New Job: New Beginning

It was 5:00 before I realized it. The day had passed so quickly, but Derek and I had gotten a lot accomplished. I strode back to the storage room where Derek was still working. I told him the time and I was leaving for the day. He told me to have a nice evening and he’d see me tomorrow. I said “good night” not really anxious to leave.

I drove home slowly, well below the speed limit. I wasn’t anxious to get home and see what kind of mood Dan was in. I drove past the garage, it was already closed, Dan’s truck was gone. I pulled up to our apartment and noticed Dan’s truck wasn’t there either. I decided to go over to Mom’s and visit with her, not really wanting to be alone.

Mom was fixing herself something to eat so I sat at the kitchen table and talked while she tended to the stove. I told her about the model walking around naked in front of us. She thought it was a little funny that I might be offended.

“People walk around naked all the time, Hon,” She stated. “Nothing wrong with that.”

I told her I wasn’t offended, just a little shocked at how casual Derek and the model were about it. I’d get used to it, it would just take awhile to adjust to seeing people naked around me. I spent about thirty minutes with Mom then told her I’d better get home and fix Dan something for dinner. He’d be pissed if he had to go hungry a little longer than usual.

Dan’s truck was still not at our apartment when I got home. I walked into the apartment and got some ground chuck out to fix meatloaf. Dan liked meatloaf; at least he said he did. I prepared dinner but ended up eating alone. Dan came in about 9:00. He didn’t say anything, just grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. He’d been home before me and changed clothes. He wasn’t wearing the uniform he usually wore at the garage. He was all cleaned up, even shaven. I tried to put the thought out of my mind but I knew he was up to something or someone.

I sat across from him, trying to start a conversation. He wasn’t in the mood to talk. We watched TV for awhile, then I went off to bed. I heard Dan on the phone talking to someone but I couldn’t make out the conversation. He was talking loud enough for me to hear him clearly. I drifted off to sleep, thinking about the work tomorrow.

I woke up early and put on some coffee. While the coffee brewed, I showered, fixed my hair and put on my make-up. Dan was still asleep. I didn’t bother to wake him. I got dressed and poured myself a hot cup of coffee. I woke Dan up so he wouldn’t be late for work. His father was always on him about showing up late for work.

I drove to Pueblo, my mood becoming better the closer I got to the city. I pulled into the garage, parked the car and walked over to the elevator. Derek’s truck was gone so I figured I’d be alone in the studio for awhile. There were some messages on the phone recorder, I jotted down the phone numbers and messages so Derek could go through them when he returned. I put on some coffee and returned to my desk. The phone rang so I answered it. It was Derek. He was running some errands, saying he’d be back at the studio around noon. He asked me to be sure and unlock the front door. I worked on enhancing and finalizing some pictures. I was getting well acquainted with the software. I answered the phone several times. Most of the calls were from girls looking for modeling jobs. I took their phone numbers and told them I’d make sure Derek called them back.

I heard Derek’s pickup pull into the garage below. The elevator started and I heard it slowly lower to the garage level. A short time later Derek, walked into the computer lab and asked how I was doing. I showed him what I’d done and he really seemed impressed. I told him about the phone messages and the girls who’d called about modeling jobs. I’d put the messages on the desk in his office. He said he go through them sometime this afternoon.

Derek handed me a media chip from a digital camera.

“Here, copy these off the chip and work on them. Do some cropping, contrast work and color enhancement.” He said. “Let’s see how they come out.”

I took the chip and downloaded the files onto the computer. Putting the originals on a cd for safekeeping. The files were pictures of the girl he’d photographed yesterday. I had to admit she was quite beautiful and sexy. I worked extensively with each picture, making comparisons and slight adjustments that I thought made the picture look better. I spent most of the day on the pictures, just taking time for lunch. I’d brought something to eat from home. It was getting too expensive to have lunch at the café every day. With the microwave I could heat it up.

