“Why do I feel like I just stepped inside a Bob Ross painting?” I ask, hypnotized by its beauty.
“It’s gorgeous, right?” he says, taking a deep breath, letting the mountain air fill his lungs. “I’ve wanted to come here since I landed.”
“You had a car. You could have left anytime.”
“Yeah, but once I saw you, I knew I didn’t want to come here alone,” he says, taking my hand and leading me down to the lake. We find a spot along the water’s edge, and Hudson sets my camerabag down and takes a seat beside it. I follow suit, staring into the distance with awe.
I focus my attention on the landscape. The towering evergreens and the yellow-and-gold flowers growing between. The lake holds a perfect reflection of the blue sky. The sound of sloshing water mingles with birdsong and the chittering of insects to create a soothing song. For the first time since I arrived, I’m thankful I said yes to Meredith. To Hudson. To going outside my comfort zone. And although I gravitate towards photos with moving subjects, I want to take this memory home.
Opening my camera bag, I click my lens into place and set up my shot, waiting for the clouds to cross along the skyline before I click the shutter.
“Can I see?” he asks. I hand him my camera.
He takes a moment to study the image. “This is amazing.”
“It’s just this place. I didn’t do anything.”
“Mira. I have to sort through photos from my colleagues all the time and this is better than anything we’ve ever done.”
I try not to let his words go to my head.
“Thank you, by the way. For the camera. I know it must have cost a fortune and I’m going to pay you back. My insurance should cover the old one and then—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he says, cutting me off.
“Hudson, I can’t accept thirty thousand dollars’ worth of camera equipment.”
“It’s a write-off.”
I stare at him incredulously. “I do taxes too you know, and I can’t let you start off your CEO career with embezzlement.”
“Trust me. No one will bat an eye about it, especially if you take a few photos we can use for socials.”
“A few photos is not worth that much.”
“We pay a thousand dollars an image for licensing rights. So, by my count you just need to take thirty photos.”
“That’s outrageous. I could never charge that.”
Asking clients to spend five to seven grand on their wedding already felt exorbitant, but paying that much for a single image, I couldn’t imagine it.
“You’re worth that,” he replies, his words ripe with affection, “if not more.”
The heat of the day is nothing compared to the way his eyes burn against me as I melt beneath his gaze. Sliding off my socks and shoes, I slip my feet into the chilly water to cool off.
“We’re actually looking for an in-house photographer,” he says, following suit, “someone to make our content more cohesive. We’ve hired a few different contractors over the years, but the quality is so inconsistent. I’d really love to have someone full-time, that I trust.”
“Why does this sound like a pitch?” I ask, wondering if this is an actual invitation or him just talking aloud.
“Do you want it to be?” he asks, with genuine interest.
I consider the offer. The idea of traveling the world. Of working together, of capturing images of beautiful places.
“As much as I’d love to have you on my team, I’d never want to take you away from weddings.”
“What if I want to get away from weddings,” I reply, saying the words I’ve yet to speak aloud.
Hudson raises an eyebrow. “Do you?”
