The Street Photographer

Chapter 7

"There's my girl!" 

Max jumped up from his chair as soon as I walked into his office. His face lit up, eyes brightening with more than just the mid-morning sunlight. He swept around his desk and ushered me into the comfy armchair that I always chose for our meetings.

"Max... You're making me nervous." I dropped into the chair and stuffed my hands into the pouch pocket of my sweatshirt. "Why do I have the feeling that you're about to give me yet another assignment I don't wholly approve of?"

He pushed some papers to one side of his desk and sat on the edge of it. "You are too intuitive for your own good, my girl. I seem to be constantly forgetting that you can pick thoughts out of my brain before I've fully formed them myself."

I cocked my head and held him in a stare down. "Max."

"Right." He rubbed his hands together and snatched one of many papers off his desk. "I do indeed have your next assignment. It shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"Why's that?" I swallowed the lump in my throat and tightened my grip on the edge of my chair. He rarely got this excited about assignments, and when he did it usually meant that it was a high-profile target who could sue me into oblivion if I was caught.

"He's your new boyfriend, apparently." Max flipped his paper over so I can see the photo he'd printed off.

My stomach knotted, and my fingers went numb from my tight grip on the chair. There before me was a cellphone photo of Kent and myself at Curbside Coffee. My hat was tipped back far enough that my face was visible, and Kent had pushed his sunglasses atop his head temporarily. We were both out in the open, exposed and recognizable. Unfortunately, the exposure brought my worst fear to light.

"I am not going after my boyfriend as an assignment," I spat out. "I made it very clear that Madison and Ally do not cross. He is off-limits, Max."

Max leaned forward, interlacing his fingers. "Madison..."

I pointed a finger at him and also leaned forward. "No. You're talking to Ally right now. I may look like Madison, but I still control who does what. No, Max. I won't do it."

"Ally..." he huffed. "Need I remind you that you are under contract to follow all assignments I give you. Kent Davids has privately eluded paparazzi for years. We didn't even know he was in town. Now, we have the inside track to him. You have constant access to him, which is the perfect cover for your work."

"No. That is a gruesome breach of trust, and I refuse to let Madison ruin my life. Max, I really like this guy. As much as he'd be a hot topic for both of our careers, you're the only one who wants to keep climbing the ladder." I jumped out of my chair and set to pacing the room.

Max sat in silence, not saying anything against me yet not exactly supporting my side either. I was deeply hoping that he would process and accept my proposition. It was a stupid hope, since he'd never do that, but it never hurt to try. In our several years together, he'd never been on my side.

"Ally, if you don't do this..." He rubbed his nose and took a deep breath. "I don't want to hold this over your head, but you are under contract. I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice."

I stopped in my tracks and tugged on the ends of my wig. Madison was finally starting to interfere with my life, and I was on the verge of kicking her to the curb. I'd never set out for any of this, and this was precisely the chaos I wanted to avoid. It was just a matter of time before everything truly came crashing down around me.

"Are you honestly telling me that I have to spy on my boyfriend or be fired?" I shot my icy question and glare at the same time.

"I'm telling you that outright refusing an assignment will make things very difficult for both of us. You need to give me something, Ally. The juicier the better, and I know that you can deliver. More importantly, I know that you will deliver." He grabbed another paper off his desk and held it towards me.