Photographer 29 (Patreon)

Three days after the close call that happened in the living room, where Nancy almost caught me in a very compromising position, where I was banging her stepmother Nicole, and instead caught me in just a normal compromising position, where she thought I was banging a nameless brunette model who was slutty enough to get naked in the living room of a stranger. Pity that she was giving me the cold shoulder since that encounter. I would have liked to test the limits of her fury. 

The anger of redheads was truly a sight to behold when they were naked and writhing in pleasure under me. 

However, currently, my frustration was less about Nancy’s attitude, and more about the latest e-mail I had received from the client, about the outdoor shooting I had completed with Penny despite great personal exhaustion. Well, the exhaustion was less about the shooting itself and more about the extracurriculars we had spent together, but that was just a small, unimportant detail. 

The important thing was the client was trying to delay the payment using some of the more obscure business lines. 

I wasn’t really afraid that I wouldn’t receive a payment, because one of the bigger benefits of working together with some of the biggest names in the sector as an intern was that I had learned quite a bit about how to set up an iron-clad contract as a freelancer. One of the subclauses guaranteed that in case of a quality dispute, the national photographer guild would arbitrage based on the job description and the final product, instead of trying to deal with collection agencies or small claims court. I wasn’t even afraid that my previous dispute with the editor who was angry about my dalliance with his family members, because blacklisting someone was something, but defending a client against a photographer would anger his team to a degree that wasn’t worth it.  

Of course, that didn’t mean a legal dispute was the best way to handle such a thing, because doing so would not only make sure I would never receive repeat work from the same client, but also significantly damage my reputation in the town. 

I was just starting to make money in this little boring town. It was too early to move. 

However, the main reason for my frustration wasn’t even that. No, I was annoyed because the client had strongly implied in his email that dinner with the full team where he discussed his opinions about the photos might resolve his issues. And I had been in the sector long enough to know what that was a code for. 

He wanted me to arrange a date between him and Penny, preferably in a hotel room. Admittedly, it wasn’t an outrageous request considering sector standard. It wasn’t rare for the model to spend some intimate time with the client decision-makers for the bigger contracts. 

Unfortunately for him, Penny was mine, and I didn’t share. 

Of course, that left one big problem. Even if I could resolve the current issue I was facing without any damage, I would inevitably face the same question again. If I wanted to create a path to my success, I couldn’t use the third-tier talents who were willing to work for the limited budget I had — not to mention none of the decent talents would work for me even if I had the money, afraid of being blacklisted alongside me. 

The next time a client asked me to arrange a dinner with Penny, or God forbid, even Nicole or Katie, I might not be in a position to reject without sacrificing my already wobbly career. And I was too selfish to ever share them with a bunch of clients. 

“Fucking no,” I murmured as I stood up, frustrated. I needed to find a way to make money that was under my control, and I needed to do so soon. 

Luckily, I had a busy week, completing a number of projects decent-paying projects, giving me a little egg-nest I could spend for a project as long as I could keep the costs below five figures and launch it reasonably early. The bad thing, I had nothing else than a little money, a camera, and a blacklist that prevented me from using most of the common resources available for someone with my network.

With my mind busy trying to come up with a fresh idea, I was distracted as I climbed up the basement stairs. Only to be pulled out of my thoughts by a knock on the door, just as I was about to open it. 

I opened the door, expecting either Katie or Nicole to visit. Much to my surprise, I faced neither a bubbly blonde nor a shy brunette. Instead, I came across a redhead, who looked frustrated at my almost instantaneous presence at the door. 

“Can I help you, sweetheart?” I asked even as I took note of the way she dressed. Unfortunately, it seemed that our latest encounter seemed to push her in a different direction, because she was wearing a boring pair of sweatpants, and a loose t-shirt without a single redeeming quality. 

“Don’t call me sweetheart,” Nancy answered immediately, latching on the opportunity to be angry at me. Considering our last encounter, it wasn’t a particularly difficult frame of mind for her to reach. All that she needed to tap into the fury that created by my outrageous display of fucking a ‘stranger’ in the middle of her living room, no doubt assisted by her fallacious feelings of being betrayed. 

“As you wish, honey,” I said, the unrepentant smile on my face telling her that I was more than willing to cycle through cute pet names if she wanted to defend that particular point. 

Her beautiful green eyes flashed in anger, but after an inaudible grumble that no doubt included a couple of insults toward me, she decided to let it go. Understandable, as she knew how shameless I could be when confronted, and she knew that from a very vivid first-person experience. “I can’t deal with that right now,” she murmured. “I need a favor.” 

“Oh, really?” I said softly.

“Yes, you owe me one for not telling Nicole about your perversion, and I’m calling the favor.” 

