Page 72 of Tell Me Something

She still appeared a little stunned. It was unnerving because I got the sense that Catherine was never stunned. “So he called you directly to ask you to do the shoot?”

“Uh, yeah, on Thanksgiving.”

“Well, screw protocol. If you have his number and have a rapport, go for it. Are you kidding me? This is all coming together like it was meant to be.”

“Okay, I’ll call him.” I pulled out my phone, and she looked astounded again. Evidently she wasn’t expecting I’d do it this instant.

I was pleased when Bart answered on the second ring. After a few niceties and compliments about how this weekend’s pictures had turned out, I asked the favor and then glanced over at Catherine. I hung up with a smile on my face.

“He said absolutely he’d do it. To have your office call him to work out the dates.”

She seemed impressed. “As if I didn’t love you enough already, you have Bart Chesley on speed dial.”

My face heated. “I hope he didn’t feel weird. From the look on your face, I’m wondering if maybe I overstepped. He knows I work for, uh, Mr. Singer, and I don’t want that to be the reason.” Crap, now I was overthinking it.

She took both my hands and reassured me. “Honey, Bart Chesley wouldn’t do a favor for the pope unless he wanted to. He works because he loves the art, or because he likes the people who ask him. His price tag is high, but he’s worth every penny. And he has a laundry list of models with whom he has worked only one time, if you get my drift.”

I guess I did. I had only thought of Bart as a nice older man who was kind to me and gave me my first break.

“As for your fee, I’ll have the legal department draw it up. What’s your rate?”

Now it was my turn to be dumbfounded. “I honestly don’t know. Both times I’ve sort of stepped in, so whatever you think makes sense, really.”

She mulled this over. “I’ll talk to Josh about the other shoot you did. I want to make sure I’m fair to you.”

I was uncomfortable with that thought but smiled. “So now I kind of have a favor to ask, but please know that you can absolutely say no.” I started to get a little anxious about even asking. I never minded giving favors, but requesting them was tougher.

“Name it. Here, let’s eat. I had salads brought up for lunch. I’m sure you could probably put away anything, but I’ve got to watch what I eat. Especially now, being middle-aged and divorced.”

Her self-deprecation threw me. It went to show that someone could look like they had everything from the outside and yet be hurting inside.

“Well, I was thinking about the jewelry. I’m assuming you want vintage, especially the wedding jewelry, and Gamble Advertising represents Delayne Diamonds. They have this vintage line that has everything from wedding rings to everyday-type diamonds. Sasha Brooks is their rep, and, well, since she’s new to the account, I was thinking it could be an amazing opportunity for her.”

“Done. Sounds perfect, actually.”

That was really easy. Too easy, when I thought of a woman like Sasha. “Thank you, but Sasha is—Well, she’s proud. She needs to feel like she’s earned it.”

Catherine took a bite of her salad and contemplated. “Why are you doing this for her? Is she a friend?”

The question threw me. “To be honest, I don’t know her very well. But I watched as she got ripped apart by a good old boy’s network when she pitched the vintage idea. I think this would be an awesome way of telling them all to shove it.”

Catherine appeared to understand this. “Fair enough.” She scanned her phone and frowned at her calendar. “After tomorrow, I’m traveling for the next couple weeks.”

“Would tomorrow work, by any chance?”

“I’m booked all day, but I could do after work.”

“That would be perfect. How about a meeting and then maybe happy hour? Sasha is single, beautiful, successful, and you mentioned wanting to go out.”

Her face lit up at the thought. “That sounds great, actually, as long as you think she isn’t one of those catty women. I can’t handle any more of the type who pretend to be a friend and then stab you in the back.”

Considering my first impression of Sasha, I decided to play it safe. “How about we do the presentation, and you can judge for yourself? I think that she can be nice, but she sees women as a natural threat. To be fair, I think it’s a defense instead of mean-girl mentality. All the same, I won’t mention happy hour to her unless you do.”

She seemed satisfied with that answer and then remarked, “There aren’t a lot of women in the corporate world who look out for one another. It’s nice you’re doing this for her. I hope she can appreciate it.”

We finished up our lunch with small talk. I looked forward to calling Sasha when I got back and crossed my fingers she would be as excited as I was.

JOSH WAS on a conference call when I arrived back at the office. After Nigel left early for one of David’s appointments, I settled in and called Sasha.