“Yes, I’ve got a team coming to meet you. Also, I’d like to have a conference call between the three of us either before or after the shoot.”
I frown, taken aback. “A conference call?”
“Just so I can get a feel for the guy myself,” she explains. “It’ll help on the editorial side of things.”
“Oh… okay. We can do that.”
“I got the initial headshots you took of him, and damn, he is drool-worthy.” Juliet laughs while I cringe. “His issue will be flying off the shelves. Our female demographic will love him!”
Thinking about thousands of women ogling Zander in the magazine, imagining what it would be like to be with him, irks me. I try to shove the feeling away, but it’s like a persistent little fly buzzing in my ear.
“You’re doing a great job, Rylee,” Juliet says once I’ve finished. “Send your notes into the editor by the end of the day so they can start reviewing things. I’m eager to read what you have so far, and to see how the shoot goes tomorrow.”
“I am too,” I tell her.
“Anything else you need from me?” she asks.
Shaking my head, I answer, “No, I think I’m good.”
“Well, you know how to get in touch if you need anything. Keep up the good work!”
“Thanks, Juliet. I will.”
We end the call and I release a breath before working to get all my notes collected into a document that I can send in anemail to the editor. As I’m working, I get a message through the company’s Slack from Blaire.
Blaire: Hey! Just heard you had a call with Juliet. All good, I hope?
Rylee: Yep, all good! Was just updating her on the articles.
Blaire: Oh, that’s a relief. I was a little worried. I haven’t heard from you much since you went to Denver, so I was just hoping everything was all right.
I feel a stab of guilt at that. Yeah, Blaire and I are coworkers, but we’re also friends, and I have kind of forgotten to touch base with her because I’ve been so busy with everything here.
As if she can read my mind, my phone suddenly rings and Blaire’s name flashes across the screen. Okay… I supposed we can talk right now!
“Hey, stranger!” she exclaims when she answers. “Finally, some sign of life!”
I flinch. Man, I’m the worst.
“Hey, sorry,” I reply. “Things have just been so busy. How are things there?”
She catches me up on office gossip and I give her some highlights of my trip to Denver so far - mostly hanging out with my girls and meeting the team. I don’t go into details about Zander or my work.
“Did you ever try Cloak?” she suddenly asks, catching me a little off guard.
“Oh, yeah! I’m really enjoying it, actually. Thanks for telling me to give it a try.”
“You’re welcome. It’s worked out well for me so far. I have my new boyfriend thanks to that app, and things are going great!”
I smile. “Oooh, who is he?”
“He’s a bigwig agent,” she declares. “Handsome. Fit. Very romantic and attentive. But enough about him… we can catch up more on that when you’re back. How are the articles going?”
“Good,” I shrug. “Things are coming together nicely.”
“What’s your angle going to be for the team article? Focus entirely on the Stanley Cup win, or go into more detail about the team’s history?”
I frown. These questions are… unexpected. Blaire isn’t on the team for these articles, so she has no reason to try and dig into the details. Since I’m the kind of person who keeps things close to the chest, especially with work, I hesitate to reply.
