I snorted. “Not with his little head, that’s for sure.”
Preston started choking, so I shook my head and scoffed. “Oh no, you don’t get to play prude. And you know I’m right. The best photographers we’ve had were the ones who loved the subject matter.”
I thought that had come out pretty professional.
Preston didn’t think so because he laughed. “So the only good ones are the horny guys who have to go home and jerk off after seeing you guys all day?”
“Hey, I like Toby, he’s a sweet little thing. Just a little nervous and repressed.” Toby was one of the photographers who worked with us occasionally, and he was a cutie.
Shy and quiet, Toby came alive behind the camera, and it was clear from the pictures he took, and how turned on he got sometimes, that he loved the lingerie…and the guys. I just wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to wear it, or if he liked the men who had it on. I’d tried pushing him, but he’d blush and clam up.
And not wanting to chase away a great photographer, I tried to give him some space and let him work with the easier guys who looked fabulous in the romantic style that Toby seemed to bring out in them. Some days, it was hard. I had this almost irresistible urge to poke at people until I understood them.
Preston said it was unhealthy and made me a nuisance.
I thought it made me lovable and quirky.
“We all like Toby. That’s not the debate here. Roman. We’re trying to decide if we fucked up with hiring him.” Preston looked back at the computer.
He wanted Roman. Not like sexually. I had a feeling they were both pretty strong tops and Dominants. No, he wanted the new photos Roman took for the site to have the same qualities that he’d brought out in the BDSM photos we’d found. He was right.
But I also thought it was going to come back and bite us on the ass.
“We give it a while and see what happens. It will be fine.” I was usually the neurotic basket case that had to be talked down; seeing Preston concerned about anything was weird.
“We’ve made a family with this company. It’s not conventional in any sense, but it works for us and for the business. I don’t want to do anything that might disrupt that.” The company might have been my baby, but Preston had helped to raise it just as much as I had. Maybe more.
“One person, even if they’re nuts, won’t create absolute havoc. It will be fine.”
Hell, what could go wrong? It was just one guy.
Chapter 3
Roman
“I’m still breathing. I didn’t do anything drastic tohim. I’m still employed. I ate my vegetables. Anything else you called to be nosy about?” I loved my cousin, but he was starting to drive me to the brink of insanity.
The hovering was getting ridiculous.
He laughed. “I’m glad. I feel like I should say good boy, but I think you’d get offended by that.”
“On so many levels; you have no idea.” Unfortunately, he probably did.
Taking the last sip of my coffee, I got up from my tiny kitchen table. The apartment had come fully furnished, so it was all tacky and mismatched, but I hadn’t needed to shell out any extra money. Eventually, I’d get a real place again.
“I just called so I can tell the gaggle that I’ve talked to you recently, and that you seem like you’re doing fine.” Devin tried to sound casual, but I could hear something else in his voice.
Rinsing out my cup, I answered automatically. “I’m fine.”
He coughed. “Um, you sound less like an asshole—but not much. Have you done anything fun lately?” Then he continued like he’d just realized what I’d said. “And I think the job is going better than fine. I saw the pictures on the website that you did. They look great.”
“Why are you browsing around it? Something you want to tell me?” With my asshole ex blasting my personal life to the world, my family hadn’t been spared any of the details, so I wasn’t that concerned with their privacy anymore.
Devin laughed. “Nothing for me. I know someone who needed to see that he’s not the most colorful crayon in the box, so I pulled up the site. The photos you took of Eli showed up first, and they were great. I think some of the best I’ve seen from you.” Then his laughter turned into more of a snicker. “And that includes those kinky ones that my mother called up hollering about.”
“Thanks.” I hated to even admit to myself that he was right. So I stayed silent on the rest.
I’d done several shoots since I’d been hired, and they’d all gone well. But the photos with Eli were always the best. Even when he drove me insane, and I wanted to shove his flirty, smart-ass remarks up his—
