Antonio nodded as he looked at the photo of PJ, who was draped in a sheer cloth of some sort. Good lord. “I see that. Your vision is absolutely amazing. It’s just, if I may be frank with you, Mr. St. Jean?”
“Please. Call me Louis, handsome.”
Antonio smiled, turning up the charm. “Well, Louis, the thing is, PJ is the face of New Balance. Ushering in a fresh, new generation of consumers for the brand who are quite sneaker-obsessed. You’ve got to show the shoe with PJ in it.”
Louis squinted as he looked at Antonio. “But the shoe doesn’t go with my theme. We’re focusing on the whimsical, darling. We can add it in post.”
“Oh yes,” agreed Antonio as he put on his most serious face. “And I love it. But the star of the ad should be the shoe…with PJ in it. “
Louis shook his head. “No! No! The shoe doesn’t go with the aesthetic!”
But it’s a damned shoe ad, thought Antonio. “How about this? I get that he’s supposed to be Pan, and Pan plays a flute right? Why not have him holding up the shoe like a flute? Just an idea.”
Louis stared at Antonio a bit as he rubbed his chin. “Hmm. I hadn’t thought about that. Go on…”
“And maybe lose the glitter?” Antonio asked. “Just a bit of it.”
“You’re pushing it, handsome,” Louis remarked. “Very well.” He clapped his hands loudly to alert his team. “Everyone, new direction for our last couple of shots. Bring in the shoe!” Louis turned toward Antonio and waved him off. “You can go now.”
Antonio smiled. “Certainly. I’ll let you get back to making magic.”
Before he could turn around, Antonio felt the sharp edges of Jackie’s nails grabbing his arm. Her piercing grip stung, but if he was honest, he liked the pain.
“What is wrong with you?” Jackie asked. “You cannot just go up to Louis St. Jean and—”
“He’s going to incorporate the shoe, Jackie,” interrupted Antonio. “You’re welcome.”
“That’s what’s up!” PJ exclaimed.
Jackie blinked. “How’d you get him to agree with that?”
Antonio smirked. “You must have forgotten how convincing I can be.”
“Ugh.” Jackie dropped Antonio’s arm as if it were hot coal. Instantly, he missed the feel of her hands on him. “You’re so freaking smug.”
“I just reminded him that New Balance was the client. And PJ and his shoe—despite his vision—are the stars. That’s all.”
“Why do you do this?” asked Jackie.
“Do what?”
“You swoop in to interject, like you think I can’t handle it. It’s getting to be a habit for you, and I don’t like it. Marilyn entrusted me to be PJ’s agent. I don’t seem to recall you even being in the running for the job. Where’d you even come from on this?”
Antonio swallowed. Jackie was right. He was coming dangerously close to encroaching on her territory. “Jackie, I’m a friend to PJ when he needs one. I understand what it’s like to be a young dude out here, a hot rookie, being the face of a brand.”
“Ha,” Jackie laughed. “One off-brand cereal commercial does not make you the face of a brand.”
“First of all, it wastwocereal commercials. Healthy cereals. Secondly, I also had a brand deal with Under Armour way before they were popping.”
“I don’t care what the fuck it was!” Jackie whisper-yelled. Antonio watched as she closed her eyes and let out several deep breaths. “Listen, for the duration of this merger, don’t talk to me. Don’t even look in my direction. Stay away from me. And stay away from my fucking clients, or I’ll go to the board and tell them you are trying to do some underhanded shit.”
“Jackie, I swear I’m not trying to do anything! It’s not like that.”
Jackie swiftly moved in front of him, poking a finger in his chest. “Didn’t I say not to talk to me? That starts now, playboy.”
The crew stopped to look over at Antonio and Jackie, who were now making a scene. PJ had a worried expression on his face.
“Fine.” Antonio began to leave, not wanting to embarrass PJ further, but he stopped abruptly. He turned back to look at Jackie one last time. She rolled her eyes at him, then turned her back. Even when she was pissed off, she was still beautiful. Someday, he’d like for her to look at him the way she had when they first met. But at this point, that was asking for too much. Especially when every time he tried to get on her good side, he found a way to tick her off again.
