“I have a very busy week. I’ll be all over the place.”
“Not just in Charlesburgh and Cambridge?” Tazer asked her.
“No. Since doing the calendar I picked up a few more jobs. I have jobs every day this week and next Saturday a runway show at the Colonial Mall in Charlesburgh. It’s going to be all day and exhausting. I’ll need to sleep all day Sunday to recover,” she said and smiled. He could tell she enjoyed the modeling work and it made him feel guilty and bad for hating the fact that she modeled.
“What types of things will you be modeling?” Parker asked her.
She looked at them and then swallowed hard after looking at Lynch. He squinted his eyes at her.
“No bikinis, right?” he asked.
She looked away. “Well, actually, I have to for a couple of these shoots this week.”
His brothers all stared at her and she quickly continued talking. Well, rambling in an obvious nervous state.
“I never felt comfortable posing in bathing suits or exposing my body like that but it kind of comes with the territory. My boss, and Ken, the photographer, know my limitations and they’ve been working with me to overcome those reservations.”
“Of course they have,” Tazer said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Is that what the contracts were about, and the notes with the pictures on certain pages on that table in your living room?” Burker asked. Her eyes widened and then she looked upset.
“You snooped through my things while I was showering?” she asked.
Lynch focused on the showering part a moment but then Burker began to explain about the items being in plain sight and he didn’t think she would have cared that he looked. He complimented her on the pictures of her he saw.
“Those negatives of different shots with you on the balcony were gorgeous. You really have a talent with the camera, Eliza Grace,” Burker said to her.
“Yeah, we couldn’t help but to keep looking,” Parker added.
She pursed her lips and then seemed to think about what they were saying.
“We didn’t mean to upset you. We just want to know everything about you and to be here for you if you need any help or maybe some feedback in possible decisions coming up for you to make,” Burker added.
“You saw the contracts and the catalogue and sticky tabs about the lingerie they want me to pose in, didn’t you?” she asked.
“Lingerie?” Lynch whispered through clenched teeth.
“Whoa. Let’s back this up here. Explain to those of us who did not see these pictures and contracts,” Tazer said, taking over as usual to organize this conversation as the leader.
“I haven’t made my final decision yet. I have a meeting on Friday with Clarissa and this big shot from Charleston who owns a very large lingerie business. It’s classy, upscale and very prestigious. It’s geared toward the very wealthy clientele and Clarissa said the man who owns the business is very particular about the models he has posing for his designs. I supposedly fit the profile so well that he’s ready to offer a large sum of money to contract me out.”
“Money to show off your…assets?” Lynch said, eyeing over her breasts.
She took a deep breath and released it.
“I haven’t decided what to do. I think after I meet with him and Clarissa I’ll get a gut feeling of what it might be like. He also offered a tour of his place.”
“His place?” Tazer asked angrily.
“His boutique and the setup for the private runway show he does next month.”
“Fuck,” Burker said and ran his fingers through his hair.
She looked at him.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Can I remove these plates or are you still working on your meals?” the waiter asked as he interrupted the conversation.
Lynch watched as Eliza Grace said she was finished and needed to use the ladies’ room.
“We’re done and we’ll take the check,” Tazer said to the waiter. He nodded and began to clear the plates. Lynch and his brothers watched Eliza Grace stand up and Tazer had to get up so she could leave the table. Lynch saw the waiter look at her too. It bothered him. But then he watched her make her way through the restaurant and past the bar and saw the attention she drew.
“I’ll wait for her by the hallway,” Lynch said and stood up, throwing his napkin down on the table.
“We’ll get the SUV’s started,” Burker said.
“Meet us at the house,” Tazer said to Parker and Burker.
“We’re taking her there now?” Burker asked.
“Yes. She needs to get comfortable being alone with us. Lynch and I will take her in our SUV. We’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said then paid the bill. Lynch heard Tazer tell them and he hurried to meet Eliza Grace.