Page 2 of Burn

The next ninety minutes passed swiftly. I finished my coffee, then took a moment to clean my teeth before switching to water and they resumed working on my hair. Ringlet curls were the style for the morning, it would be easier to start higher and tighter, then loosen it up as the day went on.

Eleanor arrived just as Nancy unzipped my first outfit. I was dressed in a lace thong and nothing else when the chilly air flooded in with Eleanor’s arrival. Dressed and made up withnear flawless precision, Eleanor exuded all the style and class of Anna Wintour and the warmth of an ice queen.

As she often said, Eleanor was here to make money, and negotiate business deals. It was better for people to fear her and even better if she left them unsettled. I liked her. Ballsy bitch terrified me when she’d taken me on as one of her “girls.” Then I’d seen her take down a man, twice our weight and standing nearly a half-foot taller, using an umbrella and wasp spray.

Her absolute irritation at having broken a nail may have contributed to her making sure he was unconscious after he was down. Eleanor would back you all the way to the wall and come out swinging on your behalf. By the same token, she would also tell you if you were full of shit.

Frankly, beyond my sister Amorette, Eleanor was one of my favorite people. We disagreed. Hell, we even fought, Eleanor and me, but she had my back and not once did I doubt it.

“You look too skinny,” Eleanor said as she stepped inside. “And you need to make an appointment for a spray tan. Nancy, take care of that.” She set aside her massive purse and untied the scarf from around her neck. “Also, who signed off on this? You look like one of those cartoon creations where they hyper sexualize all the doll-like features.”

I lifted a shoulder. “I think the ladies did a lovely job, Eleanor and you know they always want me overdone so they can airbrush it down.”

With an indelicate sniff, Eleanor gave me a once over. The coolness in her eyes warmed a few degrees. I could practically see the question burning in them. Was I really fine with this?

“Hopefully, I’ll be a little more warmly dressed, at least until we get to the water shots.” The northern coast this time of year was definitely not pleasant and one of the shot series involved me on rocks and the waves splashing in.

I was going to be frozen to the bone.

“Never say I don’t take you to exciting places.” Eleanor’s droll tone shifted as she removed the schedule from the mirror.

“I would never make that mistake.”

The corners of Eleanor’s lips twitched at the comment and the rest of the room remembered to breathe again. The first outfit was a simple white shift. The butter soft cotton would not obscure much of my figure and my nipples were definitely going to be on display.

This, however, was the look Lloyd wanted, so this was the look he’d get. At least I had slippers to wear to the actual site, because I’d be barefoot after that. The sunrise was a ribbon of orange in the distance, a promise of pink and red at the very edge of the horizon as Eleanor, Nancy, and I made our way down toward the rockier shoreline, where the dark water rolled in and the air held a briny freshness, even with the breeze nipping at my nose.

Lloyd was already there, along with Jock and his people. They were scouting the area for the best angles and spots. There were rock markers set up in a few locations. It was all designed to get me where they wanted mebeforethe sun came up. Exterior, environmental shoots were among the most difficult.

Limited time made for shorter tempers and brusque comments.

“I had a call from Maurizio,” Eleanor said as she lit a cigarette. The crisp burn to the tobacco scene was as familiar as her perfume. “He’s increased the offer to one million, but he needs you there all week.”

“I already said no,” I told her, arms folded. I had a robe on over the shift as a concession to the temperatures. My legs were bare though and at this rate, the laser appt was going to have been for nothing because I’d be sprouting new leg hairs in the cold.

“That was to a quarter of a million,” Eleanor reminded me like I’d forgotten. “This is for a whole million and I promise, it’s not about sex.”

“It’s always about sex,” I said, unimpressed.

“Five minutes, sweet one,” Lloyd called.

I lifted my chin toward him, a thank you as much as anything.

“Not this time,” Eleanor said. “In addition to the standard NDA, I had them add a clause that if he or any of his people propositioned or made any sexual advances on you, the contract would be null and void.”

I slid a look toward her. “Seriously?”

“He wants you there because he wants one of the most beautiful women in the world onhisyacht for the whole week. Your presence will bring more A-listers out to join him, not to mention improve his stock with the ladies. After all, just because you aren’t fucking him doesn’t mean others won’t think you are.”

Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head. “I don’t care what he offers. I have plans and I’m not changing them. We had this fight last week when you bookedthisshoot,thisweek.”

“Your sister is just a few hours away and I’m sure she’d understand…”

I raised my hand. “I don’t care if Amorette understands. It’s not about understanding. She and I haven’t had time together in over a year. We have plans and a place on the Outer Banks, that’s where I’m going. No yachts. No paparazzi. And no billionaires with delusions of grandeur. Just, Am, me, and some wine with greasy food and terrible choices in bad movies.”

Eleanor sighed.

“I know you like money, but not everything is about money.” Even if most things were. Five years ago, I would have leapt at the offer and made my apologies to my sister. We’d both done that, in the pursuit of our careers and our dreams. She neverfailed to support me, even when she didn’t get it, and I wouldn’t fail to support her now.

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