Page 48 of The Mistletoe Bluff
“Then do it as a favor to your father.”
“And why do you think you deserve a favor?”
I saw Maya cringe out of the corner of my eye.
“I need you to do this shoot for me, Son. I’m still in England for the next week, and you know we’re still in the process of spreading our photographers into the States, never mind the fact that they specifically requested you.”
I glanced at Maya, whose attention was on the snowy road in front of me.An idea bloomed in my mind, and I took a leap of faith.
“I’ll do it under one condition.”
My father sighed as if I had just asked him to climb a mountain and pick me a rare flower. “What is it?”
“I get to bring a second photographer, and she gets a cut of the money.”
Maya tensed before turning those blue eyes on me.
“She?” my father asked. I couldn’t tell if it was surprise or disdain in his voice. “These people are paying a lot of money and I don’t need some girl messing everything up.”
Fire burned in my belly. “For your information, that girl,my girlfriend, is a brilliant photographer who will only bring value to the shoot. That’s my condition. Maya helps or I won’t do it.”
A beat of silence.
Maya’s mouth was hanging open.
Mine might have been too.
I’d never spoken to my father like that before. I waited, expecting backlash and a scolding, but to my surprise he bit out, “Fine. I’ll text you the details where to meet the couple.”
And then he hung up.
I let out a long breath, wishing I wasn’t driving so I could put my head between my knees and justbreathe. My father always left me wound so tight I couldn’t get air in my lungs and my muscles spasming from clenching them so hard.
“Oliver?” Maya asked with a hesitant voice. “Are you okay?”
Her voice was like slipping into a cold pool on a hot day, loosening all the tightly coiled pieces of me. Her hand reached over and covered mine, her thumb skimming the back of it.
“Yeah,” I said, exhaling, her touch flooding me with peace. “I’m okay.”
After a moment she asked, “Why did you do that?”
“It was the only way that I could bear the thought of doing this shoot forhim.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Why don’t you two get along?”
I shook my head. “It’s always been like that. He’s always been harsh with me, pushing me to the very edge of my limits, then shoving me off just because he can. He loves to use me and my talent to further his own agenda.” Maya’s hand went still before she pulled away and I sighed, glancing over at her. She was fidgeting with her hands again. “That’s part of why I came back to Meridel. I needed some distance to figure things out.”
“Like what?”
My thumb beat against the steering wheel as I debated how much to tell her.
“He owns L.L. & Co, the photography agency I worked for back in London. I’ve been taking pictures for as long as I can remember, and he’s never missed an opportunity to exploit my talent. Now that I’m older, he’s been wanting me to learn how to run the business so that when he retires, I can take over, but that’s not the life I envisioned for myself.”
Maya considered for a moment. “What do you envision for yourself then?”
I pursed my lips. That was the real question, and what I had come back to Meridel to figure out.
“I’m not sure yet, but I know it’s not running my father’s business. I love photography, and I’m good at it, but when it's tied to him it taints everything. I want to become successful because of my own ability, not my connections. I don't want to be exploited for someone else’s gain anymore.
