Page 15 of Stolen

Shit.

We were out of time. I needed to tell Tommy what was going on with the photoshoot, which felt like I was sealing my fate in the very worst way.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Jacob replied with a nod. “A change of scenery. Do you think it could work? Getting photos of the guys in here?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely. This place has fantastic lighting.” Tommy whistled. “As long as the boss-man thinks it’s good to go?”

“Yeah. Actually… That sounds great.” I let out a sigh of relief. “Kind of getting the guys in their natural element.”

“Sounds fun.” Tommy gave us two thumbs up. “I’ll go let the other photographers know what the new plan is. You might want to let the guys know, too, so they don’t tire themselves out before the real work begins.”

Jacob turned to me. “I’ll go let the guys know. You can get some ideas for the shots together? Before we’re ready to go?”

“You’ll let the guys know?” I raised an eyebrow. “You’re not trying to commandeer my set, are you?”

“I’m just making sure my plan goes off without a hitch.”

“So, filming in the gym was your actual plan, then?” I rested my hands on my hips. “Why didn’t you just tell me that earlier, Jacob?”

“Because that was only part of my plan. The other part was getting you to loosen up, and exercise tends to help with that.” Jacob smirked. “I could tell you were letting the stress get to you.”

I playfully rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Go round up the guys. I need to think about how we’re going to translate the shots from outside to inside.”

I’d been pacingback and forth in my bedroom, trying to visualize a new campaign. Thankfully, Tommy had texted me that the guys had requested about an hour to get ready, as they cleaned up just enough to look effortless in their photos.

By the time I returned to the gym, it was late morning, and the guys were ready to go. Jacob was leaning against a wall, his eyes scanning over the athletes.

But it wasn’t like he was checking them out. It was more like he was their coach, preparing to call all the shots during their game.

Interesting.

I looked over at Tommy and the rest of the photographers, fiddling around with their cameras and lighting umbrellas, working some kind of magic that I would never understand. I walked up to them and asked, “Is everything good to go?”

“Yep. Just start calling the shots, Mr. Director.”

“Great.” I pointed at Chris and Andrew before I motioned toward the weight bench. “Can I get my football star and myfootballstarover there?”

They high fived and walked toward the weight bench, standing next to each other.

“I was thinking maybe you two go back-to-back? Like a cheesy 90’s poster?” I started. “It can be one of our fun moments from the shoot?—”

“If I may?” Jacob raised his hand like he was in class.

“You may?” I was puzzled by him jumping in, not expecting him to have any opinion about the photoshoot.

“I think you should play up the US vs. UK rivalry angle? You know, maybe have a photo of them looking like they want to kill each other, and then, you have the one where they go back-to-back to ease the tension. Kind of like, see, look, these two are actually good friends.”

“That’s a pretty good idea,” Tommy murmured. “What do you think, boss?”

“I think we should go for it. Thanks, Jacob.”

There was a slight smile on Jacob’s face as he watched the guys move into position. Within seconds, Chris and Andrew looked like they wanted to go for blood. As the camera flashed, they changed poses, going from Chris pretending to kick Andrew in the stomach, to Andrew grabbing Chris around the neck for a headlock, and then to Andrew and Chris both screaming in each other’s faces.

It was perfect.

I caught myself looking over at Jacob every so often, my eyes drifting to him even when I tried to focus on the photoshoot. Each time they did, it was like he was expecting it, that same slight smile plastered across his features.

Ugh.

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