Chapter 18
Vanessa
Monday
When I arrived at the office, one of the secretaries walked me through getting a badge and ID so I could be put on the company payroll. As soon as they were finished, I was given a schedule with a list of clients already set up for me.
Wow, they didn’t waste any time.
The first one was a restaurant that was updating their website after a complete remodel of the building. It seemed like an interesting challenge, and I was looking forward to it. The business card had the name and address of the company, so I took my camera and drove to the location.
It was a rustic, red brick building with a green awning and metal railing along the windows. The scene was beautiful by itself and dusted with a fine layer of snow; I knew the photo shoot would be fantastic. I was getting out of my car when a handsome, middle-aged gentleman came outside and greeted me on the sidewalk. “Buongiorno! Welcome to La Dolce Vida. I’m Carlo. This is my restaurant.”
I shook his hand and smiled. “Hi, Carlo! I’m Vanessa, and I was sent here from Frank Howell Photography. I understand you wanted to get some pictures taken?”
“Si! Si, signora. Please, come inside.”
Taking my bag and camera, I followed him side where the chef and other staff were waiting. One of the men stepped forward and shook my hand with a toothy smile.
“This is our executive chef, Michael. He was hoping you might be willing to take a few pictures of the food, as well, for the menu.”
“Yeah, of course.”
He clasped his hands together and smiled. “Gratzie, signora. I will start cooking the dishes right away.”
As he and the sous chef went back into the kitchen, Carlo showed me around the building, pointing out all the changes they had made. I nodded eagerly while he spoke, taking note of the Tuscan plaster on the walls and decorative bottles of wine. I assured him that we’d be showing him all the pictures I took before charging them for anything and it was completely under control. That seemed to ease his mind a bit, and he let me walk around freely, adjusting the lighting where it was needed, and setting up the tripod.
It was everything that I wanted it to be: the scene was beautiful, and the client was enjoying himself. Glancing over at him sitting at the bar, I saw the light was hitting him just right and stepped over to ask politely.
“Excuse me, Carlo?”
“Si?”
“Would you like to be in one of them?”
He looked surprised at my request, but then he smiled. “You think that would be appropriate?”
“Of course! You don’t mind, do you?”
He shook his head and grinned, repositioning himself carefully on the stool. “Where did you want me to be?”
“Just right there, don’t move an inch!”
Carlo smiled nervously, looking past me at the bottles of wine behind him. There was a far-off look in his eye and the hint of a smile creeping up around the edges of this mouth.
Bingo.
I snapped a few pictures of him, looking regal in the perfect setting of his Italian restaurant. When I was finished, I brought the camera over to him and let him see the shots. As he scrolled through them carefully, I saw his eyes get misty as he became overwhelmed with emotion.
“Gratzie, Signora. It has always been my dream to own a restaurant, and you have captured her essence more beautiful than a poem.”
My jaw fell open in shock, and he embraced me with a hug.
“Oh, Carlo! I’m so glad you like them.”
“I do,” he told me adamantly. “Very much.”
Just then a thought occurred to me as I heard the sizzling oils frying something in the kitchen. I glanced over at it across my shoulder and opened the door to the kitchen. Through the metal shelves where the food was set to order, I could see Michael working above the stove. It was the perfect opportunity to catch a few shots of him as well, in action, as it were.
Carefully, I clicked some candid moments of him cooking and grinned to myself wickedly. Michael saw me working and glanced through the metal slots, leaning down to speak with me. “Did you need anything, signora?”
I shook my head and smiled. “Do you mind if I take some pictures of you working?”
He shrugged. “Not at all.”
“Okay, great! Lean forward slightly and set the plate in front of you, like your setting it out to order.”
“Like this?” he asked while replicating my instruction.
“Yes! Now, keep your hand on it and look up at me and smile.”
He laughed, and the look of it was so genuine and happy that I snapped as many pictures of it as I could manage.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, just let me know when the food is ready, and I’ll take pictures of those, as well.”
“Si.”
With the pictures of the photo shoot stacking up, I was more pleased with how the day had gone than I could have possibly imagined. A server had set one of the tables up for me like it was on display for dinner service and a few minutes later, Michael came out with a dozen different dishes. It was relatively easy to photograph the food, though I did have to set up my flash so that the lighting would be correct.
Once I was done, I thanked them for their time and let them know it would be two days before I got the pictures back to them with editing. Carlo was so impressed, he sent two of the dishes back with me for lunch and a coupon for the restaurant. I thanked him profusely and took my things before heading back out into the cold.
I drove back to Frank Howell with my entire body buzzing with excitement. It was such a high feeling, like I was in my element and doing something productive for a change. I was so glad that Adam had put me up for this position and I was able to get hired. It was everything I wanted.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I grabbed the takeaway food and my camera and brought it inside with me. I walked right past the secretary’s desk, since Meghan wasn’t working, and went to check in. As I came to Frank’s door, I heard him talking curtly on the phone, so I knocked outside and waited for him to answer.
