Chapter Three
“She’s amazing,” Elise said, walking around Payton. Hunter watched as the woman he really wanted to fuck chuckled.
“This is new.”
“I have so many different kinds of clothes I want you to try on.”
Payton held her hand up. “Rick’s checking things over. There’s nothing guaranteed at all.”
“Please, just look through some of the stuff, and maybe try a few items on. This has been a dream come true of mine for a long time.”
“Ugh, you really know how to pull on the heartstrings,” Payton said.
Hunter just loved having her near him. They had only been in each other’s company a couple of occasions, and she made him smile. He wanted to know more about her. She was a private person for someone being on social media.
Elise was enjoying her company, and for well over twenty minutes they were going over several of the outfits until finally Payton caved, and went to try on a dress. It was a simple cocktail dress, but one that would suit any occasion for the working woman.
“You are like the best person in the world if you can land Payton. After getting her details I called around. She is so nice. Did you know that?”
“Well of course she’s nice.”
“No, I mean photographers, designers, organizers, PAs, you name it, they all have something good to say about her. Not one person had anything bad. She is like the dream person to work for.”
“Payton has always been nice,” Rick said, finally joining them with Daryl in tow. “She doesn’t like to make waves or cause trouble. Where is she?”
“She’s trying something on. I’ll go see how everything is,” Elise said.
Hunter turned to Rick.
“Who are you to her?” Hunter asked.
“I’m sure you’re aware we’re close. She’s my best friend, and I will do everything to protect her and keep her safe. This contract is a standard one. Payton doesn’t do nudity, but is willing to do lingerie. That is the extent of her nudity. Her personal space will be covered at all times.”
“We’ve already agreed to that,” Daryl said. “Elise was specific that she didn’t feel this needed nudity or seduction to sell.”
“That’s fine.”
“Also, the exclusivity part has to be changed. She has commitments. She doesn’t work through an agency of any kind as she likes to take time for charity work, and the causes she’s with. Payton is free to come and go as she pleases, and to take the opportunities that are open to her. She does a great deal of charity work. She’ll want to continue that. She will work exclusively for you, providing she is free to maintain that work, which she doesn’t get paid to do.”
Hunter thought about it. “I can work with that. Will I be able to control the kinds of charity you take part in?”
“No. I work with a lot of people, and it means everything to me. I don’t wish to be told where to go,” Payton said, coming up behind Elise. “It’s something Rick and I feel strongly about. I like being able to work on the projects that inspire me. If I’m forced into something I don’t agree with, I won’t feel connected to it, and I see that as a failure. I have one life, and I intend to live it the way I like.”
He wondered if this had something to do with the passing of her sister.
She held her hands out and gave a turn. “What do you think?” Her gaze was on Rick, which he didn’t like.
For a simple cocktail dress, she gave it new meaning as it melded to her curves, enhancing her hips and rounded stomach. His cock was already tightening. Damn it. He wanted to punch Rick in the face, and it was just the first outfit.
“Is this one of the designs?” Rick asked.
When he looked at Rick, who was looking up and down at Payton. There was no sexual heat, no need. Nothing. How could the man not be affected by the woman? Hunter was struggling to think of a way to keep her close.
“It is. It’s amazing, right?”
“You look good, Payton. Some shots of you walking down a busy street. Man, they will really go to town on this.”
He watched as Payton clapped her hands. “Elise has already been telling me about the plans. I don’t think a closed set with a green room would work. I know some people who can do the more natural shot. If you’re willing to branch out that is.”
“Payton was letting me what she loved about the designs. It’s always great to get some good feedback. This is what I want to do, and I asked Payton if she was willing to do everything to create a more lively and natural shot,” Elise said, and she already had a notebook already.
“I have a feeling you’re going to cost me a lot of money,” Hunter said. The passion in her eyes was what he intended to have in his bed.
“I’ll also make you a lot of money as well, Hunter. What do you say? Do you accept my terms?” Payton asked.
“On one condition.” He knew Elise and Daryl were looking at him as if he had gone crazy. Hunter already knew from what he’d heard, Payton’s willingness to work with Elise’s ideas were going to bring in a shit ton of profit.
“What is your condition?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest, and waiting.
“It’s a simple one. I want you to have dinner with me.”
She tilted her head to the side.
“No, you don’t have to do that,” Rick said.
Payton held her hand up. “Dinner?”
“I want to discuss more about this venture with you. I will accept all of your terms.”
She chuckled. “I will have dinner with you.”
“Excellent. Tonight, it is then.” He stared at the dress. “How about you wear that?”
“Oh, that would be so good,” Elise said. “No one will know what you’re wearing. This will be awesome.”
