"I've got some changes of clothes," he said, indicating the bag at his side. "I wasn't sure what kind of look we are going for today."
"Seedy and gritty, apparently."
He raised his eyebrow. "Sounds fun."
"You can head up if you like. We're just waiting on Razer."
I headed back to my office and got to work. After last night, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see Razer. The way I’d responded to him scared me.
Half an hour later, I realized I hadn't heard Razer arrive. No worries about that, he probably got Drew to let him in and was upstairs getting into the shoot. Still, I figured I should go to check on him.
When I got upstairs, I barely recognized the place. Val had put up those light reflecting things you use when you take photos all over the place. She'd rearranged things on the stage too. Alex posed, a red light flooding his body and highlighting the sleek curves of his muscles. He was dressed in a tight t-shirt and his signature leather pants. It looked like he had makeup on too. A bit of eyeliner that accentuated the sensuality of his eyes.
I wasn't there to check out Alex, even if heat flooded my body as I watched him pose. He let the t-shirt ride up to expose just a slither of his abs. A very tasty sliver.
Once the clicks of Val's camera stopped, I asked about Razer.
"He hasn't turned up," she said. "I wondered if something had happened. I thought you'd come up because you'd heard something."
"No, I assumed Drew had let him in." My stomach sank. Where the hell was he?
"I can get all the shots of Alex we need but I had some plans for a 'face-off' type shoot as well, with the two of them. If he gets here before Alex has to go, I can tee that up, then do his separately."
I nodded and got out my phone. His phone rang through to message bank, though. I silently cursed him, then not so silently.
"I'm not surprised," said Alex. "He's not the type to appreciate an opportunity like this. He might have the goods on stage but that guy doesn't have the business smarts to succeed in this industry."
I opened my mouth, my protest working on auto-pilot, then stopped. What could I say to that? Alex was right. Razer didn't have a business mind. I knew that. Why the hell was I even thinking of defending him?
"How long can you stick around?" I asked Alex.
"I've got a meeting with the designer you suggested at 4.00. That means I've got to be out of here by 3.30 at the latest."
I nodded. It was 2.30. That gave us time if Razer turned up soon. Very soon.
I tried calling him again. Still no answer.
Shit, what could I do? Hopefully, he was on his way and just had a flat battery or something.
Or maybe something had happened. I shuddered to think about things like car accidents – or worse if he was on that bike again. Surely, if he could, he'd call to say he was running late. I sent him a text telling him to get his arse to the club ASAP.
I flicked through my contacts and called Dazza.
"Have you heard from Razer? He's supposed to be at the club."
Dazza took a moment to answer. He probably had his mouth full of food.
"Nope, I don't know anything about it. Is it something I can help with?"
Dazza in a photoshoot? I didn't think so. He’d have to change out of his food-stained clothes for starters.
"If you hear from him, tell him to call me. It's urgent."
"Yep, boss."
Dazza hung up. I hoped he had the capacity to pass on that message. I tried Bill instead, hoping he wasn't at his day job and was able to answer the phone.
"Yeah, he mentioned the photoshoot at rehearsal last night. I'm surprised he's not there."