Shattered (11 page)

I looked into his gloriously, piercing blue eyes. "That's none of your business."

"That's fair," he responded. "May I sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the empty chair in my office.

"Um… maybe we should take a seat out front. Miranda has all of the plans and documents out there."

He motioned for me to lead the way and as I walked out, he followed closely behind. I showed him to the waiting couch and grabbed a pop for him to drink. Taking my seat at Miranda's desk, I looked over to him and took in his beautiful profile. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days and the light stubble that lined his jaw made him even more enticing. He looked up and our gazes met, grey to blue. Neither of us looked away, and the magnetic pull that was unmistakably felt by us both, put light smiles on both of our faces.

Miranda walking in and her loudly shouting, "Whew! This rain is serious today," finally broke our stares. "What am I interrupting?" she asked, removing her jacket and tossing it on the coat rack.

"Nothing at all," I answered in a hurried tone. "You ready to go over the plans?"

She cocked her head to the side and looked over to Grayson, who still had his adorably cute grin spread across his face. Without saying another word, she moved over to her desk, effectively moving me from her seat, and motioned for Grayson and me to sit down. Miranda pulled the plans out of her drawer and spread them out over the top of her desk. Grayson focused intently as she explained every ounce of her plan to transform Ada's into the eclectic, yet sexy and chic coffee bar that he had asked for.

When it was my turn, I pulled out my notes and went over my plans for the photo shoot that I wanted to do with him and his staff. Grayson pointed at the plans to pinpoint the exact locations that each photo would be used in and our fingers touched, sending electrical sparks through both of us. We both jumped and my fingers tingled in delight as we pulled away, eager to go back for the sensual feel of his touch once more. I sucked on my bottom lip and Grayson leaned back, rubbing his hands over his hair. The move hadn't been lost on Miranda who was sitting there, watching us both, with a look of approval on her face. After slowing my breathing and gradually regaining my composure, I continued with my plans and looked over to Grayson for his thoughts.

"Sounds awesome. Where do I sign?" he asked, looking every bit as flustered as I had only a few seconds before.

"Don't you even want to know what this is going to cost you?" I asked, a bit agitated that he seemed to be rushing through the meeting.

"No. I mean… I'm sure it'll be in the contract. And like I already said, money is no object for this project."

"Well, here is the contract detailing the plans for the interior design as well as the photo shoot. You can look through these forms and then sign on the last page." Miranda said, sliding the papers in front of Grayson.

He took a pen out of his back jeans pocket and signed on the dotted line without even reading over the contract. I silently cursed him on the inside, but only lightly shook my head to show my disapproval. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, the more I showed my dismay, the larger the smile creeping across his face grew.

"Alright. Perfect," Miranda said, clapping her hands together. "I guess Dallis will be in touch with you, Mr. Rivera, to hash out the details for your photo shoot."

"I'm looking forward to it. And please, call me Grayson." He shot Miranda his exquisitely beautiful smile, and then looked over to me. "I'll be in touch, Dallis."

"Looking forward to it," I responded in a breathy tone.

He took his copies of the contract and walked out the door, leaving me feeling flushed with a fanatically beating heart. Miranda walked over to me with a wet paper towel and threw it up against my head.

"You've got it bad, Dallis," she said, turning towards the restroom and walking away from me.

I sat there with the paper towel up against my head, scolding myself for allowing my emotions to be laid out on full display.

The next week went by in a blur. I kept busy with work and when I wasn't working, I was writing. My thoughts would skip over to Grayson and I found myself scribbling things down about him every so often. I didn't want to think about him… or did I? I was so conflicted by my feelings and at times, they had me running scared. I wanted to spend my time thinking about his deliciously, beautiful blue eyes, his perfectly elongated face, and his never ending smile. It was also those very things that made me want to run in the opposite direction. I shouldn't have been thinking about Grayson in a way that sent sparks through my body when I had only recently broken up with Colby. It felt amazing and wrong all at the same time. Grayson hadn't said anything to allude to having feelings for me, so I reconciled my wild thoughts with the fact that I could just be carrying on with my own fantasy that had no real validity to it.

Miranda was relentless in her pursuit to know more about Grayson and my
budding relationship
with him as she called it. I kept telling her that there was nothing to report, that he was just another client who had hired me to take pictures for him. She certainly wasn't going for that excuse, but given the fact that nothing had been said by either of us, it was the truth.

I called Grayson after I closed out my jobs with two other clients who had been put on hold after my mother's passing. He said he was excited to work with me and would be anxiously awaiting Sunday, the day of his shoot.

Hanging up with him, I held the phone up to my ear a few seconds longer, wishing I could hear his voice a little longer. The way he said my name was like rich chocolate running from a well; the richness and intoxicating flair of it made me crumple.

I spent Saturday afternoon with Miranda sitting waterside at Lake Union under the cover of clouds, as kids ran with their kites, and hydroplanes landed and took off on the glimmering waters beside us. She told me that Sean was getting more and more serious, and for the first time in her life, she didn't feel compelled to sabotage her relationship. I was proud of her because I had seen her ruin perfectly good relationships throughout our years of friendship. Sean was a good guy, and she deserved some happiness.