“I’d love to.”
Hunter nodded, and looked toward Rick. “I will let you talk over the contract. If there is anything else you need to discuss, call me or Daryl. We’ll be happy to help you. When you’re ready, Elise will see you out.”
He made his way back toward the elevator with Daryl rushing after him.
“You never cave to a contract,” Daryl said. “Nor do you take your clients out to dinner this early in the game.”
“Well, none of those clients are women that I want.”
“Hunter, think about this.”
“She’s not an employee. Not really. She’s her own person, and I would never push something if she didn’t want it.” He’d seen that smile and the way she looked him up and down. There was interest there, but she tried to hide it.
Alone in the elevator with her, it had taken all of his strength to not just take her, press her up against the wall, and fuck her hard.
“I would advise against it. I did some investigating, and she is an all-around nice woman, Hunter. She doesn’t fight or argue. When she is on set she gets the job done even if the photographer has her doing multiple shots from the same angle and facial expressions. She is known for being hard working and nice.”
“Harold told me that as well.”
“She’s also big on charity work. There are many foundations she’s affiliated with, and raises money for.”
“Everything I’m hearing about is making me like her a whole lot more.” When they were back on their floor, he asked what the day’s schedule was, and then got ready to finish handling some calls. He was always busy, and rarely had any time to party.
The party events he did go to were a way of negotiating business, or being the face of the company. Sitting back in his chair, he woke up his computer from its little sleep, and there she was still on his screen. Payton.
His cock thickened, and he knew without a doubt he was going to have that woman in his bed. It wasn’t just sex he wanted though. He wanted to know her, to find out every little secret, and learn everything he could. What secrets did she hide?
Her curves were just an extra bonus. He loved a woman with some meat on her bones, and had rarely been attracted to a woman who ate salad all the time. Thinking of food, he quickly booked an Italian restaurant, seeing as it was her favorite, and then tried his hardest to push thoughts of her aside. Work still called, and his dick would have to wait.
****
Elise had given her the dress and told her to rock it. Payton stared at her reflection, and was nervous. It was strange. This wasn’t the first date she had been on, but then was it a date, or was this a working dinner? Either way, it didn’t matter because she intended this to be strictly professional.
Rick had warned her, and even offered to cancel the date, but she’d told him no. They had gone through her contract, and had even completed a magazine interview she had for that evening. It had only taken an hour, but the segment wouldn’t come out until next month.
When her buzzer rang, she grabbed her bag, and rushed outside, going down to the main door where Hunter was waiting for her.
“Hey,” she said. He held a bouquet of roses, taking her back a little. “Oh wow, they are beautiful.”
“I thought you wouldn’t be ready, but I can see I was wrong.”
She laughed. “You’re used to a woman keeping you waiting.”
“Something like that. The roses will keep in the car.”
“Are you sure? I can run them up. I didn’t know what time our table would be ready,” she said.
“It’s fine. Come on.” They were back on the road less than five minutes away. “I booked a seat at an Italian place.”
“Yum. Pasta is my favorite.”
“I know. I read it on one of your social media pages.”
“Do you do social media?” she asked, curious.
“No, I don’t.”
She gasped. “The shock, the horror. How can you not do it in this day and age?”
“I’m sure I’m not the only one that doesn’t.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine. Really. Rick does a great deal toward my page. I wouldn’t have a clue what to post anyway, and we’re together most of the time. It makes sense.”
“You don’t think your friendship is a little … close?”
“I could say that about your very male PA. Daryl is always around you.”
“He’s not right now.”
“Neither is Rick around me. He’s on a date. I set him up on one of those dating agencies. He works me to the bone if he’s not kept occupied, and this is me doing that.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “He loves to work, and I love working. We have a very balanced working friendship.”
“So I’ve got nothing to worry about with him.”
“I think we should be clear right now exactly what this is. Are you wanting to talk contract? Or is this something else?” She watched as he drove the streets. The scent of leather was heavy in the air. She doubted his used this car all that much.
“You want me to be clear?” he asked.
“Very.”
“Okay. On the business front, I want you to work with Elise. If we’re being honest, Elise is a distant cousin, and no, I’m not working with her because of that. I think you and she will hit it off. You both have that design edge, and know what to do and how best to do it. Me, I know business, I know how to get the best out of someone. On a personal side, I want to fuck you. I want you in my bed, with my dick inside you. When it comes to what I want, I don’t take any chances. Just seeing you in that dress, it’s taking a lot of control not to tear it off you, and have you right now.”
