"Wake up Hollywood, we're here!" Chris said.
I awoke from my slumber in the car to see the sign "Welcome to Palm Springs". We'd driven through the night in Chris' Jeep Cherokee to an assignment we got at the last minute. Our assignment this time was to shoot photos for Rhianna's new album. Our location would be the deserts of Palm Springs. And we'd be in a first class resort for what was expected to be a weekend shoot. Neither of us had been here before, so it was bound to be a weekend to remember.
The resort was everything we'd expected, her record company had sprung for first class rooms and everything would be on their tab. Still, it was hard for me to not look at the prices on everything.
It was incredibly hot there, even at 8 AM when we pulled in. We were met by Amy from the record company, who briefed us on what to expect. Rhianna would arrive later that day, she was giving a private concert that night, so our shoot would have to be quick and efficient.
When she did arrive, it was amidst a convoy of jet-black Hummer trucks. Even though I knew she was relatively tall, she looked like a midget compared to the "walking tree trunks" that served as her entourage. Each one was more menacing than the next. I was petrified to look at her, let alone say "hello". The lead guard was named "Junior" and he immediately started barking orders to Chris and I. It seemed like every scrap of equipment we had was analyzed, I would hope for authenticity, and not for "pawn shop value".
Needless to say, the shoot didn't go well. Rhianna was complaining the whole time, the shots didn't look good, Junior tried to take over everything. And we were fighting the clock. When it became clear this assignment wouldn't be good, Chris said "OK, everybody that's it, thank you Rhianna". To which one of her minders sternly told Chris she was never to be addressed by her first name. She was then hustled out of our workspace. And we stood there in silence looking at each other.
"Its days like this," Chris said slowly, his voice rising in volume, "that make me wonder why I ever got in this fuckin' racket!" he then yelled.
"Hey, you didn't know anything like this would happen, I'm just as mad as you!" I said
"Is there anything usable on there?" Chris said as he pointed to my laptop
"Maybe. Look we're here, let's take advantage of this place. We've been working our tails off lately, let's try and salvage this weekend. We'll go to her show tonight-"
Chris immediately interrupted me saying;
"Oh no, we're not that privileged Hollywood!" He said sarcastically
"What do you mean?"
"We're not worthy of this private show of hers, we just get to take the pictures."
"Wonderful!" I said
"I'm about ready to just pack up and go home!" he yelled
"Well, I'm staying." I said firmly.
Chris was silent, clearly thinking about what I said.
"OK, like you said, we're here." Chris said more calmly.
At least the food was good, and the pool area was top-notch. We spent the remainder of the day lazing in the sun, watching bikini-clad girls walk by. We later found out some were with Rhianna's show. And they all seemed to be going to this area of the complex marked "VIP's only". As you'd expect, the entrance was guarded by another walking tree trunk, probably Junior's partner "Senior".
"Well, I guess that's the closest we'll get to her show, right Hollywood?" Chris said.
"Sure looks that way." I said.
As evening fell, we could hear bits of her show around the complex. I was never a hip-hop fan so it all sounded like heavy bass to me. Somehow I got a few hours of sleep. At around 4 AM, I couldn't sleep anymore. It would be another hour or two before the restaurant started breakfast. So I figured I'd take advantage of an empty pool complex.
When I got down there, I noticed the VIP area entrance was open, and not guarded. So being the curious one I had to take a peek inside. It was incredibly quiet, only the sound of water splashing in the pool could be heard. I slowly walked in, all the while checking if any security honcho would toss me out. There were none. The pool was very large and rectangular shaped, probably Olympic-sized. The water was crystal clear. On either side were small cabanas with lounge chairs. And high bushes bordered the whole area.
And there was a solitary figure in the pool, wearing a 1 piece white swimsuit, slowly swimming laps. The figure stopped and looked up through goggles.
It was Rhianna.
"Hi!" she said pleasantly
"Hello," I said with hesitation and a slight wave "I hope I'm not intruding, the door was open and I was curious what this place looked like. It's nice."
She stood up in the water and looked at me a little more closely.
"You're one of the guys from yesterday." She said
"Uh, I'm afraid so. Maybe I should be going-"
"No, no, stay!" she said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, come on. Stay awhile. You probably don't get to see something like this everyday." she said.
"OK."
She was right in more ways than one. I didn't get to see something like this every day. Here was one of the biggest stars in music right in front of me, telling me I should stay where I was. Who was I to argue?
She swam over to the edge of the pool and rested her elbows on the sides.
"I'm sooo sorry for yesterday. It was just a crummy day for me. And I took it out on you guys, I know you're just doing your job." She said apologetically.
"Well, we have our bad days too." I said.
"Yeah, but I'm just not like that always. And I guess having those guys didn't help either. Did you see the show last night?"
"No, we weren't allowed."
"What?" she said with a shocked tone.
"Yeah, I guess it wasn't part of the deal we had." I explained.
"Oh, that's terrible! Well, not so terrible, we had a bad show last night. Everything was just so last minute, I'm really sorry!" she said.
"That's OK Rhi-I mean, uh, Ms. Rhianna, I mean, well I-" I stammered.
"It's Rhianna." She said calmly
"OK, Rhianna, I was told we couldn't call you by your name." I said.
"Who told you that?" she asked.
"The guys who were with you yesterday." I said
"Man, those guys go too far, way too far! I'm glad they're gone." She said with a mixture of disgust.
"Gone?" I asked.