‘Suits me,’ Anna said. She just hoped they would be able to get on — this looked like it could very well turn out to be her dream job.
‘Right, well, first things first.’ He walked over to the desk and picked up a large A4 desk diary. ‘This is my bible — it contains all my appointments, telephone numbers and addresses, times and directions.’
‘Right,’ Anna said.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing. I just assumed that it would all be computerised.’
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘It all goes in here. You can’t go wrong with pen and paper.’
‘What if the book got lost? You’ve got no backup.’
‘It can’t get lost,’ he replied grumpily. ‘That diary doesn’t move from the desk.’
‘But what about if you need the information when you’re on a shoot or on the way to one?’
‘Then I have this.’ He pulled a much smaller notebook from the pocket of his jeans. ‘I transfer any relevant information into this before I leave the studio.’
‘Right,’ she said slowly.
‘What’s the matter with that?’ He frowned at her and she could tell that if she mentioned sharing an online diary on their phones he might just explode. She decided to go along with his system for the moment. Maybe, bit by bit, she could bring him into the current century.
‘Nothing,’ she said lightly. ‘It just seems a bit laborious, that’s all.’
‘Well, it’s a system that’s worked for me all my life, so I don’t intend to change it now.’
‘Whatever works for you,’ she replied, trying to be diplomatic. ‘But if it’s all right with you, I might just put all this information into a calendar on my phone, which is backed up to the cloud. That way we can be doubly sure that we don’t lose anything.’
‘If that’s the way you want to work, it’s up to you.’ He didn’t sound pleased about it. ‘As long as you don’t forget to put everything into the desk diary first.’
‘I won’t,’ she said. ‘I’m not about to upset your system.’
‘Good.’ He turned his back to her. ‘Why don’t we go through the diary together? You need to get up to speed with what’s coming up so we can plan accordingly. Let’s sit down on the sofa. We might as well be comfortable.’
Comfortable was not how she felt sitting next to him on the small sofa. She could feel the heat of him, suddenly aware of his hard and muscular form, and the room became stifling as warmth spread through her entire body. She tried to concentrate on the diary, to not think about his proximity, but she was struggling to focus on what he was telling her.
As he talked, she realised how busy he was. It was hard not to be starstruck at the amount of top models and celebrities he was about to photograph, but she was too hyper-aware of his body next to hers. She told herself she was being ridiculous. She had vowed, after Mark, she would never fall for her boss again, and here she was getting all hot and bothered after only a few moments in his company.
‘So you need to learn exactly what equipment you will need for each shoot,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you grab a fresh notebook from the drawer over there and you can make some notes?’
She smiled as she got up to retrieve a notebook and a pen — she was still smiling when she sat back down again.
‘What’s so funny?’ he asked as she opened up the book to a fresh page.
Realising she was at risk of offending him, she said, ‘Nothing’s funny, just happy to be here.’
‘Good.’ He nodded. ‘Let’s get on with it, shall we?’
‘Of course.’
* * *
Daniel found it very disturbing sitting so close to Anna, but he was doing his best not to show it. She was wearing a floral perfume, something he didn’t recognise. The women he mixed with often wore much heavier, more obvious scents, but hers was light and fresh, just like her. He shook his head. He must stop thinking about her like this. She wasn’t his type and she was his employee — or at least she would be if she passed her probation period. And he wasn’t entirely convinced about that. He wasn’t sure he could work with someone he felt was silently mocking him for how he organised his work. He knew it was old-fashioned, but it was a system his uncle had used, and if it was good enough for Uncle Lewis, it was good enough for him.
He continued to go through the appointments for the week, bombarding her with information. She was scribbling down his comments so quickly he was sure her hands must be aching.
Taking pity on her, he closed the diary. ‘You might think I’m a technological dinosaur, but when it comes to editing software, you’ll find I use up-to-the-minute kit.’
