“I take full responsibility,” I tried.
“Let me run my business, and I promise to stay out of yours. Even if your dad expects me to give him weekly updates.”
That put the fear of God into me. My security team wore bodycams everywhere they traveled. If anyone had dirt on me, it was them. I knew Fritz kept all that backed up, and he’d assured me no one had access to those records. I would have my dad check into how secure they really were.
What relieved some of my worry about my dad getting reports was that he tended to keep stuff close to the vest. My mom would have lowered the boom on me as soon as she found anything out. And like any teenager, I’d done stuff that would have drawn her ire. I suspected Fritz shared more than I wanted, but I trusted my dad would only step in if I did something truly heinous. For example, like having Fritz help me dispose of a dead hooker in the trunk of my car.
Adrienne found me and told me they were ready.
◊◊◊
Mrs. Lacier decided to spend the afternoon shopping, which helped Jill relax. It wasn’t like we were about to film porn, but Jade’s print ads seemed to mirror Abercrombie in that they were racier than the typical clothing ad. They put me into khaki-colored cargo shorts and a light-blue long-sleeved oxford-style dress shirt that they had me roll up to expose the lower half of my forearm. Jill was outfitted in a cream-colored cropped V-neck cardigan paired with a faux-suede hunter-green miniskirt.
Jackie had been my photographer when I’d done work for both Abercrombie & Fitch and their sister brand, Hollister. I expected that was part of the reason Michael Reese had hired her for this shoot. She had a handle on what he wanted.
After a rather quiet start, things heated up when my shirt started to get undone.
“Jill, unbutton his top two buttons and put your hand on his bare chest,” Jackie directed.
Jill did as she was told.
“David, give me that smoldering look that says you plan to have your way with her,” Jackie encouraged.
I did, which caused a giggle to escape Jill’s lips.
“Focus,” Adrienne barked.
Jill tried to keep from laughing at me but couldn’t help herself. I’d seen other new models get nervous and laugh during a shoot. If you stepped back and looked at what we were doing, it was funny. I was pretending to be in lust with Jill, who knew I didn’t mean it.
Without thinking, I goosed her. Jill’s eyes got big, and she slugged me. I waggled my eyebrows, and Jill figured out what I was up to. She leaned forward and kissed my nose. I heard the camera firing off shots.
Jill had needed the distraction to get back on track. When you were modeling like this, it was easy to zone out. Pinching her had brought her focus back. It was like Duke when he fixated on a squirrel. Sometimes I had to tap him on his butt to get him to mind.
From there, I slowly had more buttons undone until my shirt was fully open and pulled out of my waistband so my chest and stomach were exposed.
Jill enjoyed teasing me as she ran her hands over my exposed skin. At one point, Jackie had her push my shirt off one shoulder, and then Jill stepped behind me so only her forearms and hands were shown reaching around me. The best shot was of me doing my best sexy look with one of Jill’s hands, with her fingers spread wide, on my stomach. She had her other hand stuffed into my front pocket.
By the time we were almost done, Jill had nailed the cute, flirty girl look.
“We should do a few with her in only my shirt and me with my shorts unbuttoned,” I suggested.
“Is that pushing it too far?” Jackie asked Michael.
“Let’s try it and see.”
I smirked when Jill gave me the stink eye and snatched my shirt up off the floor. I would bet a large amount she’d be telling my brother what I’d suggested, but I didn’t care. It was all for the art, after all. At least, that was my story, if asked.
Adrienne had gone to the dressing room with Jill. When Jill came back out, she had a robe on and a little gleam in her eyes that worried me. I undid my shorts and let the front gap open just enough to show ‘Jade’ on the underwear band.
I took my spot, and Jill walked up to me and looked me in the eye as her robe dropped. All thoughts of my brother left my head. There was nothing sexier than a woman wearing your dress shirt the morning after. Jill had it unbuttoned to right above her navel. From my viewpoint, I could see down her shirt, and I caught the hint of her areolas.
Jackie had the makeup lady mess up our hair a little, and the effect was a winner. Michael loved what he was seeing. I had no doubt that one of those pictures would end up in magazines soon.
“That’s a wrap,” Jackie announced.
“That was harder than I thought it would be. How do you stay focused for so long?” Jill asked.
“You’ll get better. Just remember it’s a job, no matter how much fun they make it sound. You have to deliver on each photo, or you’re wasting their time. If you get a reputation for not being serious, you won’t last long.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that. But now, I’m ready to go,” Jill said.
“You’re not done. You still have to talk to Tyler about the proofs. She and Jackie should have the questionable pictures picked out for you to either approve or ask they be deleted,” I enlightened Jill and then explained why. “You’ll want them to delete the ones with your eyes closed, too much skin exposed, or where you look goofy. You don’t want those popping up down the road.”
“What if they want one of the ones I don’t like?” Jill asked.
“Find out what they want it for and then talk to Tyler to get her advice. If you still don’t like it, tell them you won’t sign the release.”
“But I’m not old enough to sign anything,” Jill said, showing she’d listened to Tyler already.
“Tyler will sign for you until you’re old enough, but she will only sign if it’s in your best interest. She won’t go behind your back and agree to anything you don’t want to happen,” I assured her.
“So, I’m in control?”
“To a point. You can’t tell them what pictures to use or not unless there’s a good reason. You’ll see there’s only a handful that need to be deleted. Jackie has a good eye.”
We walked over to where Michael, Adrienne, Tyler, and Jackie stood, checking the proofs. They were professionals and quickly weeded out the bad shots. Jackie deleted them without any hesitation. Jill seemed a little overwhelmed by it all. Seeing yourself on a big, high-definition screen could be daunting.
Tyler signed the release for Jill, and I signed mine, so Michael could use the pictures in his marketing campaign.
“You cost me money every time I photograph you,” Jackie complained.
Tyler and Adrienne wore neutral expressions, but Jill looked confused.
“I retain resale rights on all my photos that Jade doesn’t use. I sell them to websites that resell photos for book covers, web design, and the like. And I also sell my pictures to interior designers,” I explained.
“I have other outlets you’re missing out on,” Jackie said.
“I’m not against making more money. Call my office on Monday and pitch the idea to Scarlet. If it’s profitable enough, I have all my photos since I started modeling that you can sell,” I offered.
“Wait. The photographer makes more money on the photos than just with Jade?” Jill asked.
“I actually make more money over time,” Jackie shared. “Since these are on a blue screen, I can put in different backgrounds and target different buyers.”
I’d assumed people would prefer the blue-screen prints, what with all the photo-editing software out there. But what Jackie said made a lot of sense. My mom explained that, when selling real estate, you had to stage the house towards who your buyers might be. People had to be able to envision themselves living there; they couldn’t see past clutter or major repairs, as two examples. It would only make sense that photo buyers were the same.