Author Note: This is an older story series I've resurrected while I get back into the swing of things. I'm hoping to finish it and get some great feedback in the process. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for taking the time to read it.
Chapter 1
Justin Cavalier was a photographer. And a darn good one at that. But the last couple of years had not been kind to him. Sitting in the living room of his best friends Sophie and Hank Millington, Justin sipped at his scotch on the rocks. Hank was a banker and had been friends with Justin for the better part of ten years. Hank was a good head height shorter than Justin, but kept in shape and often tried to look like a muscled action star from decades passed. He was always immaculately groomed with not a hair out of place. Justin was always slender and easy on the eyes as he was always told. Not the hottest guy around, Hank was the one to think of himself that way, but still attractive enough that Justin would always garner a second look from the opposite sex.
Sophie was a salesperson for a local car dealership and was often ranked in the top two performers each month. Her bubbly personality, platinum blonde hair, model-like face and slender body helping with those sales figures. Her laugh was infectious, and she could put people at ease by simply talking with them. She was lovely, but she also knew how to look sexy and keep people on side. Being easy on the eyes was what attracted Hank to her in the first place. That and he saw Sophie as a trophy, even if he had never let on that was the case.
Justin had known Sophie for nearly fifteen years, given that she was his deceased wife's best friend from school. They got on a like a house on fire and were good friends straight away. When he lost his wife Bethany, Sophie was there as support along with her husband Hank. Nothing was ever too much trouble and they made sure he was back on his feet in no time. The support network that they built around him, was truly wonderful and he owed them a lot. The dirty dozen, as he called them were lifelong friends that he and his wife had been part of, as they traversed this thing called life.
Dinner had gone well, with Justin enjoying everyone's company. Next time it would be at his place, with a full-on barbecue, and some warmer weather. Hopefully they could get a small pool going and have a pool party, which would be a change from the formal dining they had been used to. Justin filled his glass with two fingers of scotch and sat down on the sofa in Sophie and Hank's living room. A place he would often call his second home. He looked to his left where there was a photo of the four of them sitting on the side table. Bethany was hugging Sophie, her bright smile a delight. Her long dark brown hair loose and waving in the wind. In Justin's eyes she was beautiful. Hell, he would often compliment his wife only for her to blush and tell him to stop. It didn't matter if others said the same thing, she always would blush and shake her head. But it was true, there was just something about her that was attractive. Bethany and Sophie were of a similar build, with Bethany having wider hips and a different jaw line to Sophie. Both of them had been cheerleaders in high school, but Sophie always seemed more popular with the opposite sex. Perhaps it was to do with her personality, given that Bethany was a little bit shyer and not as extroverted as Sophie. Justin smiled, remembering that picture, the four of them having fun at a concert.
"What's it been, nearly two years now?" Sophie asked looking at Justin. The breast cancer that Bethany had was aggressive, and it quickly took hold, shortening her life considerably. They tried to make her comfortable and do things she always wanted to do, but time was short. They didn't get to do everything. It had haunted Justin for a while.
"Yeah, that's gone by quick," Justin replied looking into his drink. "I never would have thought I would have gotten this far." Having lost his wife Bethany, of ten years, Justin still caught up with the dirty dozen as they called themselves. His and Bethany's friends who were more like family than anything else. Sophie Millington had been their maid of honour at his wedding to Bethany and was still checking up on him every day since her passing. The six couples that made up the group caught up monthly for dinner, and this time it was at Sophie's bequest that they all have dinner at her place. The two-year anniversary of Bethany's death was fast approaching and she knew that Justin shouldn't be alone at this time of year. Everyone bar Justin had already left, with Sophie and Hank pleading with him to spend the night instead of going to his empty house. Justin agreed and figured it would be worthwhile to drown his sorrows and not have to drive.
"Beth's passing was a loss to us all," Sophie said sipping her wine. "So, how's business going?"
"Oh, so-so," Justin said taking a swig of his scotch. That was an understatement, but he simply felt like getting drunk and forgetting his troubles. Not that he was much of a drinker.
"That good huh?" Hank asked sitting back down next to his buddy. Primped and always seemingly on show was how Hank seemed to relax. There was only one state and that was it. Everybody else would slump into the couch, but not Hank. It just wasn't his style.
"Well, yeah, no," Justin replied with a sigh. "I think I've got probably three months left before I need to close the doors and find another job. Six, if I'm lucky."
"What?!" Hank asked astonished at the admission his best friends business was failing.
"The work just isn't coming in. I've tried a couple of things, but nothing is working," Justin replied flatly. Truth be told, it hadn't been the same since Bethany had died. He had his assistant Miriam working for him, but the photography jobs just seemed so hard to come by, not that he was trying very hard to get many. He had taken a few knocks in recent months, losing some corporate jobs to others and even missing out on a wedding, which only made him sink further into his current situation.
"What do you think would turn it around?" Sophie asked sitting on the edge of her seat.
"Simply put," Justin replied feeling courageous enough to answer truthfully. Sophie nodded and Hank shrugged while sipping his beer. "I think a nude pictorial would do it. A book of tasteful nudes, would sell like hotcakes."
"Nudes? Really?" Hank asked astonished at the admission. Sophie on the other hand didn't seemed phased by it.
"Tasteful nudes are popular," Sophie said sipping her wine.
"Damn right. The last one I heard about sold a million copies. If I could get half that," Justin said sipping his drink and thinking about all the possibilities of such a successful project. "It'd keep the doors open for a long time..."
"So why don't you just do it?" Hank asked sculling what was left of his beer.
"Do you need help or," Sophie asked wondering why Justin hadn't delved in head first and simply done it. It wasn't like him to give up like he had.
"If I only had the guts to do it, you know, put out a book like that," Justin said downing his scotch. "I'd probably be doing ok. It'd get my confidence back up and get the studio back on track."
"A book, of artistic portraits and the like?" Hank asked curiously.
"Yeah, black and white nudes, that's the market at the moment," Justin replied frankly. "I just need to find some people to take photos of, hopefully not too expensive though, as I don't have that much cash at the moment."
"I see," Hank said with a grin. Justin didn't notice but Sophie had an idea of what it was about.
"I'm sure something will come up," Sophie said giving Hank a knowing look. Unbeknownst to Justin, Sophie was cooking up a plan to get her friend back on track and Hank was all for it.
Chapter 2
Miriam Greene dusted the furniture in the large studio. She was the twenty-five-year-old assistant that Justin had hired a few years before Bethany died. Miriam had been a rock for Justin, always being a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen when he needed it most. She was wise beyond her years and beautiful to boot. She had a lovely soul and that is what Justin admired most about the curvaceous brunette. Funnily, for someone so pretty, he often wondered if she was single or not, given that Miriam never talked about anyone. There had to be hundreds of men that tried to pick her up, not to mention a number of women over the years. But still, he never felt comfortable to ask given that she would let on she was by herself on weekends and what not. Perhaps she kept it a secret because she felt ashamed, not that he knew, but that didn't matter to Justin and he didn't care. He simply wanted her to be happy.
"Good morning," Justin said warmly to Miriam. He handed her an envelope and she stopped, looking at him quizzically.
"Morning," Miriam said opening the envelope slowly as if it was some prank.
"I know it's a little early, but I thought I would give it to you now," Justin said with a smile. "I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all. But you didn't have to do this," Miriam said looking at the tickets to the concert of her favourite band and a gift voucher to her favourite clothing store. She looked at Justin with surprise and then excitement.