While I was working with the nude pictures of the young model, Derek walked in and stood behind me. I felt a little intimidated at first, looking at her pictures with Derek. Derek pulled up a chair and sat beside me. I could smell his aftershave; it was very aromatic but not strong. Derek watched me work on each detail of the pictures one at a time. He never said a word, never making a suggestion or complaint. When I got done with a few of them, I asked him what he thought, hoping for a compliment or at least a suggestion. He told me I was doing great. He liked the results I was getting from his original pictures. I got a big smile on my face, loving the comment he’d made.

My eyes were getting a little tired; Derek suggested I take a break. There was some cold ice tea in the kitchenette’s refrigerator. He opened a can for me and one for himself pouring them into plastic cups. We sat in the office area and talked. I mentioned he had some modeling sessions scheduled for the next day, which was Friday. We got to talking about modeling and who he’d hire and who he wouldn’t hire. Single girls with jealous boyfriends topped his list of “don’t hires”. Most of his models were married women and college girls from the surrounding areas. I asked about the girl from yesterday’s session, figuring she was a college girl.

“Jenny, no. She’s married with a little baby.” He corrected me. “She’s a sales clerk in one of the stores at the strip mall north of town.”

We talked more about models and how short their job span was. I never take more than a few thousand pictures of any one model. They make good money modeling for me so they’re happy. I asked how much they got paid, knowing I probably shouldn’t have. I was just curious. Derek told me it was strictly by the hour and depended on what kind of modeling they were doing. Nude modeling paid much more than regular clothing or swimsuit modeling. He stated that a lot of the girls just modeled for the fun of it more than the money. They probably just considered the money a bonus for their time. I was running numbers through my head figuring what the girls were making per session. The money was definitely good.

Derek excused himself to make some phone calls and I went back to the computer to work on more pictures of Jenny. The more I looked at the pictures and the poses, the more I thought it was something I could probably do. I was thinking about the money though and not the experience or fun of it. When you don’t have money, it seems like that’s all you think about. I finally finished the pictures, there were almost thirty pictures altogether. I copied them to a cd for backup.

I walked into Derek’s office; he was working on one of the digital cameras. It was the type that took a floppy disk. The disk wouldn’t release, it was stuck in the camera. He was having a time with it. He was getting exasperated, about to give up on it for awhile. I picked it up and slid a letter opener in the slot. I felt it catch on something about halfway in. I mentioned it to Derek and he took the letter opener and tried to see if he could see anything. The disk had separated and was jammed in the camera. We managed to pry on it enough to get it to eject. We both did a sigh of relief almost simultaneously.

I liked working with Derek, he was nice, thoughtful and a gentleman. I wasn’t used to being around a guy like that. I found myself attracted to him, but I was married, although not happily. I brushed my skirt down, a gesture I did when I was a little nervous.

“How did the final pictures of Jenny come out?” He asked.

“Fine, I think they turned out really well”. I replied. “Jenny’s a very good model”.

I stood there wanting to ask something but afraid of the answer he might give me. I finally thought I’d ease into the question a little at a time. I asked him how difficult it was to be a model. He discussed the pros and cons of getting in with the right people and most photographers had their preferences on what they looked for in a model. I nodded my head acknowledging his answer. He asked if I was asking for someone I had in mind, who was interested in modeling. I told him no, I was just curious.

“Curious for yourself, you mean?” He questioned.

“Oh no, not me. I don’t think I could ever do photographic modeling.” I exclaimed.

Derek just smiled. He picked up one of the digital cameras from his desk and motioned for me to follow him. I walked beside him into the studio. He pulled the drapery fabric off the platform. It was carpeted underneath. He motioned for me to sit down on the platform and turn sideways. I hesitated for an instance then did as he instructed. I sat sideways on the platform. He told me to straighten up my back and sit up real straight. I smiled as the camera flashed. Derek then instructed me to put on foot up on the platform. My skirt rode up my leg quite a bit as I struck the pose. I smiled and Derek took another picture. He told me to hold still and he moved around towards my back. I looked over my shoulder and smiled. The camera flashed another picture.

Derek had me standing and kneeling on the platform. I enjoyed it, finding it fairly easy to work under his direction. Derek asked me to lie down on the platform on my tummy. I had a time adjusting my skirt so Derek put the camera down and came to my aid. Instead of pulling the skirt down, he pulled it up about halfway up my thighs. I was a little uncomfortable but I didn’t object. I smiled at him and he took several pictures of me. He complimented me on how good I was doing. I blushed a little but his sincerity gave me a lot of confidence. I felt at ease with him taking pictures of me.

