Chapter 81

The next morning dawned bright and early, the sun tickling Katie’s eyelids, waking her up slowly. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at the clock. For one second she regretted the lack of sleep from the night before, but remembering her shoot, she found the energy to leap out of bed. Jon was already gone somewhere, most likely for a run. She found the coffee already brewed and waiting for her in the kitchen. Bless him, she thought. He knew her too well. She would need that extra cup today for sure. Though it was his fault that she didn’t get her allotted eight hours last night, she thought, with a smile. Taking her steaming cup she went to sit on the balcony. Letting out a big sigh, she sank back into the deck chair and listened to the morning city sounds and mentally planned out her day. Photo shoot at 10 a.m., late lunch with Jon, then lots of work. She was scheduled to meet with the band’s promotions manager later in the week and needed to have something to show him. The album cover shot was to be chosen first. Jon had located and snagged an old warehouse building for her to do the shoot in today, and hooked her up with an assistant. This would be very telling if she was cut out for this side of the business or not. She was excited, yet nervous. Instead of her own standards, she was now working to the specifications of others. Maybe someday they would seek her out for her style, but right now she was just dabbling and stretching her wings. Another big sigh and she stood up, heading back into the penthouse. It was time to shower and get the day moving.

Chrisoph drove her through the city, finally stopping in an alley miles from the penthouse. A white van was already there. Katie looked around at the graffiti-ed walls and stark brick work. Perfect, she thought. She exited the car with camera bag in hand. Her lights and other equipment had been transported in the van with the two guys hired to help her. Despite Katie’s protests to Jon helping her find some assistance for the shoot, she was now glad he had pushed the idea. This was not going to be easy and she could not be worried about moving the lights herself and running the shoot. After greeting the two men in the van, she told Christoph he could go. He refused, telling her he would be right there when she was done. Jon had given him strict orders. The equipment guys were from Jon’s own payroll, so he trusted them. But it was a tougher section of the city and one could never be too safe. Katie went into the warehouse to scope out the location. She had purchased some new lighting and was excited to try some new set ups. After looking around and showing the men where to set up the lights, she noticed the band had arrived and were waiting by the door. She walked over and introduced herself to the man she recognized instantly from the small cafe on the shore in Rockport.

Wiping her hand on the leg of her jeans first, she offered it to the singer. “Hi, I am Katie McKenzie. I will be doing your shoot today.”

Jack took her hand in his and shook it with a nod, “Ah, yes, Katie, nice to meet you. I am Jack, Jack Miller.” He motioned to the rest of the guys, “And this is the rest of the Jack Miller Band. You have no idea how excited we are to do this. Thank you so much.”

Katie couldn’t help but smile at how eager and excited they looked. She could understand. Jon was doing a really nice thing for them. She knew they were good, though, or Jon wouldn’t waste his time.

After learning the names of the four other guys, Katie chatted with Jack for a few minutes about her ideas and their style. She went into the alley to check out the other outfits and instruments the band had brought, then showed her assistants where to set up the band equipment for another set she would shoot later. She then went back inside and directed the band in posing for the first set. She started out feeling nervous, but quickly forgot her nerves and started getting into the creativity of the shoot. The band took direction well and after two hours of clothing and set changes, they finished the shoot. Feeling hot and grimy in the stagnant warehouse air, she bid the band goodbye and thanked her crew. Before going out to the car to meet Christoph, she let out a big sigh of relief and sent Jon a quick text that she was going to grab a shower at the penthouse before meeting him.

Once back at the penthouse, Katie took a long, warm shower, letting the water soothe her muscles. The new lens and camera were a good deal heavier than her old equipment and her shoulders hurt! After getting out and drying off, she decided to grab a soda from the kitchen and relax for a few minutes. She found Jon already home, sitting at the table with lunch waiting for her. He had decided take out would be a better idea, knowing she would be tired.

“Aww, what is this?” she said, smiling.

“Best Chinese in town!” He said, quite pleased with himself.

She unwrapped the towel still on her head and shook her hair out, combing it with her fingers. “That is so awesome, Jon. I am so happy to stay in, you have no idea.” she said,

“Why don’t you put something comfy on and I will dish it up.” He said, already heading to the kitchen for plates.

“Perfect!” she said, and headed to the bedroom to get dressed.

She emerged a few minutes later in a blue tank top and running shorts, and bare feet, her damp hair falling over her shoulders. Jon admired her as she sat down. She was one of the few women he had known in his life time that looked as good, if not even better, without make up on than with.

