planning on coming. I called him even though it was twelve-fifteen.
"Hey," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice, and I leaned into the phone, closing my eyes and concentrating on his voice.
"How are you?" I said.
"I’m great. Missing you. How are you?"
"I'm good. Are you coming here?"
"Yes. I'm flying. I should be in Miami by 7pm. It was the earliest thing I could find without leaving first thing in the morning and flying all over."
"Yeah, anytime is great. Thank you."
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. I have the outfit that the staff is wearing. I put one aside for you."
"Is someone going to be missing it? Because I got black stuff together, like you were saying. Molly helped me get a black mask."
"I'll take a picture of what I have, and you can tell me if it's similar," I said.
I put him on speakerphone and proceeded to lay the clothes on the bed. I took a couple of photos of the clothes and mask and sent them to him .
"I did good," he said. "But do I have to walk in with that mask? I'll feel like a goober, walking up to the door with that on."
"Go around to the back of the house. You'll see a big basketball court and there is an entrance near it. It's where the servers come in. You will probably get stopped, but I am going to leave your name. I'm actually going to leave the outfit in a bag for you also. If he has a problem with your clothes, you can change. You will be listed there as my assistant."
"Got it. That sounds fine."
"Oh my gosh, John-Michael. Thank you so much for coming here. If I think of anything else, I'll text you."
"Mom and Dad had some friends over earlier tonight."
"I know, you were talking about that. How did it go? Did you guys have fun? Are you spending the night at your mom's tonight?"
"Yeah, Ethan and I are both here for tonight. I'm going to leave in the morning and Mom will keep him. We were here the whole time their friends were here."
"What about your return flight from Miami?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm glad you asked. I was able to get on the same one as you."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's one of the three things I wanted to tell you."
"Three? What are the other two?" I asked .
"It's about their friends coming… that's what I was starting to say. Ethan is like a little sponge with you. He has been singing all of those songs you teach him. My mom's friend is a music teacher, and she knew them all. She was so impressed that Ethan knew so many songs, and I told her he makes you teach him a new one just about every time you hang out."
"I think it is every time," I said, laughing.
"They videoed him singing with her. She said he's got talent. She complimented me on my parenting skills."
"That's amazing."
"I told her that was all you."
"Aww," I said, feeling speechless. My heart was all the way back in North Carolina with them.
"That's not all."
"What?"
"That same lady saw the photo my mom has—the one with E and his dinosaur. I showed her your social media, and she wants you to come shoot photos at her school—a part-time job. She works at a really nice place. She works with the elementary ages, but it's an all-ages academy—St. Joseph and Peter."
"I know that school. That's a beautiful school."
"I know. And she said they were looking for a photographer… anyway, you need to talk to her because she wanted to offer you a job."
"Like more than just a one-time gig? "
"I think so. I don't know. I'll have to see if works with your schedule and if it's even something you'll be interested in. I told her you take classes at the college, and I know they'd be willing to work with you. She mentioned sports. Would you ever want to shoot high school sports?"
"Yes, actually," I said. "I've never thought of that, but it's similar to what I do now. I'd be good at sports. Football and basketball and stuff? Can they get me on the sidelines?"
"Yes. Definitely."
"That sounds amazing. I'd be good at that."
"I'm proud of you, Sadie. I love that you try new things."
"I'm proud of you that you try new things like hopping on a plane and coming to Miami."
He laughed at that.
We talked for another hour before hanging up the phone. I knew I would see him the following evening, and that was the reason I slept like a baby.