to touch her overtook me, and I ended up dragging the tips of my fingers along the side of her thigh underneath the table. She shot me a wide-eyed look that quickly turned into a secretive smile, letting me know that everything really was fine after last night. Then she carried on with her conversation.
This woman was doing all sorts of things to me, and I had no idea what to do about it. All I knew was that I wanted more, and I couldn’t fucking wait to get her alone again.
Chapter 19
LEAH
Brunch had been great. The investors had been super nice, and just like Dane had promised, it hadn’t ended up feeling like a business meeting at all.
The only thing I’d really had to do was talk to them, and talking happened to be something I did well. Especially when the people I was talking to were interesting, belonged to a culture I loved, and didn’t mind being asked a gazillion questions.
We’d stayed a little longer than planned, getting to the photo shoot just within the nick of time. As soon as we’d arrived in the gardens where the shoot was taking place, I’d been whisked off by hair, makeup, and wardrobe people, and the day had pretty much gone downhill from there.
First, I hadn’t understood a word of what they’d been saying. Not because they were speaking French, but because they were asking me all these questions that I didn’t have any answers to about my regular products and stuff.
Second, they’d started explaining the concept of the shoot to me, but that hadn’t made much sense to me either. I had no idea how to be “whimsical, but approachable,” or how to look “happy and content, but aloof.”
They also explained what they were aiming for with my look, but even that went over my head. Last but not least, without Dane around to help me navigate this very new part of my job, I had no idea what was expected from me while they fussed around me.
Eventually, I just tuned them all out and sat still while they transformed me into a different person. Focusing on my surroundings instead, I instantly felt myself relaxing when I looked around.
The gardens we were in were absolutely stunning. Hair, makeup, and wardrobe was in a section cordoned off by privacy shields, but since this entire side of the estate seemed to have been cleared out for the shoot, I could still see out between the screens that had been put up.
Landscaped hedges, bright green grass, and multi-colored flowers covered the ground as far as I could see. There were fountains, statues, and antique-looking wrought-iron lights that I imagined would illuminate some of the features in the garden at night.
Before my senses had been overwhelmed by the Glamour Squad, which was what I’d nicknamed the team working on me in my head, I’d caught the sweet scent of flowers and freshly mowed grass in the air. All I could smell right now was makeup and hairspray, but I hoped I’d get more of the natural scent during the shoot.
The Glamour Squad dressed me in a white thing. It was loose and flowy, but it was almost sheer. They’d put me in a fitted, short, olive green dress underneath the white wing-like cape/jacket they’d given me that hung all the way to the floor, and then had produced heels much higher than anything I’d ever seen.
My hair was still loose, but it now had supposedly “whimsical” braids in places, and a ton of glitter spray made it shimmer in the sun. It also suddenly had wavy curls in it. While it wasn’t a look I’d ever be able to replicate, I liked it. They stuck a handheld mirror in front of my face, taking all of five seconds to show me what they’d done.
It seemed my approach of simply tuning them out had been the correct one, because they’d carried on buzzing around me but had seemed content not to have to tell me anything further. In the same few seconds during which they showed me my hair, I also saw that my makeup had been applied with a heavy hand.
My eyes had been done up in greens and golds, bringing out the natural emerald hue and making it pop more than it ever had. My skin looked like porcelain and shimmered like the sun hitting a belt filled with precious stones, and my lips appeared to have doubled in size.