Mika reached her hand out to take the camera from Ale, not meeting his eyes. She didn’t trust herself not to let everything show on her face. All the hurt. All the pain.
Ale’s voice was laced with stone but his touch was soft as he handed her the camera, his hand grazing hers. “You need to be more alert for the next setup. You’re the one who talked about being professional.”
Her eyes shot up. “I am professional. I’ve done my job perfectly all these years, and I don’t need you telling me about it now. Why don’t you go and take that crap to one of your beauties? Go throw your ego and your attitude over that way, because I’m not biting.” She turned, sloshing water over his chest as she walked away with as much dignity as she could.
“Mika, what the hell is going on?” Robin hissed as Mika stomped by her.
She stopped and looked at Robin’s workstation, her hands nervously running over pots of creams and powders as she pretended to check things out. “Hey, is everything okay?” Mika said with false brightness. “I know this is tough, having to work with generators and all, but are you missing anything?”
Robin clamped a hand over Mika’s busy fingers and leaned toward her. “I’m not talking about that, and you know it. I’m talking about you and the big man.” Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t fool me for long. I know something changed between the two of you. Now, what gives?”
Mika blinked and grabbed Robin’s arm, causing Robin’s wide eyes to open even more. “Shhh. Not a word.” She looked around. “Please,” she pleaded. “I’m fine. We’ll talk later. When I can. I promise.”
Robin gave her a pointed up-and-down look. Then she glared over at Alejandro, who had now joined the rest of the crew and was toweling off. “Okay, I’ll give you a minute, but I want to hear it all. I know how he can be. I don’t care who he is—I’m not going to take him messing with you.”
Mika smiled. It was nice to have someone here in her corner. “Don’t worry, sweetie, nobody is messing with me. But it’s good to know you have my back.”
Robin gave her a wink. “Always.”
Mika walked away, feeling a little better but still weary. If Robin noticed something was up, then who else did? But before she could wrap her mind around the problem, she was surrounded. Sucked into the wind tunnel of Lulu, who had at her side Ava Simone, the booking agent from Chosen Model Management.
“Mika dear, my girls are not happy,” Ava said. She was a small woman in her late fifties with birdlike features and dark glossy black hair in a classic Louise Brooks bob. Her trademark dark lipstick, no matter the season or environment, completed her retro look.
Mika plastered on a serene expression as she looked from one frowning woman to the other. “What could your girls not be happy about? We’ve just started this shoot.”
Ava pursed her lips tighter and gestured around her. “Well, I wouldn’t call this a professional set. It’s a mess.”
Lulu nodded her head in agreement, and Mika whirled on her. “Lulu, you were fine with this location when it was described it to you. You said it would be perfect, and you know what an innovator he is. Hell, the man is a genius. No one has ever shot here, and don’t you want your magazine to be the first?” She could see Lulu’s wheels turning. Lulu never wanted to be one-upped, and she never wanted to be scooped by another magazine. She turned back to Ava and looked her in the eye. “As I said, your models are professionals.” She leaned close to her ear and spoke in a conspiratorial tone, “And you don’t want them to be considered divas.” Mika raised her voice back to a normal level. “Besides, I know they’ve had to rough it before, and the results were astonishing. The last shot with Jon Carlo in Brazil was amazing, and that was your doing.” She gave Ava a wink.
She knew she had both women. She’d appealed to what they wanted and gave it to them on a platter. There was no way Lulu would let Ava’s models hamper this shoot now. She could have the girls walking a tight rope 100 feet up in the air, and it would go off without a hitch.
Mika thanked them for their time and smoothly walked away in search of some pain reliever for her now-throbbing head. But for her trouble she rounded the corner and ran smack into Ale. Great, he heard the whole thing. He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up a hand and kept walking. Not now. One more barb and she knew she’d go over the edge.
