Page 48 of Perfect (mis)Match

“Amazing, actually. We’re just about done with the product shots, then on to the social media stuff. Piper is super efficient.”

The rest of my staff sensed that the air in the room had shifted and turned to me.

“Hiya, bossman!” Piper called out as she waved at me.

I chuckled. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

“No, come here, I want you to see what we’ve done so far!”

I noticed she said “we,” not “I.” I joined Piper at the oversized desktop to examine the images.

She scrolled through them, looking at her work with a critical eye. “Not too much editing required. We nailed the lighting setup.”

The images were gorgeous. The three bottles were nestled together on a white backdrop in various formations, then shot alone. I tried to focus on the photos and not the fact that I was standing close enough to pick up Piper’s fragrance. Thankfully, she’d moved on from her cheap old perfume and had started wearing one of our legacy scents calledCoral, which was a sunshine mix of coconut, orange blossom, and jasmine. I’d always liked the fragrance, but I appreciated it far more these days.

It reminded me of our time in Hawaii.

“You don’t like them?” Piper asked.

I’d been focusing more on her than her work.

“Of course I do, they’re perfect.”

She beamed at me. “Yay! Now on to the fun stuff. I just need to refine my vision for our social media accounts. I don’t like planning it—I like capturing moments.”

I glanced at the lotions set up on the backdrop and realized we’d done a great job showing the product but not theresult. I looked over at Piper, and inspiration struck.

“Hey, team,” I said as I glanced around the room. “You can wrap up in here, Piper and I need to discuss some strategy.”

A few people glanced at each other, a little uncertain since it was an unorthodox request, but they weren’t going to argue with the boss. Soon, they gathered their things and left, leaving me alone with Piper.

“Are you firing me or something?” she squinted at me. “This is weird.”

“No, it’s brilliant. Now give me one of your cameras.” I held out my hand.

“Excuseme?” Piper took an exaggerated step away and hugged the camera hanging on her chest.

“Trust me,” I sighed. “I promise not to break it. Just show me how to work it. I’m not a total novice, I took a photography class in college, I just want to do it right.”

“But this camera is special,” she said. “It was my first. It’s like an extension of my hand. I’ve been using it since I started, back in high school.”

“Then I promise to be extra gentle,” I said.

“What are you shooting?” she asked, still skeptical.

“Our social media stuff, now give it.”

She was acting like I’d asked her to hand over her firstborn child, but she finally selected one of the three cameras hanging fromher strap, unfastened it, then handed it to me. She walked me through the basics, dubious the entire time.

“Okay, now take your strap off,” I ordered. I was excited to get started.

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to photograph you, obviously.”

“Vincent, no!” Piper looked positively horrified. “I look like garbage! What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that we’ve done a great job showing how amazing our glowtion looks in the bottle, but not on skin. So, I’m nominating you to do it.”

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