Page 44 of Crash and Burn
I stared after Grant as he and our manager talked details.
How many times had this happened? How many times had Grant and I gotten this close, how many times had it seemed like he was about to say something important?
The back-and-forth, the push-and-pull, was going to drive me crazy.
15
Despite glancing at my phone for the tenth time in as many minutes, there were still no new emails.
I'd been hoping to hear from Carling after our meeting, wondering if he'd have any more instructions or messages. So far there'd been nothing.
I had begun to wonder if the whole thing had been one big crazy dream, but I had at least one piece of evidence that I hadn't made up the meeting. He'd given me a one page brief on the new project and asked me to read it. He said if any ideas came to me I should write them down for our next meeting to discuss.
I didn't know how fast these kinds of things moved in the fashion world, so I'd hurried to scribble down a dozen ideas. I'd half-expected Carling would want them ASAP. But there had been no further communication between the two of us.
I supposed I'd have to be patient. A guy like him no doubt had enough on his plate that I was far down the list of priorities.
Still, I kept that one page document folded up in my purse as a reminder that I hadn't made it all up. I was going to be working with one of the most popular fashion designers in the world.
I refreshed my email one more time — still no updates — before looking up at the low-rise building I found myself in front of. This was the address Grant had texted me, the photography studio where he was doing his shoot today.
The exterior was run down with a grimy and cracked brick facade. The interior was much nicer, freshly painted walls lined with framed prints from local artists. I had to climb the stairs to the fourth, and top, floor. No elevators in this place.
When I reached the top of the stairs I saw that the entire floor was one big open-concept loft-style studio. I peeked my head through the open door. Grant was there in one corner, speaking with a woman holding a clipboard and flipping through papers.
The other corner was set up to look like a bedroom. A majestic, solid mahogany four-poster bed with a gauzy canopy and white silk sheets took up most of the space. Two gorgeous people, who I had to assume were the models, stood around wearing… not very much, to be honest. The man wore black silk briefs, and of course he had a six-pack to go along with it. The long-limbed woman wore a tiny slip of a nightgown, sheer enough I could see her nipples through the fabric.
I had to wonder exactly what kind of clothes Grant was supposed to be photographing, because it didn't look like there was going to be too many of them on display.
"Liz!" Grant called me over with a tilt of his head and a smile. "Glad you're here."
"Need my help again?" I asked. "You really should hire an assistant."
"Not this time," he replied. "I've got everything under control. I just wanted to introduce you to Sheryl."
The clipboard woman's lips were pursed as she eyed me up and down, but her raised eyebrows changed the look from sour to something almost like impressed.
"I hear you're going to be working with Farrow and Paige?" the woman, Sheryl, inquired.
I shot Grant a look.
"I don't know if it's supposed to be public yet," I said under my breath.
"I didn't give any details," Grant reassured me. "I just wanted a chance to brag about you to someone who understands how bad ass you are."
"Working with Farrow and Paige is an amazing opportunity," Sheryl chimed in. "And I love your sense of style." She gave an approving nod toward my outfit. She pulled out a business card and handed it to me with a well-manicured hand. "I'd love to keep in touch."
"Sure." I took the card and tucked it into my purse. Name-dropping seemed to get you everywhere in this industry. "So tell me about the shoot," I said to Grant.
"Sheryl's brand specializes in lingerie," he explained. "We're going to be doing a kind of sexy shoot to show it off."
I never would have guessed.
"How did you get this gig?" I asked him.
"Sheryl found my work online," he replied.
"I love Grant's style," she added. "He's got an artist's eye without being pretentious. His work is lush and grand while still being accessible and tasteful."
