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  “That’s exactly what you are, a babysitter,” Brooks’ voice crackled on the line. “And don’t forget it. We’re scratching each others’ backs here, Kate. I’m fully aware that you overheard our little conversation at the shoot, so you know what’s at stake. Nat needs a detox and she’s unlikely to do it herself. You keep her clean for a couple of days, get her thinking straight, and in return, you get the best in the business doing a portfolio shoot for you. It’s a fair trade.”

  Kate kept her mouth shut. He was right. It was a fair trade. In fact, she’d probably profit off this more than he would. Nat was unlikely to get straightened out in a mere two days. Kate, on the other hand, could waltz into the New York job in a sweet second with Nat Lee in her portfolio.

  “I’ll take your silence as agreement,” Brooks said. “Get over to Nat’s this afternoon with the details.”

  And he hung up, leaving Kate breathless and panicked yet again. Phone still shaking in her hand she took a breath, then another, began to collect her thoughts. And then she quickly typed out a text.

  “Emergency lunch.”

  The message bleeped as it whooshed off to Mel.

  ✽✽✽

  Mel rushed into the deli, a tiny whirlwind of chaos that disrupted everything around her until she flew into a seat opposite Kate.

  “So what is it?” she said. “I’ve been thinking the whole way over. A girl? No, a job. No, wait, um, hell, those are the only two things I can think of that would get you excited. Spill it!”

  A waiter appeared silent as a cat and slid plates in front of both women.

  “Hm, the traditional Reuben,” Mel said. “This must be important.”

  It was a tradition. The deli Reubens were emergency lunch food, what they ate after breakups or job offers or new clients signing up. This situation, Kate thought, demanded a Reuben.

  “Nat Lee’s going to do my portfolio shoot.”

  Mel whooped loud enough that the entire deli turned to look at her. Kate felt her face blush pink, but Mel didn’t seem bothered.

  “That’s a-fucking-mazing. I told you. I told you this was your break. Jesus, Kate, I’m so proud of you. You deserve this so much.”

  “Hold up there,” Kate said, sipping some iced water. “I don’t know how I feel about this. I haven’t exactly agreed. Not that I had a chance to agree or not agree.”

  Mel’s sandwich hovered halfway between the plate and her mouth for a second before she reconsidered and carefully put it down.

  “She recognized you.”

  Kate shook her head.

  “Then what’s the problem? You know as well as I do that this will seal the deal with the East coast job. Or with any job for that matter.”

  Kate sighed and briefly filled Mel in. She felt bad about doing it, like she was gossiping, spreading rumors. Except they weren’t rumors at all. Everything she said was true.

  “I’ve heard smatterings of talk,” Mel said when she was done. “Someone over at Channel Five told me that Nat was in the running for something, but it never panned out. I suppose that explains it. So your portfolio trip turns into a flash rehab session. That’s the deal?”

  “That’s the deal,” Kate said, and she took a huge bite out of her sandwich, feeling the sourness of the Russian dressing on her tongue.

  “Is that so bad?” asked Mel. “Really? I mean, okay, it’s kind of a pain in the ass. But once you’ve checked her out for contraband, all you need to do is take your pictures. It’s not like she’s going to be running off to the nearest bar or anything.”

  “It’s not so much that,” admitted Kate.

  And Mel’s eyes narrowed. Her sandwich lay untouched, her fingers tapped at the tabletop.

  “You’re afraid.”

  “The longer we’re together, the bigger the chance she’ll recognize me.”

  “Might not be a bad thing. I mean, you’re stuck up a mountain together. Why not talk it out? Get your revenge? Beat her to a pulp? I don’t know. Would it be the worst thing in the world if she did recognize you?”

  Yes, Kate thought. Yes, it would. And not in ways she thought that Mel could ever understand. The bleak hopelessness of those two years of bullying had never really left her. But the thought of awaking those demons fully again made her feel physically sick.

  “I don’t know,” was all she said.

  “How did you feel when you first saw her?”

  “You mean at the shoot?”

