Before she was fully aware of making the decision, Snow found herself in the car. She drove straight to Amanda’s house, rehearsing arguments in her head. She was going to be calm and rational about this. She would remind Amanda of the agreement she had signed with the agency. She had to credit Snow; that’s all there was to it.
Amanda took almost a minute to open the door and when she did, she stared blankly at Snow. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Snow tried to keep her anger in check, but it bubbled up through all of her defenses. “You know exactly what I’m doing here! Don’t pretend you didn’t get my email!”
It quickly became apparent that shouting was not the right approach with Amanda. “Don’t you talk to me in that tone, girl! I gave you a job and you were well paid for it.”
Snow tried to temper her tone, and failed. “You’re supposed to credit me! That’s part of the agreement with the agency.”
“There are no legal documents saying that. The photos are my property now. Go cry to the agency if you want, they’re not going to force the issue, not if they want to keep my business.”
Snow’s instinct was to retreat, to back down, but she fought it. Her anger helped. Amanda had no right to treat her this way.
“You signed an agreement, Amanda. It might not be a legal document but it is still an agreement. If you don’t uphold your end, then the next person you hear from will be my lawyer. God, it’s no wonder your wife left you!”
With that, Snow turned and stormed off into the field of trees.
No need to tell Amanda that she couldn’t afford a lawyer. She was so mad that she didn’t even feel bad about lying.
Snow walked quickly through the lines of fir trees. As the beauty of nature surrounded her, her anger faded.
It had probably been a mistake, coming here. Amanda was sure to complain about her to the agency, and how in the world was Snow going to explain herself? She had shown up at a client’s house, shouted at her and stormed off in a huff. That wasn’t going to go down well with her boss.
She deserved to be credited, but she should have approached it in a calmer manner. She should have contacted the agency about the problem rather than come to Amanda’s house.
If she was being honest with herself, the credit issue wasn’t the only reason Snow had come here. She had wanted to see Amanda again.
Clearly her heart was a fool. Why would she have a crush on someone so inconsiderate? She did, though. Amanda was so sexy when she was angry. Snow played back the expression on her face during the argument. Yes, definitely sexy.
Snow sighed and sat down on the ground, her back leaning against one of the trees. She’d stormed off in the wrong direction, of course. She’d have to pass the house to get back out of the Christmas tree field, unless she wanted to climb over the fence, which she definitely didn’t want to do.
Maybe she could sneak past Amanda and avoid another confrontation. She needed to get out ahead of this. She’d call the agency and confess what had happened. They would ensure that Amanda gave her the credit she deserved for the photos.
Snow had been with the agency for years and knew that they looked out for the people who worked for them. They wouldn’t just let this slide. Snow would get her credit for the photos.
The thought of the photos had anger flaring up inside Snow once more. She didn’t know if she was calm enough yet to walk past Amanda’s house without going in to shout at her some more. Best to stay here for now, at least until she had cooled down a bit more. Then, she would go home and try to put this whole mess behind her.
Snow forced herself to look at her surroundings. The Christmas tree farm really was beautiful. Being outside in nature had always been a balm to her, but right now, she was still smoldering with resentment over the photos to enjoy it much.
She couldn’t believe Amanda. Who would be that self-centered?
Who else could be so sexy while being utterly infuriating at the same time?
Snow felt like an idiot for having the stupid crush that she did. Trust her to fall for a woman who didn’t respect her. Snow had never had good luck with relationships.
Such anger wasn’t like Snow, and she didn’t enjoy the feeling. She supposed that she felt betrayed by Amanda, given that Snow really liked her and Amanda had still gone behind her back, making it look as though she herself had taken the photos.
She had said some horrible things to Amanda, but she was too angry just now to regret them. She would probably feel bad when she went home later, but for now, Snow fumed quietly among the fir trees.
7
Amanda stared off after Snow, her mouth gaping open.
When was the last time someone had shouted at her like that?
When was the last time someone had stood up to her like that?
Amanda honestly couldn’t remember. It was probably sometime during the end of her relationship with Nicole.