* * * *
I suck in a nervous breath as I climb out of my car and lock it before walking toward the warehouse that Mercedes directed me to. What is with people sending me to places that look like a possible murder scene lately? Maybe I need to rethink the company I keep. My stomach rolls as I think about what’s waiting for me on the other side of the rolling barn door. I stop and lean up against the building, taking a couple of deep breaths, still trying to let this sink in. It’s surreal that millions of people know my name and read my article. I’m not sure that I like it.
Mercedes wanted to strike fast, and it’s still only been two days since I found out about the article going viral. I feel like I haven’t really gotten a chance to stop and consider all the ways my life is going to change in the very near future. Mercedes is determined to make me into a mini star and make the blog even more successful than it already is, and I want that, too, but I’m just not sure I’m ready for anything that comes with that. My phone rings, and I pull it out of my bag, smiling at the caller ID.
“Hey, Gorgeous,” he says as soon as I answer, his deep raspy voice coating me like caramel.
“Hi,” I sigh. Two nights ago, he walked away but he came back last night, and it was like nothing happened. He was sweet and charming, and we had a great time. I could over analyze this but I’ve just decided to go with it.
“Is that how you’re going to greet me every time?”
“Maybe. Are you complaining?”
He laughs, and I can just picture the way his face lights up when he smiles. “No. You may not like what it’s doing to my ego though. Where are you?”
I look over my shoulder at the door and scowl. “This photo shoot. I’m not sure that I’m ready.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. It still just seems so surreal, and I hate being the center of attention. This photographer is supposed to be one of the best though.”
“Who is it?” he asks.
“Fernando something. I don’t know. He’s friends with Mercedes, and he made room in his schedule for her.”
He doesn’t respond, and I’m just about to ask him if he’s okay when someone taps me on the shoulder.
“Are you Miss James?” the woman asks, and I nod. “We’re ready for you.”
I nod and motion for her to give me a minute before turning away again. “Hey, so I guess I gotta go but I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, Baby. I’ll stop by.”
A grin stretches across my face when he calls me baby, and a blush rises to my cheeks. “Okay. See you later, then.”
We hang up, and I turn back around, smiling. “Sorry about that.”
She grins and shakes her head, directing me to follow her. “Don’t even worry about it. You’ve got that new relationship glow. I’m a little envious.”
“Well, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Candace, Nando’s assistant, so I’ll be glued to your side all day. First off we need to get you to hair and make-up, and then we’ll pop over to wardrobe. Sound good?”
I nod dumbly. “Sure.”
She laughs and stops walking to place a hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s kind of overwhelming but just try to relax. Nando really is the best, and he’ll capture who you are if you let him.”
“I’ll give it a try.”
She puts her hand on the side of her mouth like she’s about to tell me a big secret and whispers, “And we also have some champagne in the back if that’ll help.”
I laugh again, feeling more at ease already. “A glass might be good.”
“Perfect. I’ll have someone fetch it for you.”
I nod, and she makes small talk as we walk to hair and make-up. When we get to the room, she directs me to sit in the chair in front of the mirrors just as another woman walks into the room. She’s a little older than me, and her dark hair is piled on top of her head.
“Hi, Sweetie, I’m Bailey, and don’t let this unkempt hair deter you from trusting me with your beautiful locks.”
I laugh and nod. “All right, I won’t. I’m Ali, nice to meet you.”
“Lovely to meet you, too. Now, has anyone gone over the two concepts we’re working on today?” she asks, and I shake my head. Candace looks up from her phone.
“Oh, my bad. Forgot all about that part. Okay, so look one, we want something down to earth. You know, your best friend, the person you can tell your deepest darkest secrets to. They’re going to dress you in a sweater and jeans, I think, and have you posing on a couch. Super relatable. But it’s still a little sexy.”
“Okay,” I agree, nodding. I can do relatable.
“The second look is a little sexier. You in a pencil skirt and button up shirt posing on or behind a desk. Still try and look like people can tell you their secrets but just do it in a sexy way. Maybe with some glasses, too. Let me text Nando and see what he thinks.”
She starts typing away on her phone, and I’m tired from just being around her. She moves in hyper speed, and I can’t imagine doing that all day.
“Nando likes the glasses,” she says, hopping up from the couch. “Let me go look in wardrobe and see if we’ve got something that’ll work.”
She practically bounces out of the room, and I turn to Bailey as she starts parting my hair. “What if they don’t have any that will work?”
She shrugs. “They get new ones delivered. Nando is a stickler for details, and if it’s in his mind you’re wearing glasses, then he’ll make it happen.”
I try to breathe as she starts on my hair but it’s difficult. This is all so crazy, and it’s hard to imagine a photo of me being up on billboards and all over the Internet soon. I guess I should get used to the idea though. If Mercedes’s plan works, a lot of people will know who I am and read my advice.
I would be so much more comfortable if it was just people reading my words. That, I can handle but people seeing my face and now Mercedes is talking about doing a few appearances if things take off. It’s all so much, and I think she’s getting way ahead of herself. I mean, I’m an advice columnist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for Christ’s sake, not some big movie star. Maybe nothing will come of it. Maybe we’ll do all this and no one will really care. Honestly, now that I think about it, I don’t know which one is worse.
“Good news! We’ve got the perfect black rimmed glasses over in wardrobe,” Candace exclaims, bouncing back into the room, and I smile at her. She plops back down on the couch and goes back to texting as Bailey continues on my hair, curling it.
I lean back in my chair and just try to relax as she works on me, and before I know it, Candace is handing me a glass of champagne and guiding me to wardrobe. I down the last of the alcohol just before the woman in wardrobe shoves me behind a partition and hands me a gorgeous white sweater that doesn’t even reach my belly button and a pair of jeans.
“How are your toes?” a woman asks, peeking her head around the partition without waiting for my answer.
“Can we get polish in here?” she yells out into the room, and everyone starts scurrying around, rushing to get me all put together before I have to go out there. Someone comes back with red nail polish and rolls up my jeans as she kneels in front of me and starts painting my toes. Everything happens in a blur, and then I’m being shoved out into the main room where the sets are built side by side with a wall separating them.