*
Ale watched Mika’s retreating back and regretted his earlier words, especially that “beauty” comment. Despite everything, Mika was a cool one all right, and she ran his business like a pro. She was a real player. Hell, she even played him, which grated to no end. But one thing was for sure—he knew there was no way he could’ve done this job as well as he’d been doing it for these past three years without her. He needed her by his side.
He ran a frustrated hand though his hair. Mika had successfully done what some of the most famous women in the world couldn’t.
She’d made herself irreplaceable to him.
Chapter 12
The night air was sultry and the mood heady as they all gathered around the bonfire made by Tong’s sons. The entire crew sat on blankets laid out on the beach, enjoying a feast prepared by Tai and her family. Despite her anger, Mika found herself still wishing she were alone with Ale instead of across the fire from him, catching his profile through the flicker of the flame. She felt like a fool. Mooning over him while she tried to make it appear that she wasn’t, while he paid her no mind, chatting back and forth between Brian and the other crewmembers.
She swallowed the lump in her throat when he threw his head back to laugh at something Brian said. All she could think of was how much she wanted to walk through the fire and take a taste of his delicious lips. Naturally, he chose to look up at that moment, and their eyes locked. She felt like she would burn up.
Mika blinked twice, then quickly looked away. Suddenly very excited about getting another helping of anything, she got up, brushing sand from her butt and headed to the buffet table. Anything to occupy her hands and force her mind off him. She started to load her plate with pineapple and mango. Did she even like mango? She didn’t, so she returned the hunk to the platter.
Looking back to the crowd she saw Karina, dressed in a bikini top and a short sarong, shimmy herself down next to Ale with a toss of her long mane. Realizing she wasn’t hungry anymore, Mika dumped the rest of the fruit back on the tray and sighed.
“Cut it out.”
It was Robin.
Mika looked up at her with a wobbly smile. “What?”
“Don’t bullshit me. Cut this out, whatever it is you’re doing here.” She ran a finger over the front of Mika’s face. “It really doesn’t look good on you.”
Mika looked at her friend. “You’re right, it really doesn’t,” she said in a small voice.
“Come on, hon. Let’s take a walk.”
*
Alejandro watched out of the corner of his eye as Mika walked away with Robin. He was only half listening to what Karina was saying. Only half listening to Brian, too. He needed to get his head on straight and get back in the game, but he couldn’t get past this afternoon. He’d gone too far. His “beauty” comment from earlier had struck her as he knew it would, and it wasn’t right. He should’ve apologized but instead, he was an ass and let things escalate. He was stupid for acting like a spoiled child—how was that supposed to convince her to stay with him?
He pretended not to look as Mika and Robin strolled further down the beach, but then he frowned. Did Robin know about Mika’s plan to leave him even before this shoot? Would Mika share with her all that had transpired between the two of them in the last few days? Girlfriends did share a lot.
Ale felt something churning around in his gut. For a brief second, his brother came to mind. Well, David may be the open-up-share-your-soul type, but Ale wasn’t that guy. He was the strong one. Usually. But now here he was wishing he had someone to talk with about this mess. The crazy thing was, in the past his confidante had always been Mika. They’d had so ma
ny talks late at night, laughing it up after a shoot over a cup of cappuccino.
“Ale,” Karina whined. “You’re not paying me any attention.” She turned his jaw so he was facing her golden eyes.
Ale frowned, then softened his demeanor. It wasn’t good business to ruffle this one’s feathers, not when he had to get her up on wires early in the morning. “How could you say that? You have my full and absolute attention.” He gave her a wry smile.
“No, I don’t think so. I’ve never seen you so distracted.” She looked down the beach to where Robin and Mika were walking and narrowed her eyes on them.
This time, he was the one to reach out and turn her head back toward him. “I’m sorry. This is an important shoot,” he said, inching away from where her hand was very pointedly now trailing from his knee to his thigh. Damn, he’d forgotten how direct she could be. Did he really like that about her just a week ago? When she got very close to her destination, Ale picked up her hand and moved it to her own leg. “Like I said, my mind is on this shoot. I’m focusing, Karina.”
