The Photographer

Chapter 8

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Toronto, Canada

The new year had come in strong and things seemed to be happening in Vanessa's favor. Her job at Chew Chew's was no more and although she was sad to leave behind Shawnie and her other coworkers, nothing brought her more joy than handing in her two weeks notice to Mr. O'Neal the following morning Eric Williams had dropped the good news. She had now been working at Edge Imaging for a month and was loving every minute of it. She enjoyed being surrounded by photos, taking photos, and seeing the satisfaction on the customer's face when they viewed the final products. Her job wasn't strictly office-based and she loved that she wasn't glued to a desk majority of the time. This was her freedom, her dream come true.

"Vanessa can I see you in my office for a moment?" Mr. Williams, her supervisor, shouted from his door.

The man made her former boss, Todd O'Neal, look like Mother Teresa. Eric Williams was a perfectionist, a neat freak, a workaholic who spent his nights locked up in his office working on image configurations and often times Vanessa was right by his side. Much like Mr. O'Neal, Eric had taken a liking to Vanessa and valued her work ethic and diligence in and out the office. He saw potential in her and wanted to perfect her talents and allow her to exploit her own abilities.

Vanessa quickly grabbed the Manila folder sitting on her desk and rushed to Mr. Williams's office. She smoothed down the hem of her skirt and ran her fingers through her hair before entering the office and taking a seat in the same leather chair the man had once interviewed her in.

"Yes Mr. Williams?" She watched patiently as he sat at his desk, preoccupied with something on his desktop screen.

Vanessa took the time her boss was engrossed in his work to admire his features. He was always well-shaven, his hair was always neatly trimmed combed to perfection and only the finest and fittest suits covered his body. He wasn't rich but he definitely looked the part. She noticed the slight frown on his face as he focused more on the screen. His index finger lay across his thin pink lips while his thumb supported his chin. He grunted and shook his head before using his mouse to click around.

"I've been trying to properly edit this photo for the past fifteen minutes but it's not coming out the way I want and the family is expecting it in less than an hour." Her boss looked at the large, analog clock mounted on his wall and shook his head.

Vanessa walked around the desk to get a better look at what he was working on. The image on the screen was of a family of four dressed in red and white-an early Valentine's Day portrait. The picture had way too much contrast and just by looking at the image Vanessa could tell the color temperature needed to be adjusted. She took a moment to think of all the possible solutions to fix the problem before gently rolling Eric to the side and going to work on the photo. She and Eric worked meticulously on the pictures and with each passing minute, Eric's vision had come into focus. Vanessa's boss watched silently as she applied the finishing touches on the photos.

"Done." Vanessa stood proudly looking at the finishing