  Mel nodded and finally took a bite from her sandwich. Kate considered the question. How had she felt? Scared, panicked, nervous, but also... Her eyes straying up those slim golden legs, the glimpse of soft skin where a shirt button lay undone... She prickled with warmth at the memory of it.

  “Confused,” was the answer she went with.

  “But not threatened?”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  Mel pursed her lips in thought and Kate’s phone buzzed on the table. She brushed the screen, seeing an email entitled ‘Nat Lee Contact Details.’ Her mouth went dry.

  “Look, Kate, you’re being an idiot.”

  She laughed.

  “Thanks for your support.”

  “I’m your friend, I get to tell you things like that, and you are. Frankly, you’re being more than an idiot, but I can’t currently think of a bigger word than that.”

  “And how exactly am I being an idiot?”

  “Two days,” said Mel. “Two days with Nat Lee. Most people would pay tens of thousands of dollars for that. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed that she’s as hot as all hell. I’m straight as a die, but darling, even I’d switch things up for Nat Lee.”

  “Irrelevant,” Kate said, though her mouth seemed suddenly even drier. She clutched at her water glass.

  “Fine. But what’s not irrelevant is your career. Spend two days with this woman and you’ll be able to get any job you want. That seems like a pretty small sacrifice to me. She could be Satan personified and I’d still be up in that cabin with her like a shot if it meant I could walk into my dream job.”

  “Right.”

  “Right. So you’re going to have to suck it up and do it. You know that. You spend what might be two days of hell, though to be fair it might not be that bad at all, and then you get to live the rest of your life the way you want to. That’s why I think you’re being an idiot, for turning down an opportunity like that.”

  “It feels like selling my soul to the devil,” Kate said, staring down into her water glass.

  “More like renting,” Mel said. “It’s only two days. After that, your soul comes back, barely used.”

  Kate laughed again.

  “Mind you,” continued Mel. “You’re going to have to think of a way to get her to cooperate. Think she’ll behave during the shoot without drugs and drink? I mean, she might just throw a fit and refuse to come out of her room.”

  “I suppose I’ll have to come up with a ploy.”

  “Honesty,” said Mel. “That’s always my policy. Lay things on the table, be honest, outline what you both get out of the deal. It’s the only way to go. Works like a charm, especially in LA where no one expects any honesty at all. It’s got the shock factor.”

  “The shock factor?”

  Mel grinned. “You wouldn’t believe how many mouths I’ve seen hang open at a negotiating table just because I decided to lay out the facts nice and clear. Give it a try.”

  “I’ll take that under advisement.”

  Mel crooked an eyebrow. “So you’re doing this?”

  Kate took a breath so deep it swelled her chest and then slowly let it out. Then she nodded.

  “I guess I am.”

  “In that case,” said Mel. “I declare this emergency lunch officially adjourned.”

  Half an hour later, Kate was back in the studio. The prints from the shoot were ready. She’d already sent digital prints to the magazine and addressed an express delivery envelope for Brooks. As an afterthought, she printed out an extra set of copies. A peace o
ffering for Nat.

  She showered fast as lightening and changed into a clean pair of jeans and a cropped tank, checking simultaneously in the mirror for stray pieces of Reuben in her teeth. Then she ran her fingers through her hair and she was done.

  Nothing more to procrastinate with. Her heart skipped a beat as she picked up the envelopes of pictures and her van keys. It was time to go visit the lion in her cage.

  Chapter Four

  The drive over was hot and sweaty and in the end she rolled the windows down despite the traffic fumes. But sweat was still curling her hair around her neck by the time she found the building she needed. She circled the block. Half because she was looking for a parking entrance and half because she wanted just a little more time.

  “It’s the right thing to do,” she told the empty van. “You know it is.”

  All she had to do was put up with Nat Lee for two days. And then, well, the world would be her oyster, or close enough to it. She thought about the streets of New York piled with snow, the dirty slush clotting the gutters, the bodegas on the street corners. A fashion shoot in a bodega, that was an idea. Those bright, foreign colors contrasting with a pale white or beige summer look.