Karina smiled at him, her catlike eyes softening. She purred. “Of course. You’re a genius, and that is how a genius works.” She pointedly let her tongue play for the briefest moment on her top lip. “As a matter of fact,” she said, looking around and raising her voice, “this gorgeous place is inspiring me too. I will dance for you.”
Karina unfolded her long willowy body and waved her arms, simulating pulling Alejandro toward her as she gyrated her hips. Ale stayed seated even as Brian gave him a nudge. He looked past Karina to see where Mika had gone. She and Robin had disappeared from sight.
Karina shrugged and put both hands on her hips, rocking them back and forth to the beat of her own drum. Before long, a real beat was added to her movements as one of Tai’s sons started to pound on a drum that seemed to come out of nowhere. Karina gave the young man a devilish smile and blossomed under the attention. She gestured to Ula and Paloma to join her.
Ale rolled his eyes. Great, a floor show. He watched as the other girls got up, too. Each was scantily clad like Karina, Ula in just a bikini top and sarong and Paloma in a halter and barely there shorts. They each moved suggestively around the fire, making quite a sexy and primal picture. He thought of going for his camera but something turned him off. He shut down and sat back, passively observing. Karina seared him with her eyes, hips rocking back and forth, breasts thrusting up and down. This was just the type of woman for him. She knew exactly what she wanted: for him to make her famous. He knew it, and so did she. Her eyes, her hips, the suggestive lick of her lips said it all. There would be no surprises with her. Their relationship would last for a season, maybe two. There would be much press involved, and after a much-publicized breakup, both would move on.
Ale cocked his head to the side as he watched her. In the past, he’d had no problem with it. He gave what he wanted to give. He’d make her famous. Hell, he was well on his way to doing that with this shoot, and it would raise his own profile just that much more. These would be amazing shots. Work he could be proud of.
Then the image of Mika flashed in his mind’s eye, and Ale sucked in a breath. Her against the tree, frightened and vulnerable, her eyes closed. Scared but trusting—
oh-so trusting of him. He looked up at Karina again. She seemed to take his expression as a show of approval and grinned. He looked down. Did she or the other models trust him when they ended up in bed together? As they dined out, became hot items and set New York fashion ablaze? It was a mutually satisfying life, but now it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
*
“Are you kidding me?” Robin’s tone was full of shock as she pulled Mika by the arm to turn her around and look her in the eye.
“I’m afraid I’m not.”
“Oh shit, girl. I can’t believe it. I mean, I always suspected, of course, but I never thought you’d go there. Not you.”
Now it was Mika’s turn to look shocked. “What do you mean, you always suspected?”
Robin shrugged and started to walk further down the moonlit beach, making a face as she sidestepped some seaweed.
Mika ran to catch up with her. “Hellooo, uh, always?”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.” Robin kept walking.
“Hold it.” Mika’s tone was firm. No longer shaky, she was back to her no-nonsense self. Robin stopped. “I want an answer.”
“Well, I always suspected you had feelings for Ale. It was just something about the way you doted on him, protected him. Even when he was being an ass on set.”
“That’s my job.”
“Maybe, but being your friend, I know you. It was clear to me that when it came to men, no one could really hold a candle next to Ale—not even Eric.”
Mika narrowed her eyes. “That’s not true. Besides, Eric was a complete jerk, and you know it.”
Robin nodded. “I’m not disagreeing there. He totally did you wrong, but either way, he was no Ale—at least to you. And I think he knew it.”
Mika groaned. “Could it be that I showed it, and that’s what sent him running for that other woman?”
“No way, sweetie. He did that because he wasn’t man enough for you, or anyone for that matter, and he was a cheating bastard. I’m just saying I had a feeling no one could live up to Alejandro the Great in your eyes. But hey, it’s all a moot point. You’ve got him now.”