“OK, let’s try something a little more daring, shall we?” Dan declared.

He looked at me for a response. I smiled and said sure I was game. I felt a little bold saying it. Derek asked me to unbutton the top couple of button on my blouse and pull the collar open a bit. My fingers undid the buttons; I didn’t seem a bit nervous about doing it. I sat back down on the platform and leaned back against its next level. Derek shot quite a few pictures of me from different angles. I did look down to make sure my bra wasn’t showing though. Derek was smiling and having me move my arms a little. First one way then another. The camera kept taking pictures. I was having a good time.

Derek set the camera down and had me lay flat on my back with one arm above my head. He unbuttoned another button on my blouse, exposing a little of my white bra underneath. I bit my lip trying not to object. He raised on leg up bending it at the knee till my foot was flat on the platform. My skirt rode up my leg quite a bit. I looked down to see Derek push the hem of my skirt up even higher. I tensed as he smoothed my skirt. He walked over and picked up the camera. I smiled and he shot a few pictures. He put a ladder next to the platform and climbed it to the top. I looked up at him and smiled as he shot more pictures. He had me look off to the side and he shot a couple more pictures. He climbed back down the ladder and placed the camera on the table. I raised myself up figuring he was done. I buttoned my blouse and smoothed the skirt down my legs.

“Let see how they came out”. Derek said.

He pulled the chip from the camera and we headed for the computer room. He handed me the chip and I put it in the computer. I offloaded the pictures onto the hard drive. I was anxious to see how they came out. The first pictures came out great. Derek remarked on how well I photographed. I got to the last of the pictures where my legs were showing a lot and my blouse was open. The pictures were super nice. I looked sexy although I appeared to be smiling a bit too much. The overhead shots were great too. My bra showed but I didn’t get upset about it. Derek complimented me on my long legs. I thanked him for the compliment without blushing. I felt good about myself. It showed in the pictures Derek had taken of me. I thought I’d run them through the software program and enhance them later, on my own time.

The rest of the afternoon I helped Derek prepare for the next day’s modeling sessions. He picked out some clothing he wanted one of the models to wear and I put them in the dressing room. We moved some props in and scooted the large platform out of the way. Derek made sure he had enough media chips ready to cover both sessions. It was just about 5:00 when we got done. Derek went down the steps and locked the front door. I asked him if he minded if I stayed over and worked on my pictures. It would be on my own time, not his of course. He smiled and said it was fine with him. He was going upstairs to his apartment and take a short nap.

I brought the files with my pictures back up and started running them through the software program. I did extensive detailing on each picture. I liked the results I was getting. I saved them back to the hard drive, made a backup on a cd and copied a few onto a floppy disk. I put the floppy disk in my handbag so I could put them on Mom’s computer.

It was almost 6:30 when I left the studio, a little after 7:00 by the time I got back to the apartment. Dan’s truck wasn’t in the driveway. I hadn’t seen it when I passed the garage either. The apartment was quiet when I entered. I didn’t bother fixing anything to eat, just fixed myself a sandwich and stretched out on the couch. I woke up sometime during the night and climbed into bed. Dan still hadn’t made it home. I wasn’t going to worry about him either. He was a big boy, old enough to take care of himself.

I woke up Friday morning, having slept restfully through the night. I quickly turned to see if Dan was lying beside me. He wasn’t. He hadn’t come home last night. I went through my morning rituals and headed over to the garage to see if he was there. It was almost 7:00am. Dan’s father was there, just starting to turn on the lights in the dark garage. I didn’t see Dan or his truck anywhere. Dan’s father was a little surprised to see me when I entered the garage.

“Hi. I’m looking for Dan; he didn’t come home last night. I’m a little worried about him”. I stated.

Dan’s dad just rolled his eyes back in his head. “He didn’t show up for work yesterday, took the whole damn day off! I ought to fire him but his mother would just make me hire him back. Besides, I know you two need the money.”

“Do you know where he might be?” I asked.

