Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning was a flurry of activity in the office. Aria arrived early to make sure everything was in place.
Aria met her new author, Michael Benson, and his agent, Thomas Nola, at the front desk when they arrived for the photoshoot. Shaking hands with them both, she asked them to take a seat in the waiting area so they could go over some last-minute details before Alex arrived.
“Good morning to you both. How are you feeling, Michael? Are you ready for your trip back home?” Aria greeted them.
“I'm a little nervous about the shoot. I've never been good in front of a camera, but I trust whoever you’ve chosen can help with that. And yes, I’m so ready. Italy has become home, but I’m so excited about going back to New York,” Michael answered.
While they spoke, Thomas clicked furiously away on his phone, not even stopping to look up.
“Wonderful. No need to be nervous. Alex will take good care of you. Also, Natalia has been giving me regular updates about the editing. We are all so excited for this book. You should be very proud, Michael,” Aria answered excitedly. “Care for some coffee or a snack before we get started?”
“No, I’m alright but thanks. Thomas?”
Thomas looked up for a moment and mumbled, “No, thanks,” before going back to his phone.
Natalia joined them after an early morning video call, apologizing for being late.
“I was just telling Michael how much we’ve all enjoyed the manuscript so far,” Aria said.
“Yes, he gets daily updates that I share with Aria. We’re so impressed,” Natalia said to Michael.
“It’s been years in the making to get to the point that I was ready to put it down on paper. It’s been such a labor of love,” Michael answered humbly.
Just then, Alex entered the office with his camera bag and equipment. The receptionist greeted him and pointed him in the direction of Aria and Natalia. Aria caught Natalia's crazy eyes as she realized who he was.
Alex had worn his hair down like he did the night at the gallery. His simple, white button-down shirt, jeans and scuffed black combat boots made Aria’s heart stutter.
“Oh. Oh wow, you're here. You're Alex. Sorry, I'm a little out of sorts this morning,” Natalia said, clearing her throat and trying to act professional.
“Good morning, I'm Natalia Hannan, editor-in-chief.
It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm a big fan of your work,” she continued as she thrust out her hand.
Taking her hand and shaking it, Alex answered, “It’s so nice to meet you, Natalia. Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say.”
He then turned toward Aria. “Good morning, Aria.”
“Good morning, Alex.” Turning to face Michael, she said, “Alex Rossi, this is Michael Benson, our author I’ve told you about.”
“Nice to meet you, Michael. Can’t wait to read the book. I’m sure we’re going to have a great shoot,” Alex replied as the two men shook hands.
Thomas suddenly looked up, shocked at the man standing in front of him.
“And this is his agent, Thomas Nola.”
“Alex Rossi? You’re the photographer? I guess I had nothing to worry about signing with you, Aria,” Thomas said excitedly, shaking hands with Alex.
“Alex is a friend and we’re all grateful to work with him,” Aria said with a warm glance at Alex.
“Happy to be here,” Alex answered, his eyes not moving from hers.
Aria and Alex looked around, finally realizing there were, in fact, other people present.
“Yes, sorry. Okay. Um, yes Thomas, Michael, Alex is up to date on your ideas. We’ll do the studio shots first, then head out to the beach for some candid shots.”
Alex clapped his hands together and added, “Okay. Let's get started then.”
The studio shoot went flawlessly and was over quickly. When everyone packed up to leave for the beach nearby, Alex moved closer to Aria.
“Would you like to go together?”
Looking up at him as she gathered her things, Aria answered, “That’s a great idea. Thank you.”
Turning her attention to everyone else, she said, “Alright, Michael, Thomas. You have the location, so we’ll see you out there.”
Thomas shoved his phone in his pocket and followed Michael out of the office.
“See you both out there then,” he called behind him as they left.
Once in the parking lot, Alex helped Aria into his car before climbing into the driver’s seat.
As he pulled out into traffic, he asked, “How do you think it’s going so far?”
“Michael was nervous, but you put him at ease, just as I told him you would.”
“And how did you know that I would do that? You’ve never seen me work before,” Alex teased.
“Let’s just say I had a feeling,” Aria answered softly, making Alex turn quickly to look at her before facing forward again as he drove.
She regretted how that might have sounded as nervous tension filled the car. Luckily, where they were going wasn’t far and she avoided his gaze as she guided him to their destination.
“Michael loves this beach, but it will be difficult to find a quiet spot. I’ll run interference as much as I can,” Aria said as he helped her out of the car once at the spot for the shoot.
“Well, luckily the lighting is great this time of day so it shouldn’t take too long,” Alex answered as he gathered his equipment from the back seat.
Waving to Thomas and Michael, Aria walked alongside Alex until they found a portion of the seaside that had the lowest amount of foot traffic.
She marveled at how quickly Alex set up his equipment, and with a few suggestions to Michael, he was taking photo after photo.
Adjusting his lenses from full body shots to closeups, Alex moved Michael around a few times to incorporate different natural backgrounds, so he had more choices.
Michael had become more comfortable after a while and seemed to enjoy the experience.
