Page 66 of Perfect (mis)Match

“Why?” Piper asked. “She’s a legacy model with Summit, and she has brand loyalty. It’s the obvious choice.”

Obvious? Maybe. But that didn’t take into account that Maya was a walking disaster zone, a train wreck wrapped in designer silk. She was also the last person I needed in my life again. “She comes with baggage,” I reminded Piper, giving her a look I hoped would make her get the hint and stand down.

“What’s worse, a little baggage on a shoot that’s already been scheduled to the hilt, including all our staff, make-up artists, and the male model, or scrapping the whole thing and starting from scratch, which could potentially delay the launch?”

A ripple rolled through the crowd at her obvious common sense, which just fueled my annoyance. Of course she was right. Piper was always right. But it didn’t make the suggestion any easier to swallow. Not when the name “Maya” brought back a legion of aggravating memories.

And yet here Piper was, completely willing to rise above the petty exchange they’d had the night we met my dad for dinner. She was such a class act—a true professional. All she wanted was for the campaign to succeed.

Fuck, I could take a lesson from her.

I glanced at our booker Stephanie. “Do you think you could make it happen?”

“Definitely,” Stephanie replied. “I still have her agent on speed dial, I’ll get to work securing her.”

“Please do.”

Piper gave me a commiserating smile, and I tried to focus on that and not the gnawing distress in my gut at the thought of the two of them in the same room again.

Miraculously, everything came together, and a week later, we were ready to go. Yeah, we had to basically kneel before Mayaand beg her to do it, but she came around after we’d tossed her enough dollar signs and perks.

The chaos in our studio was actually normal on a shoot day. The music was pumping, and dozens of people were running around the space taking care of last-minute prep. Rodrigo, the male model we’d hired to pose with Maya, was already shirtless and oiled up.

Piper was locked in work mode, bouncing between the set, the lighting controls, and the computer where the images would be viewable as she shot. As usual, I kept to the back of the room so I wouldn’t be a distraction as everything got underway.

Before long, showtime.

Maya emerged from the make-up corner and sashayed across the studio to where Rodrigo was already waiting on set. I turned to watch Piper’s face as Maya got closer and was relieved to discover that she was damn good at faking a total lack of reaction. No one else would have a clue Maya had been a raging bitch to Piper just a few weeks ago.

Wardrobe for the shoot was minimal since both Maya and Rodrigo were supposed to look nude in photo. Maya was wearing black leggings and a tiny peach bandeau that barely covered her breasts, but all I wanted to stare at was Piper in her jeans and button-down.

She clapped her hands to get everyone to focus on her. “Hey team, we need to get going now. Everyone off the set but Maya and Rodrigo, please.”

I loved how the woman could take charge.

The crew scurried to their places, and the models got into position, with Rodrigo standing on a crate so he’d be a few inches taller than Maya, and her looking up at him in profile.

“Ready to go?” Piper asked them warmly.

“Always,” Maya replied, locked onto Rodrigo like she wanted to eat him alive.

They shot for a solid hour, and I was relieved that the trio worked beautifully together. I could see exactly how Piper’s vision was going to come to life once the raw image was edited.

“Let’s take a hard ten,” Piper finally said. “We can all use a break.”

It was the perfect time for me to disappear, but before I could make it down the hall to the elevator, I heard Maya calling my name.

Damn it.

I turned around slowly to find Maya slipping a silk robe over her shoulders as she headed toward me. Instead of tying it, she left it wide open, deliberately displaying her nearly naked breasts.

“Vincent,” she pouted. “You’re not staying to watch? Are you jealous of Rodrigo?”

Oh, yes, deeply threatened.I sighed. “Maya, I’mthrilledyou have chemistry with him. It’ll be great for the ad.”

“I knew you’d find a way to get me back here at Summit,” she purred. “You need me!”

I bit my tongue to keep from saying something that would piss her off, like how right now, the only thing I really needed was for my life to be Maya-free again. “Summit is very happy to have youback for thisstand-alonecampaign.” I stressed the word so she wouldn’t get any ideas.

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