Page 98 of Not Part of the Plan
Emma caught enough of the conversation to get that Nat thought they already had something they could use, and Niko was insisting they hadn’t gotten there yet.
“Time is money, Niko,” Nat reminded him.
“Do you want acceptable or incredible?” he shot back.
“What’s the difference?” she muttered. “Keep in mind the VPs that will be looking at these pics aren’t going to know the difference.”
“You’ll know it when you see it.” Niko scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Let’s do this. You still want behind-the-scenes shit, right?”
“Yes. We need it for the blog and social media,” Nat confirmed.
“Let’s put her in a robe and do the interview while hair and makeup get her ready for the next look.”
“You’re the creative weirdo,” Nat said with a shrug.
“Your faith in me is uplifting,” he told her, winking at Emma.
“Yeah, yeah.” Nat stalked off to set up the interview, and Niko crossed to Emma.
“Not happy? The shots look great from here,” Emma told him.
Niko crossed his arms and paced restlessly in front of her. “She’s too wooden. I can’t get her to loosen up. I’m missing the ‘it.’”
“The ‘it’?”
“That spark that makes a picture a story.”
“Ah. I get it. Okay, so how do you make that spark appear?”
“Well, you can’t force it.”
“You’re not wallowing on the inside and thinking it’s your fault there’s no spark, are you?” Emma asked him, poking him in his very firm stomach.
He stroked his hands down her waist. “No wallowing. I promise.”
“Good. I like watching you work,” she confessed.
“I like having you here. It keeps me from yelling at people and throwing tantrums.”
Emma slapped him lightly on the arm. “Very funny. I think you’re more a stony silence kind of guy than a drama queen.”
Niko pulled her in, hands settling on her hips. “You know me pretty well, don’t you?”
Emma shrugged. “I’m enjoying getting to know you. And I think your idea to get to know Branka in the interview will help.”
Niko rubbed a thumb over Emma’s lower lip. “Grab yourself a sandwich and watch the master at work.”
Emma laughed and let him push her toward the food table. As much time as she’d spent hating cockiness, Niko’s confidence in his abilities was somehow reassuring rather than obnoxious.
She picked up half of a chicken salad sandwich and watched assistants hurry to set up two chairs against one of the exposed brick walls. Niko took one chair, and Branka was guided to the other. With hair and make-up working on her, Niko charmed the model out of her shell with amusing questions and a healthy dose of that panty-melting grin.
Branka, it turned out, was twenty and a little homesick. She was the oldest of six and the first of her family to move away from home and was excited and terrified to make a name for herself, to make them proud. Niko walked her through a mix of personal and professional questions, and Emma watched Branka begin to relax and enjoy herself.
She missed her mother’spoticabread and walking her younger brothers and sisters to school. But she loved not having to share a bathroom with anyone now. Niko talked about his background in photography, and they both worked in a plug for the watch brand.
By the time hair and makeup were done and the interview wrapped, Branka looked yet again like a completely different person.
“Let’s try something new,” Niko said, addressing Branka. “I want you to pick the watch you want to wear.”
