HAPTER 9
Ellyn arrived at the studio for her first shoot five minutes early. She’d wanted to be even earlier, but Derek had been difficult about her leaving. She had no idea why of all days he would be clingy today. As if he knew this day was important.
Taking a deep breath, she blew it out, trying to settle herself before she opened the door on her new career. When she did, the whole place reminded her of a beehive she’d seen on a field trip years ago. Everyone was moving. Her eyes grew large just watching them.
Her heart raced. She could not figure out who was in charge. Finally, someone noticed her. A young skinny girl came over. “You Ellyn?”
“Yes.”
“Come with me.”
She followed the girl to a room with a rack full of blouses and tops.
“Put the first one in line on, then come out and find me.”
The girl didn’t close the door behind her so Ellyn did it instead. She put her purse down on a chair then took off her blouse to put the other one on. Now dressed, she returned to the room that was the hub of activity.
She looked around for the woman, but didn’t see her. A stool was set up in front of white sheets just like her first shoot.
A man with a camera in his hand came up to her. “You the model?”
“Yes.”
“You need to be in makeup. We start shooting in half an hour.”
He strode away, not bothering to tell her where makeup was located.
“Ellie?”
Ellyn looked around to find who was shouting. It was the skinny girl. She was waving at her.
“Ellyn,” she corrected.
The girl waved her hand as if it didn’t matter what her name was. Very cold, but Ellyn refused to let it bother her. They were paying her a lot of money. She just hoped she didn’t lose her soul to this job.
“Sit,” the girl commanded. “Winnie will be out to do your makeup in a moment.”
The girl walked away, leaving Ellyn sitting on a chair similar to one she’d seen in a hair salon. A woman with blue hair and her lip pierced appeared in front of Ellyn. “This hair will not do. We need some extensions.”
Was she talking to her?
“You must be Winnie,” Ellyn said. She held out her hand. “I’m Ellyn.”
Winnie eyed her hand then dismissed it. “I don’t shake hands. Have you ever had extensions?”
“Uh, no.”
“Sal. Get me those dark brown extensions,” Winnie said to someone behind Ellyn. She glanced in the mirror, but couldn’t figure out who Sal was.
A young man brought Winnie what looked like a suitcase. She didn’t even thank him when he put it at her feet. He walked away, clearly not expecting thanks.
Is no one civil?
Winnie stared at her. “Okay. Gorgeous lips. I’ll have to do very little to enhance those. You’ll need some fake eyelashes.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t speak. I’m just thinking out loud.”
Okay. Winnie got to work and at the end, Ellyn did not recognize herself. Her hair was longer than she’d had it in years. She kept it long enough to pull back, but not too long. She’d never had so much makeup on her face.
She wondered, if they really liked how she looked, why did they change how she looked? She had a queasy feeling in her stomach. Had she made the wrong decision?
She was whisked away to sit in front of the camera. The photographer gave her rapid-fire instructions, which she thought she followed. He didn’t give any feedback to her at all. He just took the pictures, changing his camera every so often.
That went on for a few hours. The only breaks were to change tops and give her a different hairstyle. Her stomach rumbled and she hoped a lunch break would be called soon. The shoot ended before lunch.
The crew began to pack up and Ellyn was unsure what was next. Winnie was nowhere around. Was she supposed to wear this makeup home?
She hadn’t felt this lost since Derek had been born and she was all alone with a new baby. No one made eye contact with her. At least at the restaurant, the wait staff joked with each other. She stood all alone in a room full of strangers.
She sighed, found a bathroom and began to scrub off the crap on her face. Her skin was raw when she was done, but she’d earned a huge paycheck and that should give her consolation.
She called Shalia on the way home, but then remembered that she let Colton take Derek that morning.
On the subway, she stared out the window. Was this her life now? She’d been a piece of meat to those people. Her heart hurt. What had she expected? This was not it, but she had to do what was necessary to make Derek’s life better.
She could suck it up if she had to.
***
Only an hour after Colton had picked up Derek, did he realize that he’d overstated his experience with kids to Ellyn.
Derek had already run him ragged and all they’d done was go to the park.
Colton now understood why all of those moms sat on the bench. He’d followed Derek as he used every piece of equipment. One after the other. Running up the ladder to the sliding board, then once he was back on the ground, back to the merry-go-round, then back to the swings. Derek pumped himself high, then jumped off, making Colton’s heart stop for a moment.
He landed unscathed. “Does your mother let you do that?”
“Nope.”
