Page 104 of The Way I Hate Him
From the group of people, a woman in a black silk robe turns around, her wavy brown hair floating around her shoulders as her gaze locks with mine. Deep-brown eyes peer up at me as a beautiful smile crosses her pouty lips.
Hell . . . she’s . . . she’s gorgeous.
“Odette, this is Hayes Farrow. Hayes, this is Odette Jenkins, the wonderful woman you’ll be working with today.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Odette says as she holds her hand out to me. I take it and give it a soft shake.
“It’s nice to meet you as well,” I say. “And I’m going to apologize in advance for anything Kevin makes us do.”
She chuckles. “It’s okay. I’ve done quite a few of these types of shoots. I’m well seasoned at this point.”
“Maybe you can walk me through it then,” I say, sticking my hands in my pockets. “And this is Hattie, my assistant.”
Odette looks over at Hattie and offers her a genuine smile. “Hattie, what a beautiful name. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Hattie says as she moves an inch closer to me.
“Well, why don’t we get you into hair and makeup, Hayes? Wardrobe, as you know, is pretty much nothing.” Kevin glances up and says, “Ah, there’s the bed, they’re rolling it in now. Let me go check on it. Freddie, can you show Hayes and Hattie to makeup? Odette is all set.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Freddie says, coming up to us. “Right this way.” He directs us down a hallway and to the first door on the right.
The door is already open, so the makeup artist stands to attention when I step in. “Hayes, how are you?” Jacklyn says. I’ve worked with Jacklyn a few times on different projects.
“Great. How are you, Jacklyn? How are the kids?”
“Annoying as usual,” she says with a laugh. She gives me a quick once-over. “Been working out a lot lately? You look bigger.”
“Can’t hear that enough,” I say as I sit down in the makeup chair. “This is Hattie by the way, she’s my assistant.”
“Hattie, great to meet you,” Jacklyn says. “What happened to the annoying guy who used to follow you around?”
That makes Hattie snort right before I say, “He was stealing from me. So I fired him. Luckily, I was able to hire Hattie on short notice.”
“Lucky girl,” Jacklyn says as she starts wiping down my face. “Hayes is one of a kind, one of the sweetest in the industry. You couldn’t have found a better boss.”
Hattie presses her lips tightly together as she glances at me in the mirror. “She’s right. I’m pretty awesome,” I say, hoping it gains a response from Hattie, even if it’s just a smile. But nothing.
Instead, she asks, “Would you like me to get you some coffee?”
Jacklyn shakes her head. “No coffee for this guy. Just water and some mints. Given the intimate close-ups with Odette, you’ll want nothing on that breath of yours.”
From the corner of my eye, I catch the look of surprise on Hattie’s face. I didn’t explain the shoot to her, just that she needed to be here. But these fragrance shoots usually have limited clothing, lots of oil, and smoke. Close-up shots of my abs, of my arms, of me tugging on my hair . . .
But this shoot is for a fragrance that both men and women could wear. Ruben sent me the premise yesterday, and when I read through it, I realized how different it would be.
It’s going to be intimate.
“Then would you like some water?” Hattie asks me.
My eyes connect with hers, and I say, “That would be great. Thanks.”
ChapterThirteen
HATTIE
“How long have you been working for Hayes?” Odette asks as she comes up next to me at the drink station.
I glance in her direction, taking in her soft features, plump lips, and dark lashes. God, she’s so pretty. Talk about feeling inferior.
