“Where, when?”
“Hill Advertising and I need you to be here as soon as you can. Don’t worry about hair and makeup, they’ll do that here. I need you to bring some sexy bedroom wear that’ll pass the censors; gym wear; the dress you had on last night; and something casual.”
I gave her the address and went back to the group. Clare and Kendal got their heads together and came up with the rest of the plan. Once they explained it to me, I was on board.
“Okay, we have a model that’ll be here in an hour. We’ll pick up the $4,000 to do the extra work. Kendal, get a contract for both the shoot and management for Missy Stone. David is suggesting that you pay her $10,000 for today out of his pocket and $25 each time the ad runs. Mr. Hill, can you cut the checks for Missy so she can get paid today?” Clare asked.
“No problem. By the end of the day, I’ll owe David more than that. I’ll just take it out of that, if that’s okay?”
“Sounds good,” I answered.
“We want the $10,000 and $100 if they run the original ad. If they run the new one, we want $150 each time. Mr. Hill, can we work up a third scene while we finish up with Kasey? Janet might have an idea. I really think she’s your target market,” Clare said.
Kendal was on the phone with Tom all afternoon, working up contracts. Missy was their newest talent, and Tom about shit when her photo was sent in. I was keeping Clare away from her for now. I didn’t need Ford grabbing her if this wasn’t what she wanted to do. Clare was no fool, though. She recognized the potential Missy had.
I went back to finish the shoot with Kasey. It turned out well. Towards the end, Missy showed up. Kasey wasn’t happy when she saw her competition because Missy blew her out of the water.
The director was about to have kittens when he got us both on the soundstage. We did the office scene and the gym. The new scene was done with a blue screen so they could digitize in the background. I just put on the jeans and t-shirt I’d worn in. Missy had on a pair of jeans that I swear were sprayed on, and a top that would stop traffic, it was so tight.
“Missy, that outfit is evil bad. It makes me want to do naughty things with you,” I stage-whispered.
She giggled and got a little more wiggle in her walk. The director got the whole scene on tape, with us flirting with each other outrageously. When I saw the playback, my first thought was, ‘Oh crap; if Tracy sees this, I’m screwed.’
The bedroom scene was almost too steamy for TV. Missy knew how to kiss and had a body that was out of this world. Put the two together and I was as hard as the day was long; I had to take a break to beat Mr. Happy into submission. We ended up having to live with me being half hard.
The best shot came when we ad-libbed. I wasn’t paying attention, and Missy snuck up behind me and pinched my butt. I ended up with the back of my underwear coming down some and showing a hint of the rise of my butt. They assured me the censors would be fine with it. I jumped and chased her around the bed. Seeing Missy run in boy shorts and a camisole was something I would recommend highly. Every guy in the room noticed. She let me catch her and then she reminded me she was a woman as we kissed.
“Today was so much fun. If this is what being a model is all about, then sign me up,” Missy boasted.
I just shook my head.
“Hang with me for the next few hours and see what it’s really like. If you’re still interested, I’ll help you get started,” I offered.
“Really, you’d let me stay and see your photo shoot?”
“Sure thing, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I gave her a smirk.
THEY WERE WAITING FOR me in the small studio. I had to shower and redo all my makeup. The first shoot was swimwear.
“If you’re offended by nudity, then clear the set. I’m going to change right here so we can power through these shots,” I announced as I came out in the first suit.
For some reason, that announcement seemed to bring in more people. Every time I changed suits I would turn my back on the crowd that was growing, and the wardrobe person would hand me a new suit I was to change into. Oddly enough, there seemed to be a new wardrobe person for each suit. Missy, Clare and Kendal all took turns. I drew the line when Janet showed up. I thought Mr. Hill was going to have a fit, but I waited until she went back to the crowd before I made the change.
The next shoot was for winter coats. Go figure. When I started, the crowd seemed to disappear. It was almost midnight when I finished. I was starved. Mr. Hill came out and actually hugged me.
“David, Red loves the raw footage of both ads. If they use both, they said they’d pay you a bonus and all the production costs you sank into it. I also want to thank you for being a trouper and working almost 16 hours today. If child services ever found out, we’d be in some deep shit,” he chuckled.
“I’m so hungry that I’m about to pass out,” I complained.
“Oh damn, did I not get the right food again?” Mr. Hill worried.
“No, I just never got a break.”
“Why don’t you and Kendal come back to my house tonight? My wife made meatloaf with all the fixings. We can heat that up and you guys can stay in the guest rooms.”
“You mind if I invite Missy over?” I asked.
“As long as you’re not sleeping together it would be fine. We do have a den with a pullout couch,” Mr. Hill offered.
I waved Missy over.
“You want to spend the night at Mr. Hill’s and then watch tomorrow’s shoot?”
“I better go home. Mom and I are going Christmas shopping tomorrow. And now that I have cash in my pocket, I can afford better gifts,” Missy beamed.
I gave her a hug and thanked her for the help.
MRS. HILL’S MEATLOAF left something to be desired, but I was so hungry I didn’t put up a fuss.
Kendal showed me the stills of Missy and me. I asked Mrs. Hill to look at them, and she felt like she could sell some of them. Since I had paid the production cost for that portion of the shoot, I owned the rights. Kendal and I figured we could more than recoup the costs with letting Mrs. Hill sell them. It would also make Missy more money. I pointed to one and had Kendal blow it up. It showed Missy leaning back on the headboard, looking into the camera and smiling. I was lying on the bed with my head resting on her thigh, looking up at her with a lazy smile on my face. Her fingers were running through my hair.
“Mrs. Hill, can you frame and mat this and have it sent to Missy as a Christmas gift from me?” I asked.
“Would 24 by 30 work? I can also get a brass placard with both your names and the date of when the picture was taken,” Mrs. Hill offered.
“Whatever it takes, I just want it to be something she’ll be happy with. Could you make me one also? Just deduct the cost from our profits.”
She smiled.
“No, that’ll be my gift to you for helping out today. Speaking of profits, I need to get you a check for the past two weeks. We had a run on some of your photos. It seems Mrs. Wesleyan is using them in her decorating business. I’m sending her some groupings and individual photos that she can hang in her office. Can I cut her a discount on quantities over five?”
I looked at Kendal and she made no comment, so I told her yes. I didn’t get to sleep until almost two in the morning, but I slept hard to make up for it.
Chapter 26 – Country Girl
Saturday December 21
THE WORK AT THE STUDIO was a grind. It was four p.m. before I was done. The only modeling gig I had left was the one with Kara, then I was off for five weeks. I was looking forward to the free time because it seemed I had been going nonstop since the beginning of the semester.
Kendal gave me an accounting of where I stood financially. I had nearly $80,000 in my business account and $5,000 in my personal account. I saw that my mom’s chemo treatments weren’t cheap. I estimated that I would be able to cover the expense until I’d be doing more work. I also saw that giving my girlfriend my debit card was a mistake. She’d burnt through nearly three grand on Friday. The good news was that she only had five left to spend.