there? I’ll make sure you get home before Jesse is finished with his training.”
I let out an audible groan of frustration. “I suppose...”
“Well, are you coming?”
I thrust my hand through the hair at the nape of my neck. This might backfire on me but... this was all Jesse’s fault. He taught me to “seize the day,” so what the hell, here goes.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and said, “Yes, I’ll be there.”
“Magnifico. Come by my studio this afternoon, as we had planned, and we can go over all the detail of the Delmonte shoot and discuss a schedule that will work for you, I promise. I don’t want you to be unhappy with this arrangement, my dear. You will be home in time for your boyfriend.”
He sounded sincere. Maybe he was just trying to help me. Maybe he wasn’t trying to get in my panties after all. He came through and I would have my first opportunity to meet someone revered in my field. When he told me about Delmonte, the tone in his voice had changed and he sounded more business-like, no longer like a siren’s song, luring me in.
When I clicked off the phone I felt better about the assistant job with Gio. It no longer seemed to be the threat I had feared before.
Chapter 10
Niki
T he cab driver nosed into the curb to let me out. With my hand on the door latch, I hesitated as I peered up at a dark stone building.
“Are you sure this is the address I gave you?” Maybe he hadn’t understood my English. This building looked more like a warehouse than a studio.
I scrolled through my contacts on my phone searching for the address Gio had given me to check it one more time, only half listening to what the cab driver’s response.
“Si, signorina, this is the address you requested.”
As I was checking the address I received a text from Jesse.
“Have a special surprise tonight! Be sure to be home by seven, babe.”
My heart fluttered with excitement. The mere thought of seeing him still had that effect on me. I wanted that euphoric feeling to last forever. It was a sure sign that my love for Jesse was rock solid. I wrote back, “Yay. Can’t wait, sweetie.”
When I stepped out of the cab I had a renewed vigor. I refused to let Gio manipulate my feelings anymore. I could do this, I thought. I could handle Gio.
Standing in front of a large, rustic, wooden door, I straightened and prepared to knock, but before I could barely raise my hand, it was flung open. Filling the doorway with his perfectly sculpted physique was Gio.
“Niki, you came! Bellisima. You look amazing,” he said, his smile widening with approval. I had fused over my outfit once again, always wanting to appear fashionable, as I figured I was somewhat of a walking advertisement for my design style. I wore skin tight jeans, a pair of over the knee black, high heeled boots and I threw on a soft crinkled fabric scarf as an accent piece. I figured I had better dress the part every moment, as if I were already a well-known designer. I mean, who wants to see a designer in their grubs, anyway? It’s like seeing your hair dresser at the grocery store on a bad hair day and everyone says, “She’s a hair dresser?”
Gio stepped aside, allowing me to enter. I was delightfully surprised to find out that the inside of his studio looked nothing like the ominous outside. The interior space was lofty and open, with large windows for daylight to create a soft natural look in the living areas. Gio lead me further into darker areas of the studio, closed off from all light, except for the bright candescence of his special photography equipment. There were several stages set up in this area of the studio, equipped with photographers’ umbrellas and large lights mounted on stainless steel tripods, ready for the next model to come and strike her pose.
“Gio, this is amazing. You have quite a studio set up here. Look at all of this.” I walked over to a section between the “photo shoot” sets and marveled at the array of props.
I let out an audible groan of frustration. “I suppose...”
“Well, are you coming?”
I thrust my hand through the hair at the nape of my neck. This might backfire on me but... this was all Jesse’s fault. He taught me to “seize the day,” so what the hell, here goes.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and said, “Yes, I’ll be there.”
“Magnifico. Come by my studio this afternoon, as we had planned, and we can go over all the detail of the Delmonte shoot and discuss a schedule that will work for you, I promise. I don’t want you to be unhappy with this arrangement, my dear. You will be home in time for your boyfriend.”
He sounded sincere. Maybe he was just trying to help me. Maybe he wasn’t trying to get in my panties after all. He came through and I would have my first opportunity to meet someone revered in my field. When he told me about Delmonte, the tone in his voice had changed and he sounded more business-like, no longer like a siren’s song, luring me in.
When I clicked off the phone I felt better about the assistant job with Gio. It no longer seemed to be the threat I had feared before.
Chapter 10
Niki
T he cab driver nosed into the curb to let me out. With my hand on the door latch, I hesitated as I peered up at a dark stone building.
“Are you sure this is the address I gave you?” Maybe he hadn’t understood my English. This building looked more like a warehouse than a studio.
I scrolled through my contacts on my phone searching for the address Gio had given me to check it one more time, only half listening to what the cab driver’s response.
“Si, signorina, this is the address you requested.”
As I was checking the address I received a text from Jesse.
“Have a special surprise tonight! Be sure to be home by seven, babe.”
My heart fluttered with excitement. The mere thought of seeing him still had that effect on me. I wanted that euphoric feeling to last forever. It was a sure sign that my love for Jesse was rock solid. I wrote back, “Yay. Can’t wait, sweetie.”
When I stepped out of the cab I had a renewed vigor. I refused to let Gio manipulate my feelings anymore. I could do this, I thought. I could handle Gio.
Standing in front of a large, rustic, wooden door, I straightened and prepared to knock, but before I could barely raise my hand, it was flung open. Filling the doorway with his perfectly sculpted physique was Gio.
“Niki, you came! Bellisima. You look amazing,” he said, his smile widening with approval. I had fused over my outfit once again, always wanting to appear fashionable, as I figured I was somewhat of a walking advertisement for my design style. I wore skin tight jeans, a pair of over the knee black, high heeled boots and I threw on a soft crinkled fabric scarf as an accent piece. I figured I had better dress the part every moment, as if I were already a well-known designer. I mean, who wants to see a designer in their grubs, anyway? It’s like seeing your hair dresser at the grocery store on a bad hair day and everyone says, “She’s a hair dresser?”
Gio stepped aside, allowing me to enter. I was delightfully surprised to find out that the inside of his studio looked nothing like the ominous outside. The interior space was lofty and open, with large windows for daylight to create a soft natural look in the living areas. Gio lead me further into darker areas of the studio, closed off from all light, except for the bright candescence of his special photography equipment. There were several stages set up in this area of the studio, equipped with photographers’ umbrellas and large lights mounted on stainless steel tripods, ready for the next model to come and strike her pose.
“Gio, this is amazing. You have quite a studio set up here. Look at all of this.” I walked over to a section between the “photo shoot” sets and marveled at the array of props.
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