She couldn't resist the urge to ask about Grayson and I gave her the same generic answer that I always gave. She inquired about the photo shoot, and I told her that I'd be shooting on Sunday, but that was it. She poked me in my side, calling me a liar, but didn't delve any further. I smiled as I lay back in the grass, staring up into the puffy, grey sky. The mere mention of Grayson's name sent flutters throughout my body, and as much as I hated to admit it, Miranda was right.

I did have an eye for him.

Mid Sunday afternoon, I met Grayson and his staff at the Fremont Troll, just under the Aurora Ave. Bridge. I apprehensively made my way over to where they were standing, lugging all of my equipment as I walked. Grayson noticed me and jumped off of the troll's leg, taking my bags from me. The hint of skin I felt when he touched my bare shoulder caused my breath to catch, and I knew he sensed it because he smiled as he lifted the strap from me. Emily came over and said hello. Her hair was now only two colors; black and hot pink. She waved the rest of the crew over for me to meet since I hadn't met anyone else that worked at Ada's.

Tommy and Patrick were the day and night managers. Tommy was flanked in tattoos, much like Grayson, but also had numerous piercings in almost every spot imaginable. I was a little shocked by his appearance, even for working at Ada's, but he was extremely cordial and well- spoken which put me at ease. Patrick was much more subdued. While he had tattoos, he was not covered in them, his hair was buzz cut, and he had no piercings. He was a man of little words, but still very cordial.

I gathered the group together and explained the vision that I had in mind. They were an easy crew to please, and eagerly moved to the positions I had assigned for them. They were such a carefree and charismatic bunch that I didn't want the shoot to feel stuffy and rehearsed, so I asked them to just stand on and around the troll, making conversation as they would if I wasn't there. They were naturals, laughing, poking one another, making silly faces, and jumping from the troll, making me momentarily forgot that I was shooting under contract.

They sat at the foot of the troll, all three guys sitting cross-legged with Emily lying horizontally across them. One by one, I took individual shots of them in whatever pose they desired. Emily stood on the left side of the troll, wrapping her arms around the finger, peeking her head out with a magnetic smile. Tommy lay down in front of the troll, staring ahead expressionless. Patrick sat on the right hand of the troll, looking to the side. Grayson sat on the left wrist, peering seductively into my camera. I took a few shots and stared into his piercing blue sparklers through my lens, zooming in on his face long enough to feel the familiar tingle that I usually felt when he was around. After he smiled for a few shots, I adjusted myself by wiping the sweat that had formed on my brow and we wrapped the shoot, calling it a day.

I looked out from under the bridge, checking to see if the sun had somewhat gotten brighter since we'd started shooting, but to my dismay, it hadn't. The sweat that had formed on my brow was not a case of a rise in temperature, not climatically, but was instead the rising of my body temperature at the look of Grayson. I told myself that I had to find a way to be around him without turning into a silly school girl. After all, I was a respected photographer, and I wasn't going to ruin my reputation due to over-sensitized emotions.

"Hey, Dallis. Got any plans after this? We're heading over to Trinity's. You should come." Emily said eagerly.

"Trinity's? As in the bar?" I asked, looking over and catching Grayson in a stare.

"Yes," Emily quickly responded.

I looked back over to Grayson who was now kneeling down, loading up my bags. Of course I wanted to spend more time with him, but it didn't seem right, given the fact that we had just finished a work commitment. I politely declined, and I thought I saw a look of dismay flash across Grayson's face, but I didn't feed into it.

"I should have these loaded in a few days and then I can send over the proofs," I said, reining my professionalism back in.

"Sounds good. Let me help you take this stuff to your car. Where are you parked?" he asked, taking all of my equipment bags with him.

I led the way to my yellow baby and Grayson stopped in the back and stated, "Kick ass Jeep. Suits you perfectly"

I blushed a bit, remembering how Colby despised my Jeep so badly that he'd refuse to even drive it. "Thanks," I said. For once in my life I found myself at a loss for words.

"Can I come in and view those proofs when they're ready?" Grayson asked, turning to look me in the eye while running his hand through his hair.

"I can easily send them to you. That's usually how I do it," I replied, trying desperately to keep him at arms-length.

"I know. It's just… I think if you can explain what you're doing with them as I look at them, I'll have a better feel for how the final product is going to come out."

I took a couple of deep breaths and looked Grayson right back in his eyes before answering, "I guess so."

"Alright. I look forward to your phone call," he said with an extra wide smile across his face. He placed my bags into the Jeep and then walked around and opened my door, waiting for me to get in before shutting it. "Thanks again for today. It was fun."

I smiled and then looked away to buckle my seat belt. I started up my Jeep and slowly pulled away. My stomach was rumbling, but in a good way. I drove home with a giddy grin on my face, thinking about Grayson and his breathtaking blue eyes.