“Did you need something?” I asked politely, the sweet fakeness dripping from my words.
He read me effortlessly. “No, but you need to look busy.”
“Okay.” I nodded and smiled when I really wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. All my tasks were done for the day and then some. It wasn’t rocket science, and I was a warm body to greet the clients who came in and sign for the packages that arrived. I dropped my head and busted out my pretty pink notepad and wrote down ideas, plot points, names, etc. I was about to continue when my cell phone rang. My neighbor, Elizabeth, was calling, which was a surprise and a little concerning. I hoped it had nothing to do with our apartment building. I shot her a message to call my work number. It rang a moment later.
“Duke’s Operations Services. This is Ava speaking; how may I help you?”
“Hey, it’s me,” she answered in a conspiratorial whisper as if she needed to keep her voice low. It made me even more concerned.
“Hey, Elizabeth. This is an unexpected call. What’s up? Is there a problem at the apartment?” I asked, each word coming out more strained.
“Um, no, sorry for panicking you. So, I know this is going to be extremely odd, but I need to ask you for a huge favor.”
“Okay, lay it on me, but it’s got to be quick. My douche of a boss is in a mood,” I grumbled. He’d been in a mood for a while.
She giggled lightly, but then sighed and said, “So I need you to do a photo shoot for me.”
My mouth fell open at my desk, and then I had to quickly turn away from my boss’s view just in case he looked this way. “A photo shoot? I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Like I need you to model for me tomorrow morning.”
My brain tried to puzzle out what she meant, but it wasn’t computing. “I’m sorry—you said model?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What kind of modeling are you talking about?” I knew she made a lot of money and dressed in expensive clothes, but I didn’t know that she dealt with models all the time.
“It’s for a perfume ad, and we’re looking for someone in a rush, so it would pay a lot for just a few hours of work. I promise you’ll be clothed, so if you could, it would be so helpful. You’re absolutely beautiful, and I couldn’t think of anybody else that I would want to do this.”
Damn. I loved the compliment, even if it wasn’t deserved. This sounded like it was just what I needed. The extra money would be great to help me with my goals, but I was no model. “I don’t know anything about modeling,” I informed her.
“It’s okay. The photographer is an expert, and he can make it happen. Please say yes; it’s so important.” I thought about my dreams and how this would push them forward so much faster.
“Okay, where is this at?” I asked while discreetly checking my boss’s office, and thankfully he was on the phone.
“It’s downtown at a studio, but I’ll be driving you there so don’t worry about how you’ll get there. I’ll figure out the time and send you everything you need to know, including the contract, which you can sign, and I’ll have it printed with everything including the amount you’ll be paid. I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“I hope I don’t live to regret this.”
“I’m sure you won’t. My boss will be happy, and so will I. Thank you. I’ll talk to you later on tonight with all the details and the contract.” The heavy footsteps alerted me that the brute was approaching.
“Okay, I need to get back to work, though.”
I ended the call just as he reached my desk. “You know when I said look busy, I didn’t mean take private calls on your work time.” I wanted to roll my eyes.
“That…”
“Don’t lie. You’re terrible at it. You can clock out now and go home.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re not getting paid for the rest of the day.”
“Yeah, kind of figured that out.” I didn’t mean to come off extra rude, but he just knew how to push my buttons.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m just saying that you told me to clock out, so that goes on my timesheet.” I’d already worked overtime this week, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t made up for the extra hour I was losing. I signed out of my computer and walked to the lunchroom where the time clock was and signed out before I headed back to my desk.