Mika’s expression crumbled. “I don’t have anything. There’s nothing between Ale and me. I’ve had some silly feelings for him, as you saw, but I know it can’t go any further. This was just a three-day thing and knowing Ale like I do, that’s about all he can handle. It’s better to cut things off now before I get hurt.”
Robin waved a hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve been with Ale longer than anyone else. Surely you can make this work.”
“Yes, as his assistant, nothing more. And after this job even that will be over.”
Robin put a hand on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Mika gave her a wobbly a smile. “I got the job at Stylist.”
“Wow! Oh sweetie, that’s great.” she pulled her in for a hug and then pushed her back, looking into Mika’s sad eyes. “Isn’t it?”
“Of course. It’s my dream. But I guess I should’ve told Ale about it before sleeping with him...and before he found the letter and got all mad.”
Robin looked stricken. “Oh, hell.”
“‘Oh, hell’ is right, and you know his temper.”
“That I do. I’m sure he’s not happy about you leaving.”
“No, but surely he knew I wouldn’t be around forever. I have my own dreams.”
“As you should. I just don’t see why you think you can’t be with him.”
Mika shook her head at her friend. “Robin, look at me. I’m not Ale’s usual glam-model type. I’m just me. This was an island fling, and I knew it. And deep down he knew it, too, but he doesn’t like having his ego bruised. I can’t go putting my heart out there only to have it broken once the next girl comes along.”
Robin sighed. “You are so wrong about that. You’re selling yourself short.”
Mika shook her head. “No, I’m just being practical.”
Robin laughed, and Mika gave her a hard stare. “What’s so funny?”
“Since when is love practical? You can’t control everything, you know.”
Mika gave her a wry smile. “Who said anything about love?” But as the words left her lips, something hitched in her chest. Mika quickly looked up at the moon, hoping to hide her feelings from her friend. “Come on now, enough of this silly talk. You’d think we were teenagers or something. We both have jobs to do in the morning.”
Mika heard Robin’s sigh but didn’t turn around as she made her way back to the crew.
They joined the rest of the group just in time to see the end of Karina’s show. Her hips were now moving at a rapid-fire pace, and a sheen of glistening sweat had formed over her body. Sh
e turned briefly, giving Alejandro a good view of her backside, then back toward Mika and Robin across the fire just outside of the circle of folks. For the briefest moment, she and Mika’s eyes locked, and Mika could have sworn she saw something there. A spark. A challenge. But in the instant she blinked, it was gone. No, the woman could not have been goading her that way. She was only herself and therefore, of course, no challenge at all.
Mika took in the beads of sweat that ran down Karina’s collarbone, between her breasts. The men and woman alike were entranced. Though Ula and Paloma were also dancing, they were clearly background for Karina as she shook her behind for all it was worth. She had all eyes on her, including Ale’s.
“Good lord,” Robin breathed.
“I wouldn’t give him all the credit. Looks like some of those moves come from someone else entirely,” Mika mumbled to herself, leaning her head to the side as Karina contorted into an almost impossible shape.
Karina twisted back around to focus her full hip-shaking attention on Ale. She moved closer, bringing her hips and crotch right up to his sitting form. She swayed back, letting her long hair brush the sand and bringing her taut abdomen to Ale’s face. The drumming picked up speed and she did also, gyrating as fast as Mika thought was humanly possible. It was as if the world shrank and focused on just the two of them.
Everyone watched, enraptured, as the erotic scene played out before them. Then with the final beat of the drum, Karina collapsed in Alejandro’s lap, and his long fingers snaked out around her waist. She was breathing hard, her breasts rising and falling fast.
All was silent as everyone looked on with open mouths. Karina looked at Ale with unchecked wanting, and he returned her look with an intense, hard stare. It seemed like a few long moments before someone started to clap.
Mika could only watch. Sweating, she tried hard to hold on to her emotions. Three days ago, she knew this day would come. She knew it when she let him kiss her, when she kissed him back. What a fool she was for thinking she could handle it.
Through The Lens (Creative Hearts Book 1) Page 13
