Spend the Weekend with A Good Book!

4/18/2024

At the end of an interminable day and largely sleepless night, Mal got up at the crack of dawn and set off for Gatlinburg in his pickup. He had some trouble finding the studio, and by the time he arrived, the photo shoot had begun. Building security let him in, and he stood against the wall, watching. He caught Colt’s eye a few times but got no soft smile or knowing glance in return. On the plus side, Mal didn’t get any vibes of hostility either.

Finally the photographer called a break, and everyone wandered off for bathroom and beverage breaks. Mal pulled in a deep breath, stuck his shaking hands in his pockets, and approached Colt, playing over a million things in his head to say.

“I’m sorry,” Mal blurted out.

Colt looked away for a second, then focused on Mal. “I know. I didn’t mean to leave in the middle of the night, but I needed to be somewhere else for a few days.” He chuckled. “I think Phillipe is getting tired of me.”

“Come home, please,” Mal pleaded. “We’ll work this out, and I am more than capable of fighting the board on this.”

“I don’t know, maybe—”

“Have dinner with me, and we’ll talk about it.”

Colt nodded and even smiled a bit. “That’s fair. I’d like that—a lot, actually.”

They were interrupted by a woman approaching with a robe. She handed it to Colt. Mal immediately picked up on the fact her actions made Colt uncomfortable.

“I’m not sure about this,” Colt mumbled to the woman. He was staring at the floor.

“Not sure about what?” Mal asked.

The woman gave him an irritated look but explained, “The magazine is doing a spread with athletes, execs, and models posing nude.”

Mal studied Colt, whose feelings were obvious. “You don’t have to do that. It’s not part of the deal. I don’t know who requested this, but it wasn’t me, and I never approved it.”

“I’m sorry, sir, who are you?” The woman tried to step between Colt and Mal, but Mal wasn’t having it. He squared his shoulders, straightened his spine, and moved so he was beside Colt.

“I’m the guy who owns the distillery that is paying for these photographs.” He turned to Colt and asked, “Do you want to do this?”
Colt shook his head.

Mal leveled a glare at the woman. “We’re done here.”

“But the magazine…. There’s a contract and—”

Mal snorted. “Trust me, there isn’t a contract I can’t break, nor do I believe my business manager would have signed a contract if that term had been explicit.” He fished his wallet out and handed the woman one of his business cards. “Call that number. It’s my private office line. Give me the dollar amount that’s owed, and you’ll have a check within the week. He doesn’t want to be photographed nude, and he won’t be. Is there anything else he needs to be here for?”

The woman shook her head. “We completed all the other photographs needed.”

Mal turned to Colt. “Where’s your stuff?”

Colt motioned to the hallway. “The dressing rooms are down there.” He led the way out of the studio and to a door on the opposite side of the hall. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Mal leaned against the wall while Colt slipped through the door. He was back out a minute later with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Thank you,” Colt said softly.

“You were going to go through with that even though you didn’t want to be photographed naked?” Colt nodded, and Mal sputtered, “Colt, why?”
Colt shrugged. “It’s my job.”

“No. Doing something you’re obviously very uncomfortable with is not your job.”

Colt reached out and took Mal’s hand for a minute. “Really, thank you. I’ve been sick over doing that part.” He rolled his eyes and looked down at himself. “I’m too skinny, anyway.”

“No, you’re not. But I’ll admit I want to be the only one who gets to see you naked. You’ll have dinner with me? We can talk about that document? No contract I can’t break; remember that.”