  “Get yourself together.”

  She wasn’t shaking exactly, not anymore. She’d confronted Nat once and she hadn’t been recognized. Okay, there was no camera involved this time. But she was fairly confident that Nat would have no idea who she was. Whether she could keep the information to herself for two days without losing it with the woman was another question. She knew her temper. It took a lot to break her, but once broken she had a sharp tongue. As long as Nat didn’t try her, she’d be fine.

  Turning the wheel she spotted the entrance to the parking garage and slowly lumbered the van towards it.

  “Name.”

  The security guard barked through the window.

  “Kate,” she said, and then heard how stupid that sounded. She cleared her throat and said: “I’m here to see Nat Lee. I’m a photographer, I’ve got her pictures from a shoot.”

  The guard looked down at his clipboard and obviously saw her name there because he nodded.

  “Pull into a guest space to the right. You’ll find the elevator in the far corner. You want the tenth floor.”

  She pulled away. The building was large, tall, but stuccoed in Spanish style on the outside and gated. It was clearly both luxurious and select, as the array of Mercedes, Porsches, and Jaguars in the parking garage showed. She pulled the battered van, more rust colored than blue now, into a space.

  Her hands were sweaty as she pressed the elevator button. She could do this. It was a test, she decided. Like one of those old fashioned myths. If she passed the test, she’d please the Gods, and then she could have her heart’s desire. The thought was still making her smile as she exited the elevator.

  There was only one door in the corridor. Large, double paneled. She took a breath, calmed herself, and pressed the bell. The door was opened almost immediately. So fast that she wondered if the maid had been standing there waiting for her. Probably the parking guard had called her, she figured.

  “Kate S. I’m here to see Nat Lee,” she told the small dark-haired woman.

  “Please come inside.”

  There was the hint of an accent, though she couldn’t place it. Not surprising. Maids, she had the impression, were generally not American. A tidbit gleaned from television. Besides, looking after someone like Nat Lee would be hard work. The kind of work that you only took if you were desperate for the paycheck. If you had no other choice.

  She looked around her as she was led inside. Pale white walls, deep carpeting, light furniture. The apartment was large, corridors stretching away in every direction, plenty of closed doors. And when she was shown into a living room, ceiling to floor windows showed a panorama of the city.

  “Please wait here, Ms. Lee will be along shortly.”

  The view entranced her, she was already stepping towards the window when a muffled sound distracted her. Turning she saw a sleeping form stretched out on one of the long couches. He half snored and smacked his lips a little. And her attention was fully taken away from the view.

  Jake Allingham. Of course she knew him, of course she knew that he and Nat Lee were dating. She just hadn’t expected to walk in on him taking a nap. She froze, not knowing what to do. His perfect profile made a clean line, one that she couldn’t help but want to photograph. Sunlight traced the very edges of his skin, illuminating pale hairs. He was in every way the perfect man. The golden ratio, the symmetry, whatever it was that made a human form perfection, Jake Allingham had it in spades. A lock of his dark black hair curled over his forehead and Kate’s stomach knotted with desire. Not sexual desire, more than that, the desire to capture this perfection, the desire to preserve it for eternity.

  Even as she watched his eyelids began to flicker and then slowly to open, revealing ice blue eyes framed by long, dark lashes. He saw her watching but didn’t startle, a slow smile spread across his face, dimples appearing in his cheeks, his cleft chin lifting slightly.

  “Well hello,” he drawled. “Who do we have here?”

  She swallowed. “K-Kate,” she managed to stutter.

  “And what have I done to deserve such a beautiful woman standing over me to guard my dreams?”

  His eyes were sparkling, the smile showed just a glimpse of straight, white teeth. Kate didn’t know what to say, couldn’t bring herself to speak. She wasn’t beautiful, she was assured of that. But it didn’t stop her wishing it to be true, wishing that Jake Allingham of all people believed it.

  Her dream was interrupted by a harsh voice.