“Alright, I gotta go. We’ll talk later,” he told the person on the other line. “Vanessa, how was your first day on the job? Did everything go alright at the restaurant?”
“Yep! It went great. Carlo seemed really happy with the pictures that I showed him, and I even brought you back some lunch?”
“You did?” he asked me with a smile. “What is that for?”
I giggled. “Oh, it’s no big deal. The chef made all this food for me to photograph and they weren’t open for a lunch service. They just let me take a couple dishes home.”
“That was very nice of them,” he said while taking the package from me. “Thank you for this, and I guess I’ll let you head on home so you can get to work on editing.”
“I should have those ready first thing in the morning.”
“Thanks, Vanessa.”
I nodded, skipping out happily through the door and went to my car outside. When I got home that afternoon, I was pumped up and ready to relieve some sexual tension. Hopefully, Adam would be thinking the same thing. I sighed to myself happily while setting my bag down on the table, and pulled out my cell phone.
Maybe I could send him a dirty text to let him know I’m in the mood.
I flipped it open and saw there was already a text from him, letting me know he’d be at his father’s for the evening.
Having dinner with my dad tonight. I won’t be home till late.
My heart sank slightly as I was reading it and I pouted.
Damn, I was really looking forward to rolling around naked in his bed. I guess the ship for sex has sailed. Now what am I going to do?
In a flash of brilliance, I started flipping through my contacts until I found Meghan’s number. I pressed the call button and brought it to my ear, listening to it ring before she eventually picked up on the other line. “Hello?”
“Hey, girl! Whatcha doing tonight?”
“Not much, I’m just hanging at my place.”
“Do you mind if I come over? My plans fell through this evening; Adam went to have dinner with his dad, so I want to get ugly drunk and talk about it to a bottle of wine.”
“Hell, yes! I’ll text you my address.”
“Perfect, I’ll head out in about fifteen minutes.”
We hung up the phone with each other and I sighed contentedly. It would be good to have some girl time away from Adam. Now that we lived together and spent so much time alone, it was getting pretty intense. I took a few minutes to put away my camera and change into comfortable clothes.
Once I was changed and ready, I grabbed my keys off the counter and walked back out to the car. Meghan had sent a text to my phone with her apartment address, so I plugged it into the GPS and was on my way. The radio played some pretty upbeat love songs, and I was singing along while I drove, but all I could think about was Adam.
The memories of last night came flooding back to me and the way his hands could drive me crazy; I wanted them all over me. Why did he have to leave tonight? I pouted.
Before I knew it, I was pulling up inside Meghan’s complex and found her number on the building outside. I knocked on the door to her apartment, with the bottle in my hand, and waited for her to answer. A moment later she opened it with a big smile on her face. “Vanessa! Did you find the place okay?”
“Yeah, it was pretty easy. The directions you gave were really helpful.”
“Great! Come on inside, let’s get this party started!”
As she sidestepped out of the way, I came into her apartment and looked around at the change in ambiance. It was appropriately lived in and had a comfortable, homey feel about it. On the opposite wall was a fireplace with crackling flames burning from the log inside.
“Man, this is nice,” I complimented.
“Thanks; just make yourself at home. I’m gonna get some glasses down and uncork this wine.”
“Sounds good.”
I took off my coat and hat and hung them on the rack beside the door before walking across the carpet toward the couch. Meghan flitted around the kitchen and pulled out a couple things while humming to herself.
“So, how are things with Adam?” she asked me conversationally. “You said he was having dinner with his dad tonight?”
“Oh, they’re good. It’s just weird to be in that apartment all by myself. It still feels like his place, you know?”
“I feel ya. What’s it like? Any updates in the spank bank department?”
I blushed embarrassedly and laughed. “Um, yeah… We may have had another incident.”
“Another one? Sheesh,” she teased me happily. “Was it any good?”
“Only if you consider mind-blowing sex that makes me re-evaluate all of my previous life choices leading up to that ‘good,’ then yeah.”
Her jaw dropped as she tried not to smile. “Wow.”
“I know, it’s incredible.”
“So, do you think you guys are going to get together?
“I don’t know; part of the fun is that there are no strings. I don’t want to spoil that.”
“Alright, well, just be careful because things get messy in relationships. Someone will always want more.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know; he seems pretty happy.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “Just think about it, ‘kay?”
“Alright.”
In my head, I was hoping she was wrong, so I blew it off and decided to enjoy the rest of our evening. Besides, Adam would have said something if he wanted more and I certainly wasn’t going to fall for him.
Right?