Hello Adventure

Chapter 12

"There you are!" Samuel, the creative stylist snapped as if I wasn't a full 30-minutes early for the call time.

Next to him, Cairo sat silently, wrapped up in headphones and clicking away on his laptop. He didn't even have the decency to look up at me and acknowledge my existence.

"You're late to our first shoot," Samuel spat, making his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Am not," I countered, feeling like I was fighting with one of my brothers.

"Are too!" He leaned closer to me and lowered his volume. "The call time changed. Didn't Brooke tell you? Haven't you even spoken with her since breakfast?"

Leo, the photographer butted in. "Yes, bella, you're late. We are very much in need your calming presence." He gave me another of his yogi bows before backing away.

"What? Brooke never told me the call time changed! I'm never late!" I felt myself start to sweat.

Samuel pulled a face, "You need to be checking on her constantly. She's like a child who will run wild without adult supervision," he sneered. "How do you not know this?"

I thought about the impressive deck I had managed to pull together in just a few hours. How much mischief could have Brooke gotten into since this morning when I last spoke to her?

"Allow me to fill you in," Samuel said with sarcastic sweetness. He started counting on his fingers. "Leo is all set up with the lighting and ready to start. Dale dropped off the desserts then went back to work because he's catering this party tonight and he has a massive order. He left the desserts inside the cabana with Brooke."

Samuel motioned with his head across the grassy lawn where I had The Grand Hotel Tremezzo set up a small tent with sides to keep out the heat.

"Are all the desserts accounted for?" I asked. "We're supposed to have eight desserts, with three of each, so that's 24 total items." I pulled out my list and began scanning it frantically, double-checking the counts even though I knew them all by heart. "Are they all here? How could that pretty little idiot not tell me the call time changed?" I said under my breath. I hated feeling underprepared.

"There are actually 12 different desserts now, which is exactly why we wanted to start early, but of course that's no longer an option." He whipped out a silk pocket square from his blazer with the flourish of a birthday party magician and dotted his brow. "I suppose Brooke failed to mention that too?" he asked like I was lying about the whole thing.

"What? How can the number of desserts just change like that? That means we're going to need four more locations to shoot in. Why didn't anyone tell me directly? What a total ball-ache. The desserts are going to melt fast in this heat. And we need at least one good shot of Brooke with each kind of dessert. Not to mention, Leo has insisted we shoot during golden hour, so now we also need to worry about losing the light too!"

I started jabbing at the phone texting my hotel contact to send us some ice water and portable fans to create some makeshift air conditioning for the tent.

"Don't worry, we can make up the lost time. I actually already scouted backup locations. Check your email, I just forwarded everyone the updated set list."

Samuel didn't look convinced and made no move to look at his phone. "No chance of making up lost time. Brooke's hair and makeup people just left, but now she's yammering on her phone with that husband of hers. Cute, but what is with all the drama?" Samuel cocked his hip out to the side and studded his fist to it.

"What drama?" I asked, but I didn't wait for an answer. I power-walked toward the cabana, ignoring the frilly flowering neroli, camellias, azaleas and the bright aroma from the citrus trees. There was literally no time to stop and smell the garden's pinky-white roses either.