Lu yelped. ‘Not now! Um...I need to think about what we can do together.’
‘I have double tickets to a cooking demo by that celebrity pastry chef you’re so gaga about.’
‘Rupert Walker?’ Lu squealed. Oh, wow! She’d casually mentioned to Mak that she’d like to see the demo, and Mak, good mate that he was, had arranged tickets.
‘I was going to go with you, but I think you should take Will. You can torture him instead.’
‘I don’t think it’s his thing. But I’d love to go.’ Lu’s eyes widened as Mak scrolled through the numbers on her phone, pushed the green button and handed it to her.
‘It’s ringing. Ask him.’
‘Makhosi, you son of a...! What am I supposed...?’ Mak thrust the phone in her direction and the next moment Will’s deep voice had her toes curling.
‘Hey, Lu. What’s up?’
‘Um...hi. Feel free to say no, because I certainly don’t expect you to say yes—’
Will laughed. ‘That sounds ominous.’
Lu glared at Mak, who was rolling his finger silently to tell her to get on with it.
‘I was given tickets for a celebrity baking demo on Monday night and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me.’ Lu expelled the words in a whoosh. She pictured herself jumping into a cavernous pool and finding it empty of water. Splat!
‘Ah...um...it’s really not my thing...but OK. Shall I pick you up?’
Oh, dear Lord, there was water in the pool and she was floating. Yay!
Lu pulled a tongue at Mak’s satisfied face as they made arrangements. Turning away from his smirky expression she allowed a broad smile to cross her face.
I am woman, hear me roar, she thought. Well, it wasn’t quite a roar but it was definitely more than a whimper. Go me!
* * *
An hour later Lu pulled her SUV into an empty space in the parking lot of the Stingrays’ Rugby Union corporate offices. She’d been about to end her conversation with Will when he’d told her he was with Kelby Cotter, the Rays’ CEO, and that he wanted to have a word. Kelby had asked her to meet with him to discuss a photography project she might be interested in. Might be interested? She itched to pick up her camera and get to work!
At this moment she’d walk into the fires of hell if there was photography work there, and any project that had the Rays’ name attached to it would be a huge boost to her non-existent career.
Lu got out of the car and looked down at her short black skirt, her tangerine T-shirt and slightly scuffed wedges, and wondered if she should have splurged on another, more businesslike outfit. Heavy silver bracelets ran up her arm and ethnic silver earrings hung halfway to her shoulders. She’d forgotten to put on make-up. Lu sighed. She’d meant to but, as per normal, it had slipped her mind.
Lu was directed to the PR executive’s office by a receptionist who looked like a high-class model. Perfect hair, perfect nails...super-slim. Lu resisted the urge to wipe her clammy hands on her skirt and again wondered why she was being shown to an office in the PR and Publicity Department.
She readjusted the strap of her shoulder bag and knocked on the door. Two seconds later a large, rugged teddy bear of a man opened the door and smiled down at her. He held a sandwich in one hand and shrugged his apologies.
‘Lu? Sorry—first moment I’ve had free to eat lunch,’ he explained. ‘Kelby Cotter.’
He raised the half-sandwich for another bite and gestured Lu to a seat in front of a very feminine, very messy desk. He swallowed his last bite, took a swig of water from the bottle on his desk and scrabbled amongst the papers.
‘Got it.’ Kelby flicked the memory card from her camera at her and Lu snapped it out of the air. ‘Amazing photos of Will. Can I have them?’
Surely he could have asked her over the phone whether he could use them? She should ask him to pay for them. Her brain whirled. But if she gave them to him and asked for the credit then that would help to raise her profile. ‘Uh...sure.’
Kelby tipped his head at her and let out a rumbling laugh. ‘You can’t just give your work away, Lu!’
‘So you’ll buy them from me?’
Kelby named a figure that had Lu’s eyes widening. It seemed that the Rays paid their photographers very well indeed.
Emboldened by his kind eyes, Lu asked why the CEO was dealing with publicity and PR issues.
‘Fair question. My head of PR flew to Cape Town to be with her terminally ill mother. I’m overseeing the department until she returns, and it’s easier to work in her office than move all her stuff to mine.’ Kelby leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his portly stomach. ‘I have two other offers for you. Both of them involve you getting paid.’
Lu blushed and felt like an idiot. And excited. And nervous if these projects had anything to do with Will Scott. ‘OK. That sounds interesting.’
‘I browsed through the other photos on the media card Will gave me and I was blown away by some of your images. They are utterly fantastic.’
‘Thank you,’ Lu said, her brain racing to remember what images he was talking about. Some photos of the twins and their friends, the baby photo shoot, some beach scenes.
‘My partner and I have a six-month-old daughter and we’d love some photographs. Some portrait shots of her and some informal shots of the three of us.’
Yay! A job. ‘That’s very doable. I have a studio at home with all the props, backdrops and lighting. As for the informal shots, we can do them at your home—whenever it’s convenient.’
‘Uh...we live in a rather cramped loft at the moment, while our house is being built, so that wouldn’t work.’ Kelby fiddled with his pen. ‘Will says you have a beautiful garden...can we do them there? It’ll have to be on a Sunday. I’m swamped during the week.’
‘Sure. What about this Sunday morning?’
‘Fantastic!’ Kelby looked up at a sharp rap on his door. ‘Will! She said yes to doing Micki’s photos! We’re going to do them on Sunday morning at her house.’
‘Told you she would.’
Lu’s stomach swooped and rolled as she turned in her chair. Dressed in a pair of black athletic shorts, an untucked blue Rays branded T-shirt and trainers, he looked fit and sexy, his hair damp as if he’d just come out of a shower. Will stepped into the room and Lu’s eyes widened as he dropped his head to kiss her cheek. Because she pulled back—in surprise—his kiss landed on her temple. Will stood up and his eyes connected with hers. He’d clocked her surprise and those fabulous topaz eyes glinted with amusement.
Will perched himself on the corner of the desk and helped himself to the other half of Kelby’s sandwich.
‘Hey!’ Kelby protested.