Aria and Thomas did their best to keep people from stepping into the shots and before long, Alex announced that he had gotten some great photos he believed they would all be happy with.
“You have to tell me how you got Alex Rossi to do this shoot, Aria,” Thomas said as Alex packed up his equipment.
“He’s actually a friend.”
“I’m impressed,” he answered as he watched Alex and Michael talking while walking up to them.
“Ready?” Alex asked as he looked at Aria who nodded her head with a grateful expression.
She felt heat skate up her neck when, with his warm hand at the small of her back, he guided her through the sand toward the car.
The four of them shook as much of the sand out of their shoes as they could as they shook hands.
“Aria, Alex, thank you again for a great experience. I can’t wait to see how they turn out,” Michael said as he and Thomas said their goodbyes.
When they pulled into the Libri Stellari parking area, Aria looked over.
“Would you like to come up for a cup of coffee? I have a little more time before my next meeting.”
“I’d love that, thank you.”
They talked for the few minutes it took them in the elevator about how well the shoot had gone. They were still conversating when they entered the foyer of the office.
Luna met them at the entrance, needing Aria’s signature on a form. When Aria glanced up from the papers in her hand, Gio was walking toward them. His face held an expression she couldn’t read.
“Hey, Gio. I'm glad you’re still here so I can introduce you two. Gio, this is my friend, Alex. Alex, Gio. He’s our art director, and a brilliant one at that.”
“Alex, nice to meet any friend of Aria's. How was the shoot?” Gio asked, shaking Alex's hand vigorously.
He stood right next to Aria as she looked at him curiously.
“Nice to meet you too, Gio. I think it went well. Michael communicated clearly what he wanted and hopefully I was able to make that happen.”
Alex kept his eye contact.
“It was amazing, Alex,” cooed Natalia, who had now joined them. “I saw some of the shots come through the system. They’re perfect.”
Pivoting, Gio put his arm around Aria's shoulder. “I'm sure you helped make it a success, Aria.”
Aria’s eyebrows sprung up. She pulled back from the close proximity, causing Gio’s arm to fall away. He nervously cleared his throat.
Aria slid her eyes up toward Alex in time to see his jaw clench. Natalia gave them both a confused look.
“Ah... Alex, would you like a cup of coffee?”
“If it’s no trouble, Natalia. Thank you.”
She walked away but looked back at Aria with a smirk.
Aria felt like she was caught in the middle of an unspoken standoff. “Alex, why don’t we go into my office?”
She led the way, giving Gio a look to let him know they needed to talk later. Both men silently nodded to one another as Gio walked away.
Closing the door, Alex's face lit up when he saw the flowers on her desk.
“I'm so glad you liked the flowers, Aria.”
“They’re very beautiful. Thank you again.”
Aria blushed when she saw the look of… what? What was the look he was giving her right now?
She tried to slow down her wildly beating heart.
Can he see it pumping through my clothes?
Is he flirting? Am I flirting?
No. Nope. Just friends, Aria. Just friends.
Luna knocked, then came in with the coffee.
“Natalia had to take a call, but she wanted me to let you know what a pleasure it was to meet you,” she said to Alex.
“Thanks so much. It was great to meet all of you.”
Aria pulled herself together when Luna closed the door. “Are you still free to come for dinner tonight?”
“Yes, I've been looking forward to it all weekend. Text me the address and what time works for you. I'm free anytime,” he answered as he sipped on his coffee.
“Great, I’ll text it to you now,” she said as she slid her phone from her purse. “Is 6:00 good for you?”
“Perfect. So, um, Gio seems like a great guy. How long has he worked at the company?” Alex asked, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
“A little over a year. I told him the other day I don't know what I would do without him.”
“Oh. Oh, okay. Th-that's good,” Alex stammered.
“Yes, Gio is a great friend,” Aria said.
Alex relaxed, and they spoke for a few more minutes before he said he would let her get back to work.
“See you this evening, Aria. Thank you again for the invitation,” Alex said as she walked him out of her office toward the reception area.
“See you then, Alex,” she said softly.
As soon as he left, Luna lost no time rushing into Aria’s office.
“Well, I have to say, Gio’s timing was definitely interesting.”
Aria tried not to make eye contact with her assistant. It was like facing a wild animal in its habitat.
Don’t look them in the eye. Don’t engage. Or am I supposed to lift my hands and make myself look taller? she thought as she prayed Luna would just go back to her desk.
She knew better than to think either would work. If Luna ever moved on from the publishing business, Aria knew she would excel as a spy.
“Luna,” Aria finally said, knowing she wasn’t going to leave her office.
With her hands up in surrender, Luna answered. “I’m just saying. The poor guy has been trying to get up the courage to ask you out and then tries to stake some kind of claim on you in front of Alex. Bold move, my friend. Bold move.”
Aria exhaled loudly. “I don’t know what that was about but please leave it alone, Luna. I’m begging you.”
“O-kay,” she answered in a sing-song way, making her way out of the office.
Aria rolled her eyes. Shaking her head, she rubbed her temples and tried to get some work done before going home to cook.