Authors Note: This is part of a series and is built on characters and settings from previous chapters.
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The previous day was incredibly busy with an out of town photo job. I barely had time to dump my gear at the studio before heading home to flop into bed, so I didn't feel too bad not getting to the shop before nine. Part of me wondered if hiring someone to man the shop while I was out on shoots was really such a good idea. Money wasn't the problem; it was more that I was kind of independent. If Felicia hadn't badgered me into this weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have even interviewed Tina. She seemed to be knowledgeable enough about photography and certainly had a head for numbers. As an executive assistant and book keeper, she seemed to be a good choice. Whether I could learn to not be so independent was really the question.
"Good morning!" Tina said as she walked in for her first day.
"Good morning." I replied as I unloaded my camera gear onto the counter to organize and put away.
"So... What would you like me to do?" She asked.
"Well. Come on in the back. I'll get you started. I have a pile of book keeping I haven't quite gotten to." I answered, leading her into the back. I settled her at the desktop computer I used for office work and spent the next half hour getting her going. I finally returned to the gear I was sorting and cleaning. Once I got it all put away, I moved to my big computer with the pair of twenty four inch screens to start working on the photos from the previous day. I was working my way through cataloging when the bell on the front door jingled.
"I'll get that." Tina said, getting up and quickly sweeping out of the office area.
I was just focusing back at where I left off when Tina came back in. "I have two good looking young women from Sunny's interiors to see you."
"Oh Yeah. Thank you!" I said as I got up. "That's the company that's remodeling the farmhouse."
"Oh?" Tina asked as I walked past and out into the studio.
"Sunny, Amy!" I said as I held out my hand to both of them. Sunny took my hand and shook it but Amy stepped right up to me and wrapped her one free arm around my neck and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Well, I think we have some really good stuff for you." Amy said as she stepped back, Sunny giving her an odd look which she ignored.
"Oh? Well, let's have a look." I said, stretching my hand out to guide them toward a small conference type table off to one side of the studio.
Sunny, wearing jeans and one of her signature shirts, sat down and started laying out sheets of paper with computer generated graphics on them. "Amy did a great job of design here." She said. "I think she really captured the use of the space great."
"Yes, she did!" I answered, flashing Amy a smile as I looked through the images that would end up being my new home. "Looks good. Now for the other shoe...How much?"
"Well, I have a couple options." Sunny said "But all of them are a bit expensive."
"Well, let's have a look." I said as Sunny started laying out sheets of paper filled with columns of numbers. We spent the next half hour deciding which options I wanted and didn't want and finally settled on a quote of sixty-seven thousand dollars.
"I need a third up front to get started as soon as you sign the contract." Sunny said, laying down some papers.
I quickly read over the contract and then scrawled my name across the bottom and slid it back toward her. "Wait one." I said getting up and heading back into the office. I pulled the checkbook out of the desk and returned to the table. "Here's twenty two." I said as I wrote out the check and ripped it off. "I also want Amy to stay involved. If she has good ideas that can improve things, let me know. I'm not afraid of a little extra money if it makes things better or nicer. I don't want gold plated faucets or toilets, but I also don't want to have to do another remodel in the next few years."
"Trust me. I'll make sure you love it." Amy said with a huge grin.
"Great!" I said, standing up when the ladies did.
"Um Scott. Do you have those pictures?" Amy asked quietly.
"OH yeah. I was so busy yesterday I didn't even get them unloaded. If you want you can come in the back and I'll transfer them to an SD card for you."
"Great." Amy said, following me.
"What pictures?" Sunny asked, following the two of us.
"Scott took some pictures of me the other day to give me an idea how a photo shoot works...just so I could understand how he uses the space." She said, blushing slightly.
"Oh? That sounds interesting." Sunny said as she followed us into the back. I pulled the camera from the shelf and popped the Flash card out. I stuffed the card into the slot on the computer and the program, already open, recognized it and started loading the pictures off of it and putting them up on the dual displays in a three rows.
"Amy!" Sunny said as she looked at the monitor, the series of pictures clearly showing her undressing one step at a time.
"What's wrong, sis? I'm a big girl." Amy responded shyly while I loaded an SD card and started transferring them. I minimized the screen and allowed the transfer to continue unwatched until it finally signaled done. I pulled the SD card out and handed it to Amy. "There you go." I said nervously.
"Thanks! I appreciate it." Amy said, stepping close and leaning up on her toes to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Sis?" I whispered as Sunny turned to head out the door in front of us.
"Uh huh. Didn't you know?" Amy whispered back.
"No. I didn't." I answered as Sunny opened the front door.
"Don't worry about her. She'll calm down and everything will be fine. She just likes to protect me."