“Then don’t do it with me,” Colton said.
Derek laughed. “I do it with Shalia. She lets me do anything.”
Finally, Derek found a playmate and Colton watched from the sidelines, catching his breath. Good thing he’d worn sneakers on his day off. He’d need a new pair by the end of the day.
Ellyn had no one else to watch Derek, and Colton hadn’t taken a day off in months. Here he was at a playground with Derek. As much as he was enjoying himself, he was tired already. He had three more hours before he expected Ellyn to be done.
Derek ran to him, then stopped in front of him. “I’m hungry.”
“Okay. Let’s get you a snack,” Derek said.
They walked to the local quickie mart. Well, Colton walked. Derek did every other means of travel, including hopping and skipping. Colton wondered how he was going to last this whole morning.
He’d need a nap. Derek had recovered well from his ear infections. As much as that was good, Colton would have liked a little less energy from him.
Colton bought the boy some juice and some carrots in a bag. They sat on a bench outside. The day was a little warmer than the weather had been. Colton put his face to the sun. He didn’t usually get out of the office during the week.
He’d left his phone on vibrate and it had been doing that, non-stop. He couldn’t answer. Derek needed his attention.
“Have you ever flown a kite?” Colton asked.
He’d been brainstorming what to do with Derek all weekend. He remembered what he and his father had done together.
“No.”
Derek finished his snack.
“Then let’s go find a toy store and buy a kite.”
Colton knew he should have been better prepared. When Derek entered the toy store, it was if he’d been given crack. The kid ran around. Colton had trouble keeping the kid in his sights.
At one point, he lost him. Damn.
“Derek?”
The place wasn’t even that big. Colton strode to the Customer Service Desk.
“I’ve lost a child.”
The kid at the counter picked up the phone and made an announcement. “We have a Code Adam.”
The drill had clearly been practiced, because the kid ran to the front door and locked it while a managerial-looking person came to talk to Colton.
“I’m the manager. What was your son wearing?”
Colton didn’t bother to correct him. “His name is Derek and he’s in a striped shirt, I think. He’s got brown hair and skin.”
The manager blinked. “Okay.”
All the mothers looked at him with obvious scorn. Guess they’d never lost their child. Or maybe they just figured he was a stereotypical Dad. He ran a company. Every day he commanded people.
How had one small child gotten the better of him?
Finally, someone found Derek.
Colton squatted down to him. The boy’s eyes were wet. He must be scared.
“You scared me, Derek. We’re not buying the kite now.”
Derek’s bottom lip went out. He sniffed. “Okay. Can we go home?”
“Of course,” Colton said. “You’re going to hold my hand the whole way.”
“Yes, sir.”
They left the store with a much more subdued Derek by Colton’s side. They walked to Ellyn’s apartment. She’d given him a key to get in. Once inside, Colton gave Derek some more juice, then they sat on the couch.
“Why did you run away?”
“I saw something I wanted to see and you weren’t moving fast enough.”
“But you have to stay with me. I’m responsible for you. What do you think your mother would say if she knew I lost you? That you ran away from me?”
Colton’s heart had finally returned to beating normally. If he messed up this time, Ellyn would never let him take Derek again. Next time, he’d have a better plan. Less free form and more structured.
Derek looked at his feet. “She’d be mad. At both of us.”
“I don’t want your mom to be mad at me. Do you want her to be mad at you?”
“No.”
“Okay. So you’re sorry?”
“Yes, I’m sorry, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Okay. You’re forgiven.”
Derek reached out and wrapped his arms around Colton’s neck in a sticky, sweat hug. The gesture warmed the executive’s heart and he didn’t want him to let go. But he did.
“Can we watch TV?
“Yes.”
Derek turned on the television. Colton tried to watch, but he couldn’t follow it, so he took out his phone to answer his emails.
Well, what he could answer. For some of them, he’d have to call the person, but that could wait. He expected Ellyn any minute and he didn’t want her thinking that he was neglecting her son.
While Colton was on his phone, Derek snuggled himself up against his arm. Colton had trouble typing, but he wasn’t about to move Derek from that spot. The kid liked him. Maybe his mother would loosen up and like him also.
He was not a bad guy, and he’d catch on to this parenting thing at some point. It just took practice, he was sure. Colton’s own father had made it look easy. He should probably call his father and get some advice.
But not now. Now was Derek time. Colton put away his phone and put his arm around Derek. The boy looked up at him and smiled. Colton couldn’t help but smile back.
