Love in Photographs

3. AKA, Number Four

May 19, 2015

"Good morning, Miss Oliver. May I take your jacket?" A lovely receptionist with a warm face greets me once I enter the lobby.

The ride to Sony took much less time than I'd figured, so I had plenty of time before my scheduled meeting. It was 9:34 right now, and my meeting wasn't scheduled until 10:00.

I slouched out of my coat and handed it to the lady, who hung it up alongside other suit jackets. She kindly offered me refreshments and led me to the waiting area.

"Mr. Rysner will be with you momentarily, Miss Oliver. Is there anything else I can get you?" She asks, and I decline politely.

I sit patiently in the waiting area, and I look around at the walls, seeing various photos of artists I recognized. Adele, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Hendrix, John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, Kings of Leon.

I made my way from the wall to my left all away to the wall to my right. The last picture was of a group of four guys, and they didn't seem familiar. I looked at the last guy in the picture, however, and it seemed I'd seen the face before.

"That looks like-" I mutter to myself before the receptionist pops back in.

"Mr. Rysner will see you now. Right this way." She says, and I get up immediately, following her into an office room.

A man who seems to be in his upper 30's sits behind an immaculate desk, shiny enough for me to see my nervous expression in my reflection.

"Miss Oliver, so wonderful to meet you. I'm Jeff Rysner." He says warmly, but business-like, shaking my hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, sir." I say politely, taking the seat he points his hand at, while he makes his way behind his again.

"Well, Ms. Oliver, it seems we came into a problem with a secondary photographer who was scheduled to work today with one of our head photographers, and we'd like to offer you that position. Depending on your performance, which I'm sure will be exemplary, we'd like to offer you a permanent position with Sony." He says, and I fight the urge to don an ear-splitting grin.

"Well, sir, I'm happily willing to give it a shot. I can promise I'll do nothing less than my best." I smile, and he smiles warmly back.

"I do have to have you sign a confidentiality agreement. It's standard with all of our larger artists, one of whom you'll be photographing this evening. I'm sure you've heard of them. One Direction." He says, and I fight the urge to laugh. Grace was going to flip.

"I understand, sir. And, I've heard of them. A friend of mine is a huge fan. I can't say I know them well, though." I admit, taking the clipboard from his hand equipped with the contract and looking over it briefly. It basically said no photographs were to be kept or used for personal use or profit and any confidential business within the artist's management must remain confidential. Made sense to me.

"Well, that's new," He laughs. "I'm glad you're reading over that thing. Not that there's anything hid in it; I've just seen way too many kids come in here and sign it without second thought."

"I always like to know about anything my name's signed to." I say, placing the pen back onto the clipboard.

"That's definitely a smart idea," He agrees, taking the clipboard back and placing it on his desk. "Well, that's all the paperwork you'll need for now. Once we get things settled, particularly with my higher-ups, we'll get you a contract for the job, willing you're still interested."

"I'm sure I will be. This is a wonderful opportunity. Thank you, again." I say honestly, standing up along with him as he escorts me out.

"It's our pleasure. You work seems leagues above the rest, and we're honored to have you on our team. As far as this evening will go, we'll have a cab pick you up and get you to LA Stadium this evening around 5:00 so that you can get the layout of the stadium and get a run-down of how the show progresses from the main photographer. His name is Calvin Aurand. He'll be your go-to for the first few shows. Now, we're hoping you'll want to travel and follow One Direction for the remainder of their tour, but if that's something you're not interested in, we can always have you central to LA events. The pay for travel is much higher to compensate." He says, and my eyes widen.