Ana debated telling him about the roses, but, sure it would sound silly, she shrugged off his question. “I wanted to leave early without being noticed, and Libby helped me escape. Now what are we doing today?”
“I want that sultry look you do so well. After Teresa does your hair and makeup, choose any of the black gowns on the rack. I’m creating a nighttime scene on a balcony. You’ll play the confident woman waiting for what the night will bring.”
“No man today?” she asked.
“No, I want you to fill the page, glancing over your shoulder. We’ll leave the man to the viewer’s imagination.”
“Fine. That’s the best place for them.”
Armand rested his hands on his hips. “Oh, my dear, I expected to see you with a date Saturday night. Are you alone again?”
“I wish you wouldn’t stress the word ‘again’.”
He bowed his head. “Forgive me.”
“Of course.”
Teresa had a small studio. An artist with hair and makeup, she had delicate features and tight gray curls that flopped about like a lion’s mane. She’d been with the ad agency for many years, and she and Ana worked well together. She fluffed the model’s hair. “You have such beautiful hair. Are you going to let it grow forever?”
Ana’s soft curls touched her waist now, but she had no reason to cut it. “I may.” She closed her eyes as Teresa worked to give her an elaborate upswept do, and followed the makeup artist’s directions as she applied cosmetics to give her a sultry lavender-shaded eye.
Armand’s assistants had set up the nighttime backdrop. Denise was a petite bundle of energy and Roberto a laidback, ponytailed man. The ad featured magnificent diamond jewelry, and when they’d finished shooting, Ana watched over Armand’s shoulder as he put the photos on his computer. They had exactly what he’d been told to capture, but she wasn’t satisfied.
“We’ve seen this same ad a million times. Why don’t we try for something new?”
He turned to
look up at her. “What do you have in mind?”
“What if we went with playful rather than sultry, and I posed in a towel with a shower in the background, or a waterfall, or a lush garden. Make it look as though diamonds are all a girl needs to wear.”
Roberto nodded. “Let’s use the green screen and fill in the background later. Maybe with a few fig leaves, we could set you in the garden of Eden.”
“I won’t pose in anything smaller than a bikini,” Ana responded. “If you have a snake dangling from a tree, it will look as though diamonds are evil, so we shouldn’t go there.”
“A waterfall would be good,” Denise offered. “We can spray Ana so it looks as though she’s wet from standing so close to the water. Make her skin sparkle like the diamonds.”
Ana turned and raised her hands as though blocking the spray. The diamond bracelet, necklace, ring and earrings all flashed their bright fire near her face. “How about this?”
“I like it,” Roberto said.
Armand shrugged. “We can try it. Let’s wrap you in a sarong so you’ll look as though you’re on an island vacation. Go see what Teresa has.”
Teresa had yardage they used for a variety of purposes, and they chose a pale lavender silk that showed off Ana’s slim figure and peach-toned skin. Once the photos were in the computer and the waterfall inserted into the background, they were all pleased they had something original and new. Ana went to change into her street clothes. When she came out, Armand was speaking with one of the ad executives who’d been at her table Saturday night. Rather than interrupt them, she waited to say good-bye.
“Good work,” the executive complimented. “This will take the campaign in a fresh direction.”
Armand shrugged. “I often have more ideas than those in your first sketches.”
“Then stop hiding your talent and keep using them.” He slapped Armand on the shoulder and walked away.
Denise came up behind Ana. “That wasn’t right,” she whispered. “You’re the one who offered the new ideas.”
“We all worked on it,” Ana countered, but she gave Armand a hurried wave as she left. He’d not known she was standing close enough to overhear him take credit for her suggestions. Roberto and Denise had offered their ideas too, and Armand should have reported it as a joint effort, rather than solely his. He was a great photographer, but from now on in his studio, she’d keep her ideas to herself.
Ana used the alcove off her kitchen as an office rather than a pantry. She kept her work calendar on the wall and tracked her earnings and expenses on her laptop. She’d been doing more work with her favorite designers this year, but each new job brought the uncomfortable suspicion it might be her last.
That week, gorgeous potted plants began arriving for her, and rather than refuse them, Henry used them to decorate the building’s foyer. Henry didn’t work on the weekends, and she neglected to tell his substitute to refuse deliveries for her. When she came back from running errands Saturday morning, there was a large gold-wrapped box of expensive chocolates waiting for her.