“Well,…………think he might have another interest………I’m not sure.” He replied hesitantly.

“Another interest!! You mean he’s got a girlfriend?” Having a hard time saying it.

“Some lady, a lot older, she’s been stopping by. They seem to talk a lot.” He wanted to say more but he held back.

I bit my lower lip, my eyes starting to tear up. I turned and hurried out of the building. I drove out of town heading east on the highway to Pueblo. I was driving well over the speed limit. It took me about halfway to Pueblo before I settled down and slowed down. I pulled into the studio garage, got out and slammed the car door so hard it jarred back open. I rode the elevator up to the second floor. Derek was just heading down the steps to unlock the front door.

“Hi Hon.” He shouted at me. I was too upset to answer his greeting.

By the time Derek had returned to the second floor I was out in the studio pouring a cup of fresh coffee. I heard Derek’s footsteps approaching behind me. He stopped about ten foot from me.

“You want to talk?” He asked softly.

I shook my head no and sat down in one of the chairs next to the table. I thought I was going to get sick, I was shaking. Derek picked up his coffee and sat down next to me, not saying anything. I sat there in silence for awhile, feeling a little better, getting over the shakes.

Derek took my hand in his, holding it firm but gently. I didn’t try to pull my hand away, his touch calming me even more. We sat there in silence for at least ten minutes, his hand never leaving mine. He didn’t ask any questions, just held my hand.

“Well, the first model will be here in about thirty minutes, I need to make sure we’re ready. OK.” Derek’s voice breaking the silence.

I nodded my head and walked back to the receptionist’s area. I finished my coffee, hearing heavy footsteps on the stairway. I was a little surprised to see a very handsome young man in his mid-twenties smiling at me. He was carrying a gym bag over his shoulder. He introduced himself and said Derek was expecting him. Derek entered the office area and the two shook hands.

Derek introduced us. “Bryan, this is Sheila, my new receptionist. Sheila, this is Bryan.”

I said hi again and the two went into the large studio. I guess it never dawned on me that Derek might photograph male models as well as female models. I started going through the filing cabinets straightening some of the folders up. I had one drawer almost completed.

“Sheila, would you bring me back a model release form?” Derek shouted.

I grabbed the pad of forms from the corner of my desk and walked into the studio. I was a little surprised. Bryan had gotten undressed; he was just wearing skimpy white briefs. The white material set off by his dark tan. He was muscular but not like a body builder. His leg and arm muscles were very pronounced. I tried not to stare but I wanted to get a good look.

“Bryan, I’ll need you to fill out and sign one of the forms.” Derek informed him.

The model release forms were three-part forms, one for the model, the other two for our records. I stood next to Bryan while he filled out the form. My eyes glanced towards his crotch. He had a nice bulge; I bit my lip to keep from smiling. When Bryan completed the form I pulled it apart and handed Bryan his copy.

Walking back to my area, the thought struck me, wondering if he might be gay. I kind of hoped he wasn’t. I worked on the file cabinets for awhile. I thought I’d go back to the studio and get myself a cup of coffee, maybe steal another look at Bryan in his briefs. For some reason I was feeling a little inquisitive this morning.

I walked across the studio to the table with the coffee maker on it. Derek was alone in the studio. I didn’t see Bryan. I poured myself a cup of coffee, asking Derek if he’d like one. He said yes and asked me to pour Bryan one too. I poured two cups of coffee for the guys, putting a little cream in Derek’s. Derek came over to the table as I handed it to him. Bryan came out of the dressing room. He wasn’t wearing the white briefs; he wasn’t wearing anything but a smile. I quickly looked away, afraid if I looked at him I’d start staring. Derek handed Bryan his coffee.

I started to walk back to the office area but Bryan asked me how I liked working for Derek. I had to turn to face him to answer him. I tried to just look at his face but my eyes took in everything. I almost dropped my coffee cup. God, he was magnificent I thought, a perfect male body! I told him I loved the job and Derek was a great boss. I meant it sincerely; it was just how I felt. Bryan and Derek both smiled at my answer. I got one last good look, then turned and hurried to the office area. The phone rang several times. I informed the callers that Derek was presently doing a session but I’d have him call them back later on.