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I called my agent first, who went on a mini rant about Ryland and expressed her utter disdain for him before then advising me to give no reaction to his little stunt. After we endedthe call, I phoned my mum. She answered after only three rings. There was no hello, only a growled, “I’m going to rip his balls off, I swear it.”
I winced. “You’ll have to get in line.”
“I’ll be bumping my way to the front of the queue. I’m not going to ask if you’re into BDSM or anything resembling it—I don’t care, it’s your business. Whatever the situation, he waswayout of order. Whether he blabbed to a ‘source’ or to the journalist doesn’t matter—he still blabbed.”
“I think he was feeling in a petty mood after I made it clear to him last night that we were done due to his recent betrayal. And for the record, I’m not into the kinks that were mentioned.”
“Did he deny getting tongue-tastic with Gwendolyn?”
“Genevieve,” I corrected.
“Whatever.”
“He tried insinuating that it was part of the shoot.” I rolled my eyes at the memory. “When I explained I had an eyewitness account of what he did and said, he swore she meant nothing; that it was a moment of madness; that he was lonely.”
“That he was also plain weak and had no integrity?”
“No, funnily enough, he didn’t mention that.”
“Honesty is not his thing, then.”
I felt my lips twitch. “No, it doesn’t seem to be. How’s Dad?”
“About as calm as a rabid gorilla. Your brothers are no happier. Between the three of them, they’ve come up with some intriguing ways to make Ryland suffer.”
Oh, shit. “Mum, don’t let them do anything stupid.”
“Who said it’d be stupid? The silly little twat needs to be taught a lesson.”
“Not the kind of lessons you, Dad, Frick, and Frack consider righteous.” My brothers were as nuts as our parentswere. “That sort of stuff leads to arrests, charges, and court hearings.”
Apfft.“They’d never get caught.”
“Mum.”
“Richie is furious as well,” she said, referring to the agent who represented both Ryland and Jaxxon. “Ryland isn’t taking or returning his calls. No surprise there. He’ll know that Richie thinks of you as family.”
“He’ll also know that Richie is likely to drop him, so it’s no wonder he doesn’t want to talk to him.” I rubbed at my forehead. “I still can’t believe that Ryland actually did this. Hehadto have known how this could affect my career. There’s no way that it won’t.”
Jaxxon exhaled heavily. “I know.” A pause. “But I doubt it would much affect what youtrulywant to do.”
I felt my shoulders tense. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not suggesting you lay down the camera. Photography is what you love. You’ve lived and breathed it since you were a kid. Butsportsphotography? Iz, let’s be honest, you mostly specialize in that area because youfell intoit. You were given an opportunity years ago, you went with it, and you excel at it. But it’s not what makes you happy.”
I pressed my lips shut, surprised she’d sensed it. As much as I enjoyed covering sports events, it didn’t bring me contentment, only excitement—the two weren’t always the same.
“I’m not saying give up that area of photography altogether,” Jaxxon hurried to add. “I’m saying don’t let it dominate your career unless that’s genuinely what you want. You have to admit, you find more fun in taking the shots you need for the royalty-free images you sell online.”
I did, because it allowed me to dabble in so many areas—wildlife, landscape, fashion, food, time-lapse, minimalist,portrait, still-life, and even night photography. I liked having that diversity. Liked seeing those images on posters, book covers, ads, etc. They sold so well at this point that I didn’t needto concentrate on sports events anymore.
“Your fine art pictures are even more amazing,” said Jaxxon. “You print, frame, and hand them off to family and friends as gifts, but they should be hanging in bloody galleries. I’m not saying that because I’m your mum and I’m biased. I’m saying it because it’s true. Would it be so bad to focus more on what you most enjoy?”
Scratching at my neck, I admitted, “I have been thinking about switching things up. Mostly because the constant traveling from event to event isn’t as fun as it once was.”
“I noticed you felt that way. Your ‘break’ periods are getting longer and longer. It doesn’t surprise me. You’re a homebird. You always were. But I don’t get the sense that London is where you truly want to base yourself. You don’t come back here anymore when you want a break.”
No, I went to Redwater.
