She spins to face her. “Tank you, Ms. Anna.”
Pulling her in for a hug, Anna bends down to her level. “You’re very welcome, but you call me Mimi K.” She kisses her cheek.
Lily runs off, doing spins on the dance floor and chanting “Mimi Tay”.
“Thank you so much, I really appreciate you watching her. And I’m so sorry again about the time.” I gather my notes to organize later into something more readable.
“Anytime, dear. I do not mind one bit. Whenever you need to work here, you just give me a call and I’ll take that sweet girl.” She hugs me the same as she hugged my daughter. It’s nice to have a village, but I’m not used to it yet.
“I will, promise. But you might have to fight Aggie. She was real mad Tommy was making her go to the auction today.”
“Oh, I heard all about that last night over some margaritas.”
I laugh with her and we go to find Lily.
We split ways at the trail where it forks to the left for her house, and the right to the farm.
All I can think about is how much time is left until we can call Cooper. And I hate myself just a little bit for relying on a man again, but it’s so different with him.
Just shut up, Aubrey. Take the help and the sexy man.
Sexy man indeed. Maybe I should listen to my inner self for once. I didn’t last time and look where it got me.
I’ve been wandering around the hotel with Ryan for about an hour, taking photos of various spaces and amenities they offer. But really, I’m itching to get to Get Out of Here’s head offices to give Nolan a piece of my mind.
The closer I get to going there, the more pissed off I get. How fucking dare he threaten a woman and a child? And after knowing what she’s been through? There’s no fucking way I’m letting him get away with that shit.
“I’m glad you were available, and that your pricing wasn’t anything like the magazine. Your old boss was a piece of work to deal with.” Ryan says absently while he fluffs another pillow on the chaise by the large window overlooking Copley Square.
“Oh really? Did you have a bad interaction with him? I thought we were pretty close in pricing.”
“Ha! No way. You’re in line with the industry standard but the magazine? They’re about three grand more.” He stands up straight before turning to look at me. “I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn. I just assumed… you know what? Never mind.” He shakes his head.
“The guy is a pretentious prick who can’t understand the definition of no. Trust me, whatever you have to say about him, I’ve thought three times worse.” His face relaxes, and his shoulders drop in relief that he didn’t misread my situation with Nolan.
Fucking Nolan. I handled most of the contracts up to a certain point. I priced myself just under a hundred less than them. There’s no way the magazine was charging three grand over my pricing.
“I tried to get him to come out. For him it would just be an hour trip to come over. But when I requested to have you as the photographer, he hung up on me and refused to call me back after that. That’s when I set my wife, who could work for the FBI, to find where you went. I was ecstatic when she found your new blog, and then you agreed to come.”
“Well, I’m glad it worked out then. The updates are amazing. I bet you’ll get fully booked soon. If I had to guess, couples are your bread and butter. So I’ll cater to that in my write-up.”
“You’d be right. Romantic getaways are our number one marketing strategy.” He smiles.
I snap photos of the small common area. I could see a couple on that chaise, sitting together and looking out over the square with some hot cocoa on a cold snowy day before heading out to the holiday market at Faneuil Hall.
After photos were done, I was escorted to a small banquet room with tables set up full of meals, and set for photos.
“Everything is warm and fresh. It was just sent out from the kitchen for your photos. Feel free to eat whatever you want after.I’ll be right in my office so when you’re done or if you need me, just let the front desk know.”
“Thank you.” I shake Ryan’s hand before choosing a table that I like best.
I start with photos, moving the meals around to get the best light and look. Trying to brighten up the breakfast waffles, while creating a romantic atmosphere for the dinner plates.
The waffles didn't last long after my photo because they looked delicious topped with berries and whipped cream. And I couldn’t help myself.
Me: «photo of waffles» Wish you and Lily May were here with me. She’d love the breakfast.
Aubrey: ooh, those look amazing. She would definitely be in heaven.