  “Jake, you don’t need to flirt with the help.”

  Nat was standing at the top of a flight of stairs leading to a mezzanine landing. A silk robe did little to cover her, but she wasn’t cowering. Instead, she stood in the sunlight proud, unashamed of her half-nakedness. She looked like a warrior, Kate thought, an Amazon, her wavy dark hair streaming down her back, those eyes glaring down at the couch. Kate’s heart skipped a beat and her stomach ached. What beautiful children they’d have, was the only thing she could think.

  “The help?”

  Jake was struggling to sit up and Kate only now caught the insult. Help. As though she were a servant. She bit her tongue. Better not to speak, not to ruin things this early in the game.

  “She’s a photographer, she’s here for me,” Nat said, beginning to descend the stairs. “Though God knows why.”

  “Doesn’t stop her being pretty,” Jake said, flashing a lightening smile in Kate’s direction.

  “It’s still unnecessary.”

  Okay, time to put a stop to this. Time to take control. Praying that she wasn’t shaking Kate held out her hand and Jake took it.

  “Kate,” she said. “Pleased to meet you. And just for the record, the flirting was nice. Not that it would work, but flattering anyway.”

  She couldn’t help but slide in the thanks, hoping to niggle at Nat just a little, to contradict her.

  “It wouldn’t work?”

  Jake’s face fell and Kate couldn’t help but grin. “I’m sure it’d be very effective on straight women,” she assured him. “If I batted for that team I’d definitely be swooning right now.”

  He grinned back. “In that case, I won’t take offense. Want a drink?”

  He looked boyish almost and she wondered how a man like this ended up with someone like Nat. Sure, they were both beautiful, but that seemed the only thing they had in common.

  “I’m fine, thanks,” she said, not wanting to push her luck. She’d come here to do something, and she needed to get it done and get out.

  Nat had her back turned, and the clinking of glass and ice told Kate exactly what she was doing. Jake stretched, his t-shirt rising to show clearly outlined abs.

  “I’m getting out of here,” he said.

  Nat turned immediately, glass in hand. “Where are you going?”

 
He shrugged. “Pick up some b-ball in the park. Grab a beer maybe.”

  Nat’s eyes narrowed for a second and Kate could feel her calculating this, was it good or bad, did it have an affect on her. Finally, she nodded. Jake gave Kate one more grin and then loped off. No kiss goodbye, she noted. There was an obvious tension in the air. Perhaps they’d argued.

  “So, what do you want?”

  Nat sprawled on the couch, drink in her hand. The robe did little to cover her breasts and Kate had to force her eyes upwards, to will herself to look at Nat’s face. She lifted her hand with the manila envelope in it.

  “I brought pictures from the shoot,” she said.

  Nat reached for the envelope and Kate gave it over and allowed herself to perch on the edge of the soft couch. Quickly, Nat upended the envelope and let the photos slide out, spreading them with one indolent hand over the couch cushion. She took a sip of her drink and then leaned down finally putting down her glass to have a better look.

  “These are good.”

  The arrogance in her tone was gone. She sounded surprised.

  “Very good.”

  “Thank you,” Kate said. Bringing the shots had been a good idea, she was glad she’d surrendered to the impulse.

  “Who represents you?”

  Such an LA question. And Kate didn’t have an LA answer. “No one.”

  Nat looked up, elegant eyebrows raised. “You don’t have an agent?”

  “Nope.”

  The model’s gaze shifted back to the pictures, her own face staring back out at her.

  “You should.”

  “Never wanted one,” Kate said honestly. “I’m better off deciding my own fate. I don’t like other people interfering with what I do.”

  Nat grunted and picked up the photo that Kate had admired before, the one with the silk scarf.

  “And you don’t have anyone taking their percentage off the top,” she said. And the thought seemed to awake something in her because she dropped the picture. “Brooks didn’t send you over here just to give me pictures.”

  Kate licked her dry lips. “No, he didn’t,” she admitted. “He sent me over to give you the details about this weekend’s shoot.”