*
Ellyn’s feet dragged the last block to her apartment, but she picked up speed when she realized she would see Colton.
“Don’t go there.”
She shouldn’t. Colton was not hers. She had to do this without him. Ironically, he’d already helped her today by taking Derek. The last flight of steps to her apartment were killing her. She wasn’t usually this tired from waitressing.
When she opened the door, Derek and Colton were snuggled on the couch watching one of Derek’s shows. She stood in the doorway for a moment taking in the domestic scene in front of her. What if she could come home to this all the time?
The situation warmed her heart. Colton saw her first, but he didn’t get up.
“Hi,” he said.
He looked a little bleary-eyed to her. Must have been a rougher day than he’d been expecting. Derek was a high-energy boy. Colton had insisted all would be fine, but Ellyn had had her doubts.
Looking at his mussed hair and tired face, she knew he’d been through the wringer. “Hi.”
Derek finally looked up at her, but he just said, “Hi, Mom.”
He didn’t get up. He was snuggled up against Colton who had his arm around the kid. The man had won over her son pretty easily. She wondered what they'd been up to today.
“How was your shoot?”
She frowned before she could suppress it.
“Not good?” Colton asked.
“Not what I expected, but it was fine. Have you heard from them?”
“I haven’t been looking at my phone.” He indicated Derek with a jerk of his head. “I’ve been busy.”
“You guys hungry? I’ll make some lunch,” Ellyn said.
“You look tired. Let’s order out,” Colton said.
“Pizza,” Derek shouted as he jumped onto his feet on the couch.
“Get down, Derek. We can get pizza,” Ellyn said.
“Will they deliver?” Colton said. “If not, I’ll go out and get it.”
Ellyn dropped her purse by the front door. She dropped into the other chair in the room. “They’ll deliver. Derek, go get the phone and the menu.”
Pizza was a rare treat on her budget, but she knew what was coming from this job. More than she made in a year waitressing. Holy crap. It just hit her.
“You, okay?” Colton asked as Derek bounded into the kitchen.
“Just tired and a little shell-shocked.”
“Shell-shocked?”
“I wasn’t expected to be treated like meat.”
“Not every shoot is that way, but a lot are. Is that a problem?”
“No. I’m doing this for Derek. I can suck it up,” she said.
Derek returned with the phone. Ellyn ordered the pizza and added garlic knots. She wasn’t planning on kissing anyone today, so that was fine. Besides, she would be able to afford it now.
Derek went back to watching television and Colton and Ellyn moved to her kitchen to talk.
Colton had pulled out his phone. “I have an email from Marcia. They loved you. They want to sign you to an exclusive contract.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Well, it depends on how long. I’d make it shorter rather than longer. You don’t want to get locked in with them and have them change direction on their advertising. Then you don’t get work with them and can’t get worth with other companies.”
She nodded. “I’m glad you know all about this.”
He smiled. “That’s what I’m here for. I’ll call them in the morning.”
“Not right now?”
“Let them wait. Puts us in a position of power,” he said.
The whole idea of negotiating this made her head spin. At least it kept her mind off Colton’s presence in her tiny kitchen. He was large anywhere, but in her place even more so.
“How was Derek?”
“A lot of boy, but I had fun.”
“He has boundless energy. I should have warned you.”
Colton leaned against her counter as if he owned the place. Not in an arrogant way, just that he belonged here. How did he do that in his expensive clothes and two hundred dollar haircut? The idea that he fit in here unnerved her.
He shouldn’t fit here, but he’d never looked down his nose at her place. Only expressed concern for her safety.
“I took him to the park, but that didn’t seem to get rid of any of his energy.”
“He’ll be bouncing around again soon. Once he eats.”
Someone knocked on the door. Colton put a hand up. “I’ll get this.”
She didn’t argue, but she really had to stop relying on him to pay for things. She had pride and liked to be independent. Then she realized that she had no idea where all three of them were going to eat. Her table only had enough room for two.
Colton put the pizza on the table. Derek was at his side. “Mom, can I eat in front of the television?”
She hated to do that, but she had no choice. “Just today, honey. Use a plate.”
She handed him a plate and he returned to the living room with his slice. That left the two seats for Colton and her. Problem solved.
Colton slid a slice on a plate for her, then took his own. He sat at the small table as if he dined in squalor all the time. Damn this man. Why was he so endearing?
“You eating?” he asked.
She sat and dug in, her stomach empty.
***
To Colton, Ellyn seemed nervous. More than she should be in her own home. His presence unnerved her. Good.