For a moment, I was tempted to call her bluff, curious how Nicole would react when confronted by Nancy complaining about the whorish brunette model in the living room, but decided against it. It had the potential to be fun, but it carried an equal risk of Nicole collapsing in worry. The entertainment value was not worth the risk. 

Instead, I decided to tease her in a different way. “Which one you’re talking about, the brunette one, or the redhead one?” I said, my grin widening into a smirk. 

It took a moment for her to realize what I was referring, which stalled her for a moment. “Shut up,” she murmured. “Are you going to help me, or not?” 

“Tell me what you want first. As a principle, I don’t agree to open-ended requests.” 

That statement didn’t help her anger any, but my serious expression was sufficient to dissuade her from that point. “It’s something easy for you. I just need to borrow your camera for half a day tomorrow.” 

“No way,” I answered immediately. “Honey, that’s my lifeblood. I can’t afford to have it repaired in case of an accident, or I wouldn’t have been living in the basement of a stranger,” I answered. 

“I promise I’ll be careful,” she answered. 

“Out of the question,” I countered. “That camera is too important for my job to risk. But if you really need it, I can recommend you a place to rent one. You should have enough money for deposit after the payment for your modeling.” 

She suddenly blushed. “I … can’t,” she said. 

“Why, did you already paid back the published for the advance you have received?” I said, expecting her to nod. 

Instead, she shook her head. “No, I spent it already,” she murmured, her eyes already falling on the floor. 

“Interesting strategy,” I said with a chuckle, then waited for her to answer. 

“I hadn’t wasted it,” she lashed out defensively. “I invested it for my book.” 

I raised my arms in defense. “Hey, I’m not your parent. I don’t care whether you invested your money or blew all it on while partying. However, I still won’t lend you my camera.” 

“Please, just for half a day,” she repeated. 

“No,” I said with a sigh, while her expression fell. She turned and took a step away. “Why do you need my camera in the first place?” 

“We need to take photos of our booth during the convention,” she murmured as she walked away. 

“What convention?” I asked. 

“I rented a booth in a big fantasy convention to market my book,” she said. “A tailor friend of mine prepared costumes for some of the characters. I even arranged for two cosplayers to wear them. I was hoping to snap a few pictures to use them on online marketing.” 

“Why didn’t you say so?” I said with a sigh.

She turned to me immediately. “You’ll lend me the camera?” she asked excitedly. 

“Definitely not. I’ll never give my camera to someone else, especially to be ” I said, and her expression once again shifted to anger, thinking I was playing with her. “I’ll do something better. I’ll drop by the convention and take the photos myself.” 

“Really?” she asked. “We need to drive almost three hours to get to the convention center. We need to leave at six, and it’ll take your whole day. You would do that for me?” 

I smirked. “Well, that depends.” 

She was smart enough to feel alerted at my words. “Depends on what?” 

“Whether you’re willing to pay back with a favor of your own, of course.” 

“What do you want,” she asked hesitantly. 

“I don’t know yet,” I answered. “But probably, I’ll ask you to model for me again. It shouldn’t really be a problem after the last time, is it?” 

“Modeling…” she murmured, blushing as she remembered how that particular chapter ended. 

“Yes, just modeling,” I said with a smirk. “The rest is a bonus we might do if you beg for it, of course,” I said with a chuckle. 

“When hell freezes over,” she answered immediately, lashing out.

I chuckled. “If you say so, sweetie. Let’s go.” 

“Go where?” she asked. 

“To your room, of course,” I said, waiting until her anger flared once again. “I need to check the costumes to make sure everything is in order.” 

“Do you think that’s really necessary?” she asked. 

“Without a doubt,” I answered. “Sweetie, I’m a fashion photographer, I need to check the stuff beforehand to make sure everything is in order,” I said even as I started walking toward the stairs, forcing her to follow me. Actually, I didn’t really need to see the costume, because I knew that unless the costumes were a total disaster, I could take some decent photos using good angles and lighting. And if they were horrible, nothing I could do today could recover them. 

However, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to finally visit Nancy’s room, especially if I could use the opportunity to make her wear the costumes. And if things went well, maybe even remove them myself… 

“There’s no need, my friend is a professional, and I trust her to prepare them perfectly,” Nancy cut in. Unfortunately, she seemed to be getting smarter in terms of putting herself in compromising positions. “We can meet in the living room, tomorrow at six.” 

“Whatever you wish, sweetie,” I said with a dismissive shrug. It was a bit of a bummer to lose the opportunity to have a little redheaded fun, but considering we would be spending a whole day together tomorrow, it wasn’t exactly an unbearable setback. 

Instead, I walked to the kitchen to make myself a tea before walking back to my room, determined to find an independent way of making money…