Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
“Who? And about what?” Of course, he lied to every soul he met.
“Jaques.”
“It just slipped out, and if you keep talking, something else is going to slip out. I’m kind of busy.” I heard the sounds of slapping flesh. Either I’d been so pissed at him or he’d paused his activities, but I hadn’t heard him fucking until now.
“You stupid prick. We have a mess you made, and you’re fucking someone right now.”
“Yes, I needed to de-stress. I’ll call you back.” He ended the call like the smug bastard that he was while I stood in my father’s office, wanting to punch someone in the face. I was hitting the ring tonight. My assistant looked right at me.
“I’ll call Tommy and make sure he’s ready for you—say six?” she asked as she pulled out her cell.
“That’s great, Elizabeth. Thanks.” She stepped away to make the call. “I need to find a way to get ahold of this photographer and make a deal with him.”
“He does live here as well.” Yes, but just because he lived in New York didn’t mean he wasn’t swamped or even on vacation. Hell, he might just tell me to go fuck myself. I searched the internet for his number and found one listed for his assistant. If I could get past them, I might get in.
“Hello, my name is James Keaton, with Keaton Ad Agency. I was wondering if I could speak with Mr. Rene.”
“Mr. Keaton, Mr. Rene is currently in the middle of a shoot. He’ll be in it all day. If you’d like to speak with him, you’ll have to come to the studio today before he departs for his holiday tomorrow.”
“A holiday?” My shoulders fell and my temple began this slow, steady throbbing like a bongo drum.
“Yes. He’ll be gone for a month.”
“Oh God. This can’t be happening.” That drum picked up the beat.
“Well, sir, that’s all I can tell you.”
I rushed to my father’s desk and snagged a pen and his sticky notes. “Can you provide me with the address?”
“Yes.” She read it off while I wrote it down. “When can we expect you?”
“I’m on my way now. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I hung up, and my assistant approached me.
“Everything is set up with Tommy,” she said, tucking her phone away.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll probably have to cancel it. We’re on a super-tight time crunch. Rene is going out of town tomorrow. If we don’t get a model and get him to handle this tonight or by morning, we’re screwed.”
She nodded and said, “Okay,” without the pissy tone that I deserved. I loved that about Elizabeth. She deserved the bonus she got this Christmas for putting up with my bull.
“Come on. We have to meet with the photographer and pray we can pull a miracle out of our asses. Father, I’ll be in touch. Don’t tell Henry where I’m going.” We rushed through the building while I popped open the special contacts folder for all my father’s people in the industries and looked for the modeling one. With my phone to my ear, I hopped in the back of the SUV and handed my driver the address.
It was last minute, but I needed a model. I hoped that this guy had the right girl. “Can I speak with Jared?”
“One minute, sir,” the receptionist said.
Elizabeth tapped my shoulder. “Mr. Keaton, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I do have a friend. Well, she’s not a friend. Actually, she’s my neighbor, and I think she’d be perfect for the shoot.” I gave her a skeptical look. Women tended to be a little more generous when it came to their friends about their looks. She was probably cute, but I needed a model.
“I know you’re giving me that look, sir, but I promise you she’s perfect. I could bring in a photo.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. We need to have a model in at the photo shoot by tomorrow.”
“Hey, Jared, this is James Keaton. I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
“I’m sorry, but if it’s for the agency, it’s going to be a no.” Surprise hit me first from the instant refusal because we’d used him a thousand times before and had an excellent track record with him, but my gut already had the answer before I even asked.
“What? Why?”
“Your brother is a piece of shit, and I’d rather sell my damn business before I’d ever work with him.” Damn it. That bastard had ruined everything he touched.
“May I ask why?”
“He fucked my girlfriend,” he roared.
Of course he did. “I’m sorry.”
“Not sorrier than I am. If I see him again, I’ll kill him.” A part of me actually believed his words. He hung up on me, and I let out a heavy sigh. What the fuck were my options?
I thought about it for another moment, and then I turned to Elizabeth.