“Wow, you really don’t waste a moment, do you?” She wasn’t at all surprised by what he wanted. Hunter Reynolds had a reputation, and Rick had warned her. She wasn’t after love, or settling down. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone, and none of the men she had been with had ever made her feel this way. Still, she didn’t want to cause a conflict of interest because she did look forward to working with Elise. “I don’t like drama,” she said.
“I don’t believe in wasting time.”
“You read my motto?”
“Of course I did. We’re here,” he said, pulling outside of a very expensive looking Italian place. There were paparazzi out front, but she was used to having random pictures taken. Hunter asked her to wait, and she sat while he waved at the cameras, and then opened the door. Taking his hand, she climbed out, putting a hand to her hip as she smiled. She wanted Elise to get the best coverage she could get. Fortunately, Hunter didn’t linger too long, and they were seated, and already given menus on what to order.
“You handled that well,” he said. “They were asking who the designer was, and you kept your cool.”
“I’m not going to unveil Elise until she’s ready. She is so proud of everything she has done, and I’m proud for her.” She looked through the menu, seeing several items she wanted to eat.
“Please tell me you’re not going to eat a salad or anything.”
“No. I don’t want to eat a salad. Everything sounds amazing, but I will have what I always do when I’m eating somewhere new. The carbonara.” She closed the menu, and took a sip of her wine, taking a breadstick to nibble on.
Hunter ordered his food, and he took his own piece of bread. “So what inspired your motto?”
“You’re not wanting to get on track with wanting to fuck me?” she asked.
“I’ll get to that, but I also love conversation.” He sat up, and for Payton, everything faded away. “I want to know more about you, and not what you put on those boards to appease everyone.”
“I guess in a way everything happened because of my sister, Bethany. We were always close growing up. She was the older of the two of us, and she was kind of like my idol. Always getting the high grades, and you know, just a nice girl and then woman. What me and my family didn’t know was that she was suffering in silence.” She paused, and composed herself. It was still hard to talk about Bethany. “She had anorexia and bulimia. Now, bulimia, if you’re not aware is where you gorge on food, and then you feel guilt, and throw it up, or they take laxatives to help with everything. It’s a psychological condition where no matter what, they think they’re too fat even when they’re dangerously thin. I don’t know if Bethany had that, or if she just couldn’t stand to have food sit in her stomach, so she would vomit it. I didn’t really know the truth until she passed out, and the doctors told us of her condition.”
Hunter reached across the table, touching her hand. “I’m so sorry. Anorexia can kill?”
“Yes. It can strain the body, not to mention the mental aspects of the disease. Anyone can get it. Men, women, children, and they have this thing where they look in the mirror and see this horrible fat person.” She took a deep breath, and leaned back. “I’m so sorry.”
He held out a tissue. “You do not need to apologize.”
“I have spoken about it before. The last few days, it has just been so raw. Before she died, I had started to take pictures of myself, and just having some fun. She told me to never be ashamed of who I am. To never allow a moment of someone else’s pain to become my own. She always had a way with words. Rick was with me when she died, and he’s been there throughout my whole life. He’s my best friend, and if you have a problem with him, well he and I come as a package deal.”
“I don’t have to fuck him, do I?”
She burst out laughing, and shook her head. “No. Sorry. We come as a package deal with work, and also as friends. The sex is just me. He’s like a brother, and I know I’m like a sister to him.”
“Our first date and I made you cry.”
“It’ll be the only time you do. I’m not known for crying.” Their food arrived, and Payton found herself telling him everything about her. The fact that her previous lovers were now married, and he told her of his past, and his rise in the business. He made her laugh with jokes about some of his mishaps, and she told him about hers when it came to showing the wrong pictures.
By the end of the night, she didn’t want their date to end.
They left the restaurant, and Payton stared up at the stars.
“How about you take a walk with me?” he said.
“I’d love that.” Putting her arm through his, they began to walk down the busy street. Cities were always busy, and that was something she loved about them. She could get lost and no one would know who she was.
“I can’t believe you were approached to be in porn,” he said.
“It came around because of a kiss and tell story. Just so you know it was all lies. I think what amazes me is how much trash the papers are willing to write. I was just starting out, and my name was getting mentioned. The plus-size model who dares to break convention and stuff like that. Anyway, the story was that I was a freak in the bedroom, and stuff like that. Before I knew what was happening, I was being called, and if it hadn’t been for Rick checking over a contract, I would be in a totally different place than I am now. I don’t like having sex with strangers. I’ve nothing against the porn industry at all. I just don’t want to be in it.”
They came to a stop outside of a park. Several people were milling around, and Payton looked at Hunter, and before she could say or do anything, his lips were on hers.