Seduction and Lies

She didn’t even care why they needed a new photographer. All she knew was that she had finally taken her business to the next level.

This called for some serious celebrating. Under normal circumstances Mia would offer to whip up one of her fabulous meals at her house, since she was the only one of the trio who could really cook. But because she was out of town, Danielle and Nick would have to go out.

She reached for her cell phone to call Nick and give him the good news when the phone chirped in her hand, indicating she had a message waiting. She dialed into her voice mail.

It was Savannah. Danielle’s training was to start tonight. She was to come to the TLC headquarters at eight.

Well, that put a wrinkle in things, Danielle thought as she put the SUV in gear and drove off.

Chapter 5

Danielle pulled up to the photo shoot site in midtown Manhattan. As usual, the area had its curious onlookers, but for the most part New Yorkers, who are used to seeing just about anything and everybody, pretty much took a peek and went on their way.

She tossed her parking permit on her dashboard, grabbed her equipment from the passenger seat and hopped out. She ducked under the tape that separated the set from the pedestrians and weaved in and out of the crew until she reached Nick’s side.

“How’s it going?” she whispered in his ear, causing him to jump in surprise.

Nick turned to her, a smile blooming on his face. He leaned down for a quick kiss. “You made it. Things are cool here. The usual drama. Let’s take ten,” he shouted. “So tell me what happened.” He slid his arm around her waist and ushered her away from the crowd.

“Wellll.” She dragged the word out. “I got it!” She jumped up and down doing a happy dance.

Nick swept her up in his arms and spun her around, drawing the wide-eyed stares of passersby. “Oh, baby—I’m so happy for you!” He kissed her lips.

“Happy for us. This is a package deal. It’s you and me babe. And I have a ten-thousand-dollar check to prove it.”

“Whoa, this is definitely cause for celebration.” He pulled her close. “What do you want to do? You name it.”

Her heart began to pound. “Well, how about we, uh, plan something for the weekend. Just the two of us.”

He gave a slight shrug. “Sure. I didn’t think you would want to wait that long.”

“We have a crazy week ahead of us and it will be the perfect way to end it.” She stroked his jaw.

“Whatever you want,” he said halfheartedly.

“Good.” She pecked him on the lips. “Now bring me up to speed with the shoot,” she said, smoothly switching into business mode.

Danielle followed Nick back over to the set, half listening to him as she tried to think of an excuse for why she would be away for the evening.

“So what are you going to tell him?” Savannah asked.

Danielle turned her back to the people on the set and cradled her phone a bit closer. “I have no idea. Any suggestions? What did you tell Blake during your training?”

“For one thing, Blake and I didn’t work together, and he was so accustomed to me working overtime at the law firm that I never really had to come up with an explanation.”

“Great,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve already used the shopping-for-cribs excuse.”

“Dani!” one of her crew members called out.

She turned in the direction of the voice.

“We need you over here.”

“Be right there,” she shouted over the noise of traffic. “Gotta go,” she said to Savannah. “If you think of anything, call me.”

“Will do.”

Danielle disconnected the call, stuck her BlackBerry in the case on her hip and joined her team.

The photo shoot was an ad campaign for Lincoln Center’s fall season. The bevy of models were attired in gorgeous evening gowns from the Vera Wang collection. They had to shoot them from a variety of angles: getting in and out of cars, walking through the plaza and of course the establishing shot in front of the fountain. The shoot itself was easy. The hard part was keeping would-be passersby from straying into the shots. After five long hours, they called it a wrap for the day.

“I figured as long as you didn’t want to go out and celebrate we could celebrate, at home,” Nick said to Danielle as they packed up their equipment. “Nice home-cooked meal, some champagne, and then I’ll make love to you like I’ve been hungry to do all day.” He winked at her.

“Sounds perfect.” She screwed her lens cap on her camera and put it in its case, then hoisted it up on her shoulder by the strap.

“You could sound a little more enthusiastic.”

“Sorry. Just a little headache.”

“Hmm, we have some Tylenol at home, but if you can’t wait, we can stop and get something.”

She waved off his offer. “No. I’ll be okay. Just the sun, the work and all the excitement. I’ll be fine.”

Nick stared at her a moment, then took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “You want to tell me what’s going on with you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean, the way you’re acting. Like…I don’t know, like you’re hiding something.”

She made a face. “Hiding something,” she echoed. “Don’t be silly.”

“Hey, whatever. When the real Danielle Holloway gets back, let me know. I’m going to the gym.” He walked off toward his car, got behind the wheel and drove off.

Danielle’s shoulders slumped as if the air had been let out of her. She couldn’t go on lying to Nick, but what choice did she have? Maybe this whole TLC thing wasn’t for her after all. Yet it was something she felt compelled to do from deep down inside. It wasn’t the case itself. It was about proving to herself that she could be so much more than just a pretty face, someone’s girlfriend, good in bed. It would provide personal satisfaction to take on something challenging, something that didn’t come easily to her, like everything else in her life. She’d always gotten a pass because of how she looked. Most times it had nothing to do with her ability. And a part of her always felt inadequate as a result. This was different. She knew that it would challenge her relationship with Nick. But it was a risk she needed to take—for herself.

She waved goodbye to her crew and the models and headed to her ride. Then it hit her. Nick was going to the gym. She knew his routine. He would go home, drop off his equipment, change into his exercise gear, then head out. He’d be gone at least three hours. She checked her watch. It was six forty-five. If she played it right, she could be home from her meeting before Nick got back from the gym.

She hopped behind the wheel of her vehicle, pulled out her BlackBerry and dialed Savannah.

“I have a real short window,” she said, checking before pulling out into traffic. “Nick is going to the gym.”

“Great.”

“How long do you think this will take?”

“No more than an hour. It’s basically orientation, signing confidentiality papers, getting contact info and the CD with TLC information on it.”

Danielle blew out a breath. “Okay. I can manage that.”