After lunch, Katie set herself up at the dining table with her laptop and external hard drive, then got to work. Jon had a few calls to make before Richie came over to work on a few songs. Jon was feeling antsy to write again, so he had called his old friend. Even with the wedding looming mere weeks away, Jon had learned long ago that when the writing bug called, to listen. That is how they worked best and kept producing magic after all these years.

Katie was deep in work mode when she heard a knock on the door. She jumped, realizing Jon was still in the studio, so she answered it. She found Richie, a big grin on his face, on the other side of the door.

“Hey! Katie girl, how are you doing?” He greeted her with a big bear hug, picking her up off her feet.

Katie giggled as he walked inside and put her back down. “Good to see you, Richie.” She couldn’t miss the fact of how good he smelled. He always did, though. As much as she did love Richie, it was more like a big brother than anything near how she felt for Jon. She could understand the draw for the Richie girls, though. He was such a good natured, happy guy most of the time. She could not recall ever not seeing a smile on his face.

“What have you been up to?” He asked as he walked past the dining table with her work all spread out.

“I did the shoot for that new band Jon is helping out. That was a new experience. But I loved it.” she told him, excitedly.

“Good for you! Your stuff is really good, Katie. You will do just great.” He praised her. “So where is the old man? He is making me work again.”

Katie laughed, tough rock star life, she thought. “In the studio, where else?” She said, pointing in the direction Jon disappeared into a few hours earlier.

“Thanks, babe.” He gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, then sauntered over to the studio, his hands in his pockets.

Katie smiled and shook her head slightly, then sat back down, tucking her feet underneath her, ready to launch in to another editing marathon.

A few hours later Katie felt like her eyes were crossing. Deciding she’d had enough, she shut down the computer and went to make a cup of tea. While waiting for the water to boil she took a quick peek into the studio. Jon and Richie sat in chairs behind the sounding board, each holding a guitar and note pads in front of them. They both looked very intense, so she departed, leaving them alone. A yawn escaped her lips and she decided bed and a movie sounded better than anything else. Taking her tea she headed toward the bedroom, pretty sure Jon would not be joining her until the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning Katie woke as the sun rose above the buildings, peeking through the curtains, the light dancing on the wall behind her. She looked over and saw Jon sprawled out on his stomach, his naked torso half wrapped in the top sheet, snoring away. He looked so yummy she was tempted to curl up next to him and run her finger up and down his back until he woke up and she could attack him. But she knew he was up very late, so decided to let him sleep. The urge was very strong though, so she quickly left the room to go make coffee.

As she listened to the coffee pot brewing, her cell phone rang. The screen flashed Becca’s number.

“Hey, Becca, good morning, chickie.” She answered, her tone chipper.

“Morning there, lady. How are you doing? Tell me about the shoot, how did it go?”

Katie sat down on a kitchen chair, “I have to tell you all about it. It went really well. I am very pleased. I was SO nervous, but after a while I just forgot to be nervous and really got into the creative side of it. The guys were awesome. I wish all artists were that cool. Some can be such asses.”

“That is so great for you, I am really happy it went so well. You know, Kat, there are some that are asses for sure, but you learn to deal with it. Your the professional so you just take charge. It gets easier.” She assured her friend.

Katie chewed on a nail thoughtfully, “I suppose so, I am sure you’re right. I hope so because I hate attitude.” She admitted.

“I know, but really, if they are acting like spoiled brats, you just treat them like one, just like a little kid throwing a tantrum. I just give the attitude back and they usually drop the act.”

Katie nodded, “Yeah, I guess so. Can I put them in time out?” she asked with a laugh.

“Well, not sure about that, but some like to be spanked.”

Katie almost choked on the coffee she just took a sip of. HA! I know one of those, she thought.

“You ok, Kat?” Becca asked through a giggle.”Listen, I was calling because I was wondering if you are free later in the week, maybe for lunch? I am coming into the city for the weekend to see David.”

Thinking for a moment, she replied, “Yes, I am. I have a meeting on Friday morning with some promo people for the band. They want to pick out the album cover shot. Hey, would you want to come with me? I could use the support.”

“Sure, I will be in town on Thursday afternoon, so I could go with you, then we could get lunch afterward. Sound good?”

Relief washing over her, she said, “That sounds great. Thank you. And can’t wait to tell you all about it. I so need some pointers.”

“Not a problem, girl friend. I will stop by say 9, and we can go?”

“Excellent. See you then.” Katie said, then hung up. She poured a cup of coffee, then went out to the balcony to contemplate her newest venture.

Chapter 82