She had no idea how her presence unnerved him. He also could not believe that she was raising a little boy in such a small apartment. He needed to convince her to move into the condo. She’d be closer to work and Derek would be safer.
Maybe he shouldn’t ruin the day.
“The pizza’s good,” he said.
“You can’t get bad pizza in New York. Not even in the Bronx.”
He cleared his throat. “I have something to tell you about today, but I don’t want you to be mad at Derek. Or me.”
“Oh?”
She eyed him. With the stink eye. Crap.
“We went to a toy store today and I kind of lost Derek for a while.”
“Lost him? How?”
“Well, he ran ahead, and I lost sight of him. I went right to customer service and they called a Code Adam. He was found just a few minutes later.”
Ellyn glanced at Derek who was mesmerized by the television. “Were you going to tell me?”
“Yes, of course. I just didn’t want it to be the first thing you heard from me,” Colton said.
She glanced at Derek. Colton put a hand on hers. “Please don’t get mad at him. We talked about it afterwards and he was very sorry.”
“Did you buy him whatever you went in there for?”
“No. He didn’t deserve it then,” Colton said.
She nodded. “That was the right answer.”
“I told you I’m not a complete stranger to kids.”
“But he did run you ragged.”
“He did. My sister’s kids are a little older.”
“To change the subject, should I be there when you negotiate with the company?”
“No need. I’ll let you know. They’ll have the contract faxed over by now. You want me to have Marcia email it to me?”
“I don’t want to read it on your phone. I need it in hard copy.”
“Okay. I can print it out at home and messenger it over to you.”
“Messenger it over?”
“Yeah. There are bicycle messengers who work in the city. They’ll pedal it over to you.”
She looked at him as if he had two heads. “In the Bronx?”
He shrugged. “Why not.”
She didn’t believe him, clearly. She just kept shaking her head. “How about I just come in and look at it tomorrow. I’ll be in Manhattan, anyway.”
“You working tomorrow?”
“At the restaurant? Yes. I’ve given them two weeks’ notice.”
“You may have to leave sooner, if the cosmetics company wants you to shoot next week.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
He still held her hand. She hadn’t pulled it away. It was soft and small and something he enjoyed hanging onto. He didn’t want her to notice. Still, he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. She stared at their hands, but didn’t pull away.
“I’ll want you to look at the contract and be sure you understand what they are asking. It’s part of my job. I don’t want you to sign anything you aren’t sure of. And I can negotiate, too.”
“That’s what your part is?”
“Yes, besides booking you jobs.”
“And for all that you get fifteen percent.”
He wasn’t sure what she was getting at. “Is that a problem?”
“No, it isn’t. I’m just clarifying, I guess. So the number I’ve been quoted for this last job, is that before or after your fifteen percent?”
“Before.”
Somehow, he felt as if he were treading on thin ice. She hadn’t pulled away her hand. In fact, she’d leaned in closer. He leaned in closer, hoping to steal a kiss.
“Can I have another piece?”
Derek appeared between them. Colton jumped back. He’d forgotten for a moment about the boy. Damn. Can’t do that.
“Here.”
He slid another slice of pizza on Derek’s plate. In Colton’s surprise, he’d dropped Ellyn’s hand. She didn’t look inclined to give it back. Damn again.
Colton had seen something in Ellyn’s eyes. A reflection of himself. She felt the same way he did. He’d never tiptoed around anyone. When he saw something he wanted, he went for it. He didn’t want the day to end.
“Let’s go for a ride out of the city.”
She blinked at him. “You’re going to make your driver do that?”
He laughed. “No, he can drive us to one of my cars.”
“One of your cars?”
“Yes. I have some outside the city. I won’t drive in Manhattan. Connecticut or New Jersey?”
“Connecticut, I guess.”
She didn’t believe him. His wealth was probably more than she could even imagine. Well, she would have to get used to it. He was going to lurk in her life as much as he could.
“Okay then.” He called his driver. “Paul, I need you back. We’re going to my garage in Connecticut.”
“Okay, sir. It’ll take me half an hour to get there.”
“We’ll be ready,” Colton said.
“Just like that. You snap your fingers and you can go to another state.”
“You make it sound like I have a transporter like in Star Trek.”
She laughed. “Well, for me, your life is a little bit of science fiction. Where will we go?”
“Let’s go to the beach. It might be windy, so dress in layers and we can let Derek play in the sand. Does he have sand toys?”
“Uh, no, but I have a feeling that won’t be an obstacle for you.”