Kat then took it from me, dipped it back into the lake, and gently grasped it just above the tail. She moved it back and forth in the water until it seemed to suddenly come alive and swim off. I held up my line. It was frayed and the hook was bent. I was lucky to have gotten the fish to the boat before it got away.
Devin was excited about fishing now and got out a rod for himself. We’d found a good spot for perch and we each caught at least six fish in the next thirty minutes. Finally, Colin said he had enough shots and we were done with this part of the day.
WHEN WE GOT BACK TO shore, Devin had hit the wall. He begged off from the next shoot and went to the hotel to get some sleep. Colin, Kat and I went back to Great Langdale. There were now tents set up on the edge of a large hill, and they’d set up a campsite in the middle of a small bluff. Kendal and Clare showed up shortly after we got there. Colin got everybody together to explain the concept.
Kat and I would get an item and they would photograph it for the website and catalog. Then we would set it up so Colin could take a picture of the whole site. They were going to do a little graphic that showed the campsite coming together as each piece was added.
They had us demonstrate each product with the help of one of the Range Sports camping experts. He took the time to explain each feature, and then we would go with Colin and do the shoot. While Kat was being photographed, I was learning the next product, so I didn’t see what she was doing.
Apparently, it wasn’t going great, because Kat came back red-faced, with Clare right behind her. Colin called for me, so I took the lantern I was supposed to demonstrate. I went through each step of the assembly and was done. Colin called a halt and pulled Clare and Kendal together to talk to them. I went to find Kat.
A car arrived and Lana got out. Something inside of me tightened up. I found Kat in our dressing tent with a sad look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
“He doesn’t like my modeling. Colin says I am stiff and unnatural.”
I grabbed a hairbrush and handed it to her.
“Show me.”
“No, that stupid.”
“Listen, it doesn’t matter what you’re displaying. Now show me.”
She put on a smile and displayed the brush. She looked like she was forcing it. Her smile looked fake; her hand movements looked like she was the Queen of England waving at the crowd. I turned her towards the mirror so she could see herself. Even she could see it looked bad.
I tickled her and she about came out of her chair. She gave me an evil look.
“I get even.”
I pointed at the mirror.
“Now smile at me.”
She did and she looked much better. I then showed her some tricks Adrienne had taught me and a few I’d learned on my own. Displaying a product isn’t as easy as it sounds. What happens is you get nervous and overanalyze each movement. Something else she had going against her was that all day I’d been with her. Now she was alone and was the main focus.
We went back and the product expert handed her a lawn chair. When he was done demonstrating, she went out. She came right back.
“They want to talk to you,” she told me.
Lana had her arms crossed over her chest. I knew that we had a problem because Clare was pissed and Colin looked uncomfortable. Kendal looked like she didn’t have a dog in this fight, so I relaxed some.
“Kat isn’t working out,” Lana told me. “Since Devin isn’t here, I’m making an executive decision, and you will do the rest of the shoot.”
There it was. The fiancée was now making corporate decisions. The second problem was that if Kat got fired at a major client’s shoot, she could be done with Ford. I gave Lana my biggest smile. Clare was about to explode, so I glanced at Kendal, who went and whispered into Clare’s ear. Clare listened for a moment, then relaxed.
“Lana, I’m so glad you’re here and taking charge,” I said as I held out my hands.
She loved to touch, so she took my hands. I pulled her closer without making contact. I was using the closeness to get into her personal space to put her a little off-balance.
“Can you do me a favor?” I asked quietly so everyone had to strain to hear me.
“Yes, anything,” she told me.
“Kat told me what she was having trouble with. I worked with her and I think she can do much better. Why don’t we bring her out and see if she can do the job she was hired to do?”
“Yes, I should see her work before I fire her. Thanks for not letting me make a rash decision.”
Clare went and got Kat as Lana latched onto my arm. I smiled at Kat to give her confidence and she got into position. Colin began the shoot and he seemed pleased. I excused myself so I could go get ready. Kat, Clare and Kendal all followed me to the back.
“Get her out of here. Next, she’ll want me without a shirt,” I whispered.
The three of them thought that was funny. Clare called Sandy while I went out and did my part. When Sandy showed up, Lana was still acting like the queen bee, but she wasn’t making any more ‘executive decisions.’
Once the campsite was set up, Colin wanted some action shots. Kat and I acted like we were a couple and did what Colin told us to. I was onboard with making s’mores. Kat kept setting her marshmallows on fire, so I had to make them for her.
When we were almost done, Lana suggested I take my shirt off. I thought Kat, Clare and Kendal were going to pee themselves. I did it anyway to keep the peace. When we were finally done, I was ready to sleep right at the campsite. Kat told me that my mom and I were going to dinner at her home tonight. I wanted to complain, but knew this was important to her.
IF I HAD KNOWN THAT Kat lived an hour and a half away, I would have said ‘no.’ Since we had a driver, I just kicked back and fell asleep while my mom and Kat got to know each other. Normally that would be a bad idea, but I had no choice since I was working on about three hours of sleep. When I woke up, we had stopped at Kat’s house. The power nap did me wonders.
Kat lived in a small village by the sea. Her house was an old stone-built home that looked out over the bay, with small rooms and short doors. When we came in, we met her mother, who spoke very little English. I was getting nervous that this would be a little awkward. She introduced me to her father.
“Papa, this is David. He was working with me today. He is great guy. He taught me to be better model. This is his mama, Mrs. Dawson.”
“David, Mrs. Dawson. Welcome to our home. Kat has been excited about this job for months. She said she got to work with the face of Range Sports. I guess that is a big deal,” her dad said without a hint of an accent.
“We try not to make a big deal out of David or he gets a little bit of an ego,” my mom told Mr. Ivashov.
“Wise decision, we men tend to have that happen when we get bragged about. So, David, is modeling a full-time job for you?” Mr. Ivashov asked me.
“No, sir, I just do this part-time. I mainly go to school and play sports. I play football and baseball.”
“How did Kat do today?” he asked me.
“I thought she did great. She’s easy to work with and takes direction well. That’s very important in this business. What I was impressed with was how she handled her mistakes. She figured it out and didn’t make them again. If she keeps working at it, she’ll go far.”
Kat was embarrassed, but her dad was puffed up. He told her mom and she hugged Kat and kissed her cheek. You could tell that they were worried that this was something she was just playing at. On looks alone, Kat could make it. If you added her determination, then she could be a top model.
Kat’s mom made fish and chips. The fish had been caught today and was delicious, and I made a pig of myself. Kat told me after dinner that it was a big compliment to her mom. My mom and Mr. and Mrs. Ivashov became fast friends. Turns out Mrs. Ivashov knew more English than she let on, she just didn’t speak it well. Kat and I excused ourselves to go talk in their library.