Page 15 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
Does she need anything?
It literally never ended. And today’s shoot was no different. It was actually worse. While the staff was quite accommodating and friendly, Mike was not. He was moody and sour and the littlest thing could send him reeling into a rant that might last minutes or hours.
I’d worked with him before, and I had a foolproof strategy to guarantee this shoot was a success: keep my mouth closed.
I would get in, get the perfect shot he was after, and get out. There was no sense in pouring fuel on the flames of a fight that I knew I couldn’t win. Nobody won against someone who wasn’t practical. Or sane. It was just a waste of time.
Mike was currently reviewing the last fifty shots with the photographers. They talked heatedly and would peer up at me and the other models every now and then, pointing and making decisions about how they wanted to move us or pieces of the beach set around.
Then Mike nodded and started walking toward me.
“Incoming,” the blonde model muttered below me on her towel.
I stood up tall and turned to him.
“Lina, do you have a moment?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He frowned. “I want to talk about your posing. I want more sex from you. Your shots are beautiful, as always, but you’re not getting into it the way I want you to. I want men to see this commercial and be turned on. Sex sells. You know that as well as I do. Think you can turn it up a bit more?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Good girl. Now, let’s go over how you’ll drink. I want a bit of liquid to leak out and maybe roll down your chin and neck. If it happens to roll between your breasts, even better. Does that sound doable?”
Did controlling the way a drink leaked down my half-naked body sound doable? “Yes.”
Mike was about to launch into another adjustment for me to make when my phone started ringing in my purse off set. I held up my hand. “I’m so sorry, Mike. Can I take this? I’ve been waiting all day for an important call. I’ll be right back here to talk to you when I’m done.”
Mike hesitated. Then he nodded. “Yes. Yes of course. I’ll take the time to speak with the other models.”
“Great,” I said. I had already stepped off my platform and hurried over to my purse. I didn’t bother looking at the name when I answered the call and lifted it to my ear as I began walking away from the shoot. “Hello?”
“Why hello there, big shot model. How’s it going?”
I stopped walking. “Kelli?”
“Yeah! How’ve you been, stranger?”
I glanced over my shoulder. Nobody was paying any attention to me for the first time all day, so I grabbed my robe off my break chair, draped it over my shoulders, and hurried out an emergency exit to stand outside in the chilly mid-December air. “I’ve been good. Wow. We haven’t spoken in a long time.”
“About a year.”
“Seriously? That long.”
“Yep, but hey, life gets busy. Long distance is hard. I still love you like a sister. And you’d better love me too. Otherwise, this would be really awkward.”
I laughed. Talking to her felt exactly the same as it always had. “I love you too, Kelli. And I miss you. How have you been?”
“I’ve been great. But there’s no time for chit chat right now. I know it’s a shot in the dark, but I was calling to see if you had plans for Christmas this year.”
“Oh.” I paused, unsure how to answer this. I didn’t have plans. I was living alone in New York City and had been so focused on my modeling career that the only friends I had were other models. And I sure as hell didn’t plan on spending Christmas with them. “I don’t really have any plans.”
“Perfect! My mom wanted you to come stay with us for a week or two. You know, like old times? I think she’s worried the house is going to feel empty with Dad gone.” She went kind of quiet on the other end. Kelli’s father had died earlier this year. The last time I saw her was at his funeral. “We can have my mom’s traditional Christmas breakfast bake and then turkey for dinner. Keep it nice and low key. Your bedroom is still the same as it was when you left.”
“I thought your mom wanted to turn it into a yoga studio?”
Kelli laughed. “Yeah, please. You and I both know my mom is all talk when it comes to that sort of thing. So, what do you think? Are you in?”
