Page 15 of The Friend

“You ain’t seen nothing yet. Now, let’s talk business. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Thankful they’d put any potential awkwardness behind them, though she wasn’t entirely convinced by his reasoning about the kiss, she flipped open the folder for the day’s schedule. However, before she could hand him a copy her phone rang and a quick glance at the screen told her she had to take the call.

“It’s Mark Pyman. I’ll only be a few secs,” she said, and Judd nodded.

She slid the answer bar across. “Hi, Mark. What can I do for you?”

“We’ve got a problem, Abby. A big one.”

Abby stifled a sigh. It must be huge for the scrupulously polite executive to forego his usual greeting. “What’s up?”

“Bassel Designswants an urgent wedding dress shot added to the spread.”

“So what’s the problem? Courier over the dress and we’ll slot it in.”

Mark paused, as if searching for the right words and a ripple of unease slid over her. “The dress won’t fit any of the models on your shoot. Apparently they want a more realistic look for the shot.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, wracking her brain for a lightning-fast solution.

It wasn’t the first time the biggest designer in Australia had made an odd last minute request and she’d always come through for them before.

“How about I find a couple holidaying on the island and—”

“Time frame’s tight. The dress is on its way over now and I need the shot back to me by tomorrow.”

“You’re kidding?”

Realising she was fiddling with the leather binding of her notebook in front of her, Abby lowered her hand off the table,only to pleat the tablecloth instead. “That’s a pretty steep demand.”

“It’s doable, right?”

Mark’s abrupt question told her exactly how stressed he was and she sighed, knowing she’d do whatever it took to make this happen.

“Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll get right on it.”

“Thanks, Abby. You come through for me on this, that major deal we talked about is a foregone conclusion.”

“Great,” she said, trying to inject enough enthusiasm into her voice while her mind raced a million miles an hour to come up with solutions for Mark’s request. “What size is the dress, by the way? I can make a start on scouring the guests and have the shot location scouted by the time it arrives.”

“A twelve. And the tux is a hundred and two.”

“Got it.” She jotted down the figures while her gaze quickly scanned the few hotel guests relaxing around them.

“Thanks, Abby. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Email me the shots last thing tonight or first thing tomorrow at the latest, okay?”

“Shall do. Bye, Mark.”

Her boss had already rung off and she flung her phone back into her bag, wrinkling her nose as she stared at the figures she’d jotted down, wondering what were the odds of her finding a couple to match the size requirements among the few guests currently staying at Sapphire Island’s one and only exclusive resort, coercing them into modelling, and actually having the whole thing go smoothly.

By the end of today.

“The wind will change and your face will stay like that.”

She looked up at Judd to find him smiling at her without a care in the world. Half his luck.

“We’ve got a problem.”

“We?” He sat back and clasped his hands behind his head, his infuriating smile widening. “From where I’m sitting, looks like you’re the one with a bit of rearranging to do.”

---