Author's Note: This story is completely fictional and did not happen. All characters and names are fictional and were made up. I do not make money from these stories. Please do not copy and plagiarize my work.
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October 2003
New York City, New York
The rush hour of traffic was audible within the distance of the first few floors high up in the corporate office building. All the result from a window currently open, inviting the honking horns and roaring engines from lines of traffic down below. Working downtown in Manhattan always came with a hectic day as the afternoon hours pushed on. A radio in the distance across the office cubicle had given sounds of rock music playing to quiet the outside ambience. Dante Sims had come to know this attitude of New York City all too well. He leaned against a window, gazing back at his reflection across the glass surface and gazing up at the many skyscraper buildings that occupied this city. The open window was across the room, near the left corner from where he stood.
At twenty-three years old, Dante had fallen into what would be a dream job for many coming out of college and working through photography gigs. Having family connections across town had paid off when he found himself dropping out of Rutgers and taking on a job for photographer James White. A famed photographer who's images had appeared on the covers of various magazines throughout the years. James had his name on some of the finest photo sessions with famous models, singers and actresses. As one of the most the highly sought photographers in New York, it was common for him to blend in with associates from Hollywood. Within a month on the job, Dante had become a regular assistant, accompanying the skilled photographer who signed his checks at the end of every week. The pay had proven to be worthwhile for sticking around, but it wasn't like there was another choice to be had.
Today marked the second meeting at the Esquire corporate building where a photo shoot had been arranged for a pop singer who was seemingly dominating the world at the moment. As Dante stood in the corner, he turned from the window to see a man who had been sitting in his office chair. Feet propped up on his desk away from the keyboard to his computer, the man was leaning back with a magazine hiding his face. The front cover had revealed to be Rolling Stone's latest issue from October. Anyone would've recognized the deep brown eyes gazing back from the cover of that magazine and Dante certainly knew that innocent, but mischievous face. Britney Spears was on top of the world, or so it seemed. That racy cover shoot by Matthew Rolston had sent shock waves back at the White photography office, all before this day had come.
Swallowing his breath, Dante ran his right hand across his freshly shaved face and through his long brunette hair. He had fixed it up in a ponytail to make life easier for when he was on the job. Today he dressed in simple casual clothes with a T-shirt showing the album cover of Led Zeppelin II and a pair of blue jeans. After the sizzling Rolling Stone shoot, Britney Spears was set for a session date with James White for Esquire magazine. Yesterday was the start of that shoot and Dante had yet to meet her, but he had witnessed her on the set. The large skyscraper building had a proper studio up one of the higher floors, all set and ready for use. It was better than using the smaller studio back at James' offices. For Dante, it was somewhat ironic that here he was working on a day with Britney Spears. He could remember just three years ago when her early hits were inescapable for any day listening to the radio.
It seemed like everywhere you turned, Britney was impossible to avoid. Her photo shoots dominated the covers of magazines while every new single had proven to be a hit on the charts. There were times years ago when Dante couldn't stand her music, yet here he was today going to work and knowing he would be within the same room as her. Dante would be a liar to not admit he couldn't stand her dance beat driven pop music. He still had nostalgia for discovering Soundgarden and the Melvins back in the day. Classic Rock radio channels gave a better option than having to hear Nickelback songs in rotation on the main channels. But in the end, it all came back to Britney's music. If not on the radio, you couldn't look past her music videos which were enough to make Dante question his hatred of her music. As he gazed back at that magazine cover, he was again in disbelief that he would be meeting her for a second consecutive day.
"Hey, Dante! What are you doing!?"
A voice called out in the distance, quickly alerting him as Dante took a forward look to see a familiar face. Sonja stood with her arms crossed, quirking up her eyebrows with her arms folded over her chest. Light shined from the row of windows over her dark hair, highlighting the wavy locks. The black woman was James White's other assistant who followed him on photo shoots. Whereas Dante often had camera duties, Sonja was his media manager. She stood tall in black high heels, a grey skirt that matched her buttoned up jacket revealing a white shirt underneath. A stark opposite from Dante whom she was giving that look as if he were a slacker currently in trouble.
"Hey Sonja, I was just hanging out for a bit. Is Mr. White ready to get started?"
She didn't answer him back. Instead, Sonja uncrossed her arms and motioned with her right hand index finger for him to follow her. That was how she typically treated Dante, leading him to figure that she was about to scold the younger man. As he followed behind her, she turned. Heels booming across the carpet floor down as she began to speak.
"Mr. White had to leave for an emergency."
"What happened!? Is everything gonna be alright?"
As they continued to walk, Sonja replied.
"It's something family related, I can't give you the details. He needs someone to finish the shoot up in the studio. We've got two hours left before Miss. Spears has to leave."
Dante felt a sudden surge as his heartbeat began to race. They walked to the sliding metal elevator doors when he looked at Sonja in absolute fear. His eyes were enlarged as Dante blurted out his words.
"I have to finish the shoot with Britney!?"
The older woman looked as if she were about to roll her eyes and smack him across the face. Sonja shook her head at his reaction.
"No, you don't have to do anything! You can just stand here and continue to be the lazy ass you've been all week. I shouldn't be the one to have to find you cause you left the studio to go stand around, looking out windows in an office."
Dante rolled his eyes as the elevator doors opened. Sonja noticed that look on his face and then stepped into the empty elevator, watching him follow behind her. She punched a button, leading them up to a higher floor where the photography studio was. The reality that he had to finish this job was only now beginning to sink in. Taking a deep breath, Dante thought to himself how this was going to be his first real job as a photographer. Finishing a photo session with what felt like the most famous woman on the planet right now. Yesterday they had completed the cover shoot with Britney remaking Angie Dickinson's legendary cover from 1966. It was a sight to behold, witnessing the pop princess stand there with no pants covering her gorgeous muscular legs, all in front of a red background. Feet pushed into a vintage style pair of white high heels and only a white sweater covering her chest.
As the elevator began to ride up, Dante stood there silently and thought more about it. Yesterday, he had witnessed Britney's bare ass with the sweater tugged down but unable to cover that thick rump. Her golden hair was slicked back, fitting for a vintage look. Upon first thought, Dante thought that she looked a bit like Marilyn Monroe. That was until his boss, the photographer himself had corrected the young man by showing him the infamous Esquire cover with Angie Dickinson. Unlike the old cover, Britney couldn't hold back her smile. She oozed such confidence while revealing her sexy body and giving the impression that she truly was not that innocent. While that was for the cover, there was a different photo shoot for today. Something that would be even more revealing as the spread within the magazine. Dante almost felt as if he were going to break out in cold sweats the more he thought about it, for he knew the details on that shoot.
"You said we've got two hours, right?"
Sonja turned, nodding back at the young man.
