My closet had never been so empty before. I had almost every piece of clothing that I owned strewn out in my room, and I still hadn’t found one thing that would be suitable to wear for my meeting.
“Dear God. What happened in here?” Brooke looked around my room at the disaster I had made.
“What the hell am I supposed to wear?” I sounded like a maniac, and it didn’t slip my notice that I was kind of acting like one.
“Okay. First off, calm down.”
I threw myself back onto my bed and landed on a pile of clothes. I pulled a deep breath in through my nose, and instantly, I started to feel a little bit better.
“Second, I have the perfect outfit for you to wear.”
“You do?” I turned my head to the side and looked at her.
“Yes. You go get your butt in the shower, and I’ll get the clothes.”
I didn’t move at first so she kicked my foot that was dangling off the edge of the bed. “Get a move on.” She shooed me with her hands.
“So much for calming down.” I teased then ran into the bathroom before she managed to get a hold of me.
She was right though. She did have the perfect outfit for me to wear.
I was currently walking down the sidewalk in a pair of black skinny legged dress pants, a white blouse, and a hot pink blazer that I somehow managed to love instead of hate. It was trendy, professional, but still managed to show personality.
The building that currently held Rock Bottom was one of the oldest buildings in the downtown area, and it was a building that I had photographed many times. The outside of it at least. The last time I peeked in one of the broken windows, the inside was covered in dirt, trash, and broken glass. I couldn’t wait to see what had been done with the space.
The front door was large and ornate, and it felt heavy in my hand as I took a deep breath and pulled it open. There was no way that I could have been prepared for what waited for me inside.
If I hadn’t snooped in the windows months ago, I wouldn’t have believed that this place had ever been anything but beautiful. The name Rock Bottom made so much more sense as I walked into the room.
There was a large light fixture hanging in the center of the room that was made out of agate slices that looked like a large crystal formation.
The light reflected off each piece and bounced around the room creating a display of light that was out of this world. My right finger was twitching to grab my camera and capture the amount of beauty that was in front of me. I was imagining the angles and exposures I would need to capture the perfect image.
There were several people bustling around the space. Some were stocking the expansive bar that resembled a massive rock, but with a smooth top, some were cleaning the pretty immaculate space, and some I had no idea what they were doing. But they all seemed to work like a well-oiled machine. Everyone was doing something individually, but they were all working toward one goal.
The walls were painted a grey that was so dark that it was almost black, and it seemed to set a mood that I had never seen created in another bar or restaurant. It was seductive and dark. Dangerously sexy. The tables against the wall had large booths the color of deep magenta that looked like you could lie on them and be lost for hours. The color was feminine and sensual. I was in love with it.
A small girl came out of a door behind the bar, and she smiled as soon as she saw me. She made her way toward me. She was short. Probably only five foot three inches, but it was easy to tell that she had enough spunk for a six-foot man. Her hair was cut short in an effortlessly stylish pixie cut, and it was black like mine except hers had streaks of pink in it that made her somehow look like a badass and a fairy at the same time. She was dressed head to toe in black and the only source of color other than her hair was the sleeve of bright tattoos that covered her left arm.
“Hi. I’m Chloe.” She stuck her untattooed hand out to me.
I gripped her hand in mine. “Hi. I’m Kennedy.”
“I was hoping that was you.” She crossed her petite arms across her chest. “I don’t trust the guys too much so I was a little leery about them choosing our photographer, but I already like you.”
I smiled at her, and I felt my shoulders relax a little. “Well, I hope they made a good decision. I brought in my portfolio,” I patted my bag on my side, “so you can take a look at the work I’ve done so far.”
“That sounds great. Let’s go take a seat over here.”
We walked to the edge of the restaurant and took a seat across from each other in one of the booths that I was eye fucking earlier.
“This place looks amazing.” I looked up at the artwork that was on the wall, and I couldn’t believe the amount of style one place could hold.
“Thank you. The guys and I have worked really hard on this place. You’ll meet them later in the process. They know enough to trust me with the creative decisions.”
I smiled at her, but she didn’t look like she was joking at all. “Well here is my portfolio.” I slid my crisp black portfolio in front of her. “My favorite thing to photograph is architecture and since that is the majority of what I would be shooting in here; I put those in the front.”
Chloe opened my portfolio, and I held my breath. There was always something about the first few seconds that someone took in your work. It wasn’t exactly an expression they made or a specific comment, but there was a feeling that you got as to whether your work resonated with them or not. It was one of my favorite moments in the world. It was also one of the most nerve wracking.
Chloe’s eyes skirted across the image in front of her, but I couldn’t get the feeling. I wasn’t sure what she thought about it just yet. I purposely chose the first image in my portfolio as a photograph I had taken of the outside of the building we were in. It was a stormy day, and the deep grey clouds made the perfect backdrop against the building.
“Can we buy this image?” Chloe’s eyes darted up to me.
“What?” I was completely caught off guard.
She pointed down at the photograph in front of her. “Can we buy this image to hang inside the restaurant?”
“Yes, you can,” I said almost as if it was a question. “Are you still interested in me photographing the inside?”
“Um. Hell yes. You’re hired if you will do it.”
“You haven’t even looked at any other images,” I pointed out stupidly.
“I don’t need to.”