Camera Shy (Lessons in Love, #1)(100)
“Oh,” she mutters, “well, there you go.”
“Mhm, now, I fixed the problem,” I say, stepping forward and closing the space between us. Taking her mug from her hands, I let out a little moan, then tuck her hair behind her ear, trying to be as seductive as possible. “Now say you’re mine.”
“What?” she croaks then clears throat. “Sorry, what?”
“In the studio, Avery. Say you’re all mine. I promise you’re going to like the photo shoot, and you’re going to love what I do to you after.” I wet my lips as I throw my final Hail Mary. If this doesn’t work, I’m done pushing the issue. I won’t make her do the photo shoot, but the way I’m feeling at the moment, I sure as hell am going to cave and fuck her mercilessly on this kitchen counter.
I wrap my hands around the smallest part of her waist and trace the outward curve of her full hips. I resist clamping down and digging my fingers into her body. How many days has it been now? I went three months without sex and now my eyes go fuzzy when I haven’t had Avery for a few days? Here begins my descent into feelings for a woman, yet again, and dear God, I hope it’s for the last time.
“Okay,” Avery finally answers, pulling me out of my wicked thoughts. “I’m yours… In the studio. The film camera,” she says with a small shrug, “is clever. Good work around. How’s Friday?”
“That’s three days from now.”
“Indeed.” She smirks. “That’s fast calendar math.”
“Smart-ass,” I snark back. “What’s wrong with tonight?”
She presses her hands against my pecs, but she doesn’t push me away. Her hands linger. “Because I have to work—it’s what Mason and I were just arguing about. It’s an emergency.”
“Is everything okay?” My eyes fix on hers. They look a little gray today, like a cloudy green sky.
“Yeah,” she says, exaggerating her nonchalance. “Totally.” She lets out a deep breath before she’s honest with me. “It’s the first time in my career I’m worried that it’s too late. When Mason told me about Legacy Resorts, I thought their rebrand was just focused on bringing in their company more revenue. They aren’t performing at the top of their market, but they certainly aren’t at the bottom. I thought… Well, anyway, it turns out there’s so much more at stake.”
I watch her brows furrow as her forehead wrinkles with concern. I fight the urge to smooth away the worry lines. “Are they fudging their numbers?”
“Oh, no. The board of directors voted and they want to dissolve the company and sell the resorts off in pieces. They have so much potential and are already very competitive. They just want to take the simple, safe path out of this. They’d rather take their cut and sell the properties to the big names. And sometimes it makes sense for a business to do that, but Legacy could be wildly successful. And if they give up now, thousands of people will lose their job.”
“Why wouldn’t they just go work for the new resort?”
Avery removes her hands from my body and reaches for her coffee mug. “That’s not how big acquisitions tend to go. In my experience, usually only twenty percent get to keep their jobs and usually that twenty percent takes a major pay cut.”
I watch her eyes dart back and forth. She’s not being evasive. Her mind is just elsewhere. She said she had to work…clearly, she’s already working. I’m slowly learning that Avery’s biggest asset as a brand strategist is that big, beautiful brain. “You seem nervous.”
“I’m not nervous. I’m just… I’m used to telling business owners and CEOs how to connect with their consumer base. I’ve never had to convince a board of directors that their company is worthy. It’s hard to get people to see something that’s so obvious when they are dead set on a misguided narrative.”
I raise my brows at her. “The irony.”
She gestures up and down her body with her free hand. “Don’t even. It’s not the same thing.”
“It is. You are obviously beautiful and sexy and amazing in every way, but you refuse to acknowledge it. So what would work for you? What would get you to see yourself correctly?”
She grins at me as her cheeks fill with the lightest shade of pink. “Apparently, a very persistent boudoir photographer who bribes me with sex.”
My laugh comes out like a roar. “Keep thinking, sweetheart. I don’t think you can use that tactic on Legacy Resorts.”
“Well, it won’t be what I resort to first, that’s for sure. Especially if I want to take the job they offered.” She pumps her eyebrows back at me.
“What?” Tired of standing, I grab Avery’s hand and guide us to the couch. She sits right next to me and tucks in her knees carefully, still holding her mug full of coffee.
“That feels so good to say out loud. Technically, I’m not supposed to say anything, but it’s been eating away at me. That’s what Mason and I were arguing about.”
“They don’t want to offer Mason a job?”
She scrunches her lips. “SEO specialists aren’t exactly hard to come by. Their offer is for me and me alone—only if I can convince the board of directors to keep the company intact. Mason made up some story about how the CMO was a misogynist pig, but I think he suspected they were interested in bringing me on board, which is why he tried to keep a buffer between us. I might’ve gone behind his back and reached out anyway, which is why he’s so furious at me.”