Chapter 1 #2
“I’ll call Tommy and make sure he’s ready for you—say six?” she asked as she pulled out her cell.
“That’s great, Elizabeth. Thanks.” She stepped away to make the call. “I need to find a way to get ahold of this photographer and make a deal with him.”
“He does live here as well.” Yes, but just because he lived in New York didn’t mean he wasn’t swamped or even on vacation. Hell, he might just tell me to go fuck myself. I searched the internet for his number and found one listed for his assistant. If I could get past them, I might get in.
“Hello, my name is James Keaton, with Keaton Ad Agency. I was wondering if I could speak with Mr. Rene.”
“Mr. Keaton, Mr. Rene is currently in the middle of a shoot. He’ll be in it all day. If you’d like to speak with him, you’ll have to come to the studio today before he departs for his holiday tomorrow.”
“A holiday?” My shoulders fell and my temple began this slow, steady throbbing like a bongo drum.
“Yes. He’ll be gone for a month.”
“Oh God. This can’t be happening.” That drum picked up the beat.
“Well, sir, that’s all I can tell you.”
I rushed to my father’s desk and snagged a pen and his sticky notes. “Can you provide me with the address?”
“Yes.” She read it off while I wrote it down. “When can we expect you?”
“I’m on my way now. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I hung up, and my assistant approached me.
“Everything is set up with Tommy,” she said, tucking her phone away.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll probably have to cancel it. We’re on a super-tight time crunch. Rene is going out of town tomorrow. If we don’t get a model and get him to handle this tonight or by morning, we’re screwed.”
She nodded and said, “Okay,” without the pissy tone that I deserved. I loved that about Elizabeth. She deserved the bonus she got this Christmas for putting up with my bull.
“Come on. We have to meet with the photographer and pray we can pull a miracle out of our asses. Father, I’ll be in touch.
Don’t tell Henry where I’m going.” We rushed through the building while I popped open the special contacts folder for all my father’s people in the industries and looked for the modeling one.
With my phone to my ear, I hopped in the back of the SUV and handed my driver the address.
It was last minute, but I needed a model. I hoped that this guy had the right girl. “Can I speak with Jared?”
“One minute, sir,” the receptionist said.
Elizabeth tapped my shoulder. “Mr. Keaton, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I do have a friend.
Well, she’s not a friend. Actually, she’s my neighbor, and I think she’d be perfect for the shoot.
” I gave her a skeptical look. Women tended to be a little more generous when it came to their friends about their looks.
She was probably cute, but I needed a model.
“I know you’re giving me that look, sir, but I promise you she’s perfect. I could bring in a photo.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. We need to have a model in at the photo shoot by tomorrow.”
“Hey, Jared, this is James Keaton. I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
“I’m sorry, but if it’s for the agency, it’s going to be a no.” Surprise hit me first from the instant refusal because we’d used him a thousand times before and had an excellent track record with him, but my gut already had the answer before I even asked.
“What? Why?”
“Your brother is a piece of shit, and I’d rather sell my damn business before I’d ever work with him.” Damn it. That bastard had ruined everything he touched.
“May I ask why?”
“He fucked my girlfriend,” he roared.
Of course he did. “I’m sorry.”
“Not sorrier than I am. If I see him again, I’ll kill him.” A part of me actually believed his words. He hung up on me, and I let out a heavy sigh. What the fuck were my options?
I thought about it for another moment, and then I turned to Elizabeth.
“Make the arrangements with your friend. I’ve got no other options,” I muttered, feeling like I’d been boxed into a corner, and I was up against the ropes with no hope of making it to the next round.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do to get her there.”
“Whatever it costs, but not too unreasonable. My father’s company isn’t worth that damn much,” I reminded her.
“Of course.”
The fallout with Jared must have been the reason Henry blurted out Claude Rene’s name. The fucking useless prick couldn’t keep his dick in his pants long enough to keep the company from falling apart. I was so damn tired of cleaning up after his messes. I just wanted this to be over with.
It wasn’t my company going down the drain. I had my own damn company to run. Picking up his pieces wasn’t something I wanted to do. It wasn’t my fault that Henry was on the verge of bankrupting my father.
“Sir, we’re here.”
“Thank you. Hopefully we won’t be too long.” He nodded. Elizabeth bundled up in her coat from the cold night air, but I’d been so damn heated, I rather enjoyed the icy breeze on my skin.
We were escorted in by the security guard in the lobby. I checked out the cameras in the corners and smiled.
“Mr. Rene is in there. Please wait here.”
A moment later, Rene approached us and shook our hands.
“Thank you for meeting with me.”
“Yes, my assistant told me that it was urgent. I’ve heard of your father’s company, and I’d like to say that I’m not impressed and frankly, I would not like that on my record.
However, I’ve heard of your company, sir, and I’ve used your cybersecurity software and security services.
So, as a favor to you, I’d be willing to shoot a brief photo shoot tomorrow morning as long as you have the model and clothes ready. ”
“Thank you. What time?” I asked, hoping that it was completely doable.
“Seven a.m.”
“We will be here and ready to go. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Sure, no problem at all.” We negotiated the price and the timeframe for him to give me the images. Most of the photos would be raw because neither of us had time to waste, but seeing as I just needed two to three good images for the ads, I’d be fine.
I rushed out after shaking his hand. Staring at Elizabeth with wide eyes and out-turned hands, I said, “Did you make the call?”
“Yes. She’ll be ready. I’ll pick her up and drive her in.” I let out a heavy sigh.
“I need her ready by five to have her hair done. Also, you need to get her measurements to me ASAP because I have no time to waste to get the outfits here.” I was glad I snatched up the bottle from my father’s office.
I needed it to pick out the clothes with the designer tonight.
I had a long night ahead of me, and the tension in my shoulders was about to get a lot worse.
“And send me her damn picture. I might have to go hunting for a model somewhere if she doesn’t meet the standards. ”
She rolled her eyes and said, “You won’t need another model.”
I had my driver drop Elizabeth off at her car, and then I met with my stylist, who sent me to his counterpart who handled the female line.
An hour later my phone pinged with the photo from Elizabeth, and I was tempted to tell her to find another model. Elizabeth had been spot on—she was perfect, but that was the damn problem. Too damn perfect.
Get her to do it, I responded.
Another question popped into my head. Was she old enough for my plans for her?
Is she even old enough?
I stared at my phone for what felt like an eternity even though the minute hand only moved one notch when Elizabeth responded. She’s twenty-two.
Fuck, she was perfect. I’d just turned twenty-nine.
Gorgeous. My assistant had perfect taste, apparently.