“Okay. That lounge-bra, the shorts, and that sweatshirt.” I point to them. “Yes, those. Put them on.”
I look up at him, silently questioning. I’m instantly nervous.
He’s already looking down at his camera, distracted by flipping through the pictures he just assaulted from me. Then he peers up, realizing I’m not responding, and says, “Put them on. Let's see if they look better on a body instead of just laying flat.”
I shake my head no before any words come out. “I’m not putting anything on. I’m not. I don’t want my picture taken, Jack.”
He walks closer to me, leaning over, invading my personal space, then plucks the garments off the table and drops them in my arms. “I wasn’t asking, Everly. Go put them on.”
Who does this guy think he is? I don’t move. “I’m not going to do that, Jack.”
He turns from fiddling with his camera. “I want to see these on a body. There’s no one else here right now, and you’re not working at the moment.” He quirks his brow, looks me up and down, surveying my body. “They’ll fit. You just have to put them on and follow my directions.”
I don’t realize what I’m saying until it’s already out. “Fine.”
What the fuck am I thinking?
“Let me go grab something, and I’ll be right back.” Aside from not wanting to be featured in any of our marketing materials, I don’t want to be wearing my designs, at least not in a promotional way, but there’s a part of me that wants to have Jack’s attention right now. What better way than to be in front of his lens.
I round the corner into my office bathroom, and somewhere between walking back to my office and pulling out my makeup bag, I decide I’m going to show this man exactly the type of woman I am. Nervous and vulnerable are not on the menu today. Nope, today Jack Deacon will see the boss he’s working for.
I swipe mineral powder across every shiny part of my face. Cream blush for some color, since the tan I worked hard for this past summer is long gone, and then I clean up the smudged eyeliner from the day. After I brush through my waves, which are still looking decent, and add a swipe of color on my lips, I’ve got that boost of confidence I was hoping I’d find. And since I’m a smart woman, I grab the bottle of Johnny Walker Blue from my bar cart with two scotch glasses and stalk back to the creative studio. It’ll be needed for this.
“I’m just moving a few lights and then we can talk about how we’ll move you around this space.” Jack jumps down from some scaffolding near the windows and eyes the bottle in my hand. “One of those for me?”
Without answering, I just pour us both two fingers and hand him his. I clink his glass and he starts to sip while I take the entire thing down with one gulp. It burns the whole way.
He looks at me quizzically, obviously not expecting that move. “I’m not sure if I should yell at you for shooting down Johnny Blue Label so fast or be impressed.”
Again, I don’t reply, and without even looking at him, I take my heels off and start unbuttoning my pants. If Jack is going to push me out of my comfort zone, then I’m going to make him squirm a bit too. I pull my black suit pants off completely and drape them over the chair to my left. My blouse reaches low enough to be covering the very tops of my thighs. I pull on the thermal-like boy shorts up and over my thong, turning around so I can discard my shirt without giving him a full-frontal view. While the man has already seen some of my lady bits, I’m not ready to show him my tits in the middle of my creative studio. I slip off my white blouse and unclasp my white bra, flinging it over to the chair as well, my bare back exposed to him. Then I pull on the pink lace lounge bra, which is equally comfortable and sexy. Enough padding to boost my girls, but no wires to poke and leave marks, and just enough strap to evenly distribute weight while doubling as a part of the style. I’ve never felt prouder of something I’ve designed than I do at this moment wearing it. In front of him. I feel more excited than nervous now, small butterflies making their way into my stomach. I never shy away from this feeling; it’s a reminder that I’m doing something daring.
Before I turn around, I grab the pale blush-colored sweatshirt, which matches the shorts, and I slip it over my head. The off-the-shoulder design of the sweatshirt also shows off the lacey straps of the bra, which is exactly how I wanted it to be paired. I catch Jack's eye and smile. That same electric current runs up my arms and down my legs, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
“I knew you were trouble, Miss Riggs, but until a minute ago, I didn’t realize just how much.” I start to walk toward his camera bench setup. “You need to put those on too.” He points to the charcoal-colored thigh-high socks that are resting on the table to his right.
I grab them, jump up on the table, and start pulling on the first one. “Yes, sir!”
Jack groans loudly. I bite my lower lip to keep from smiling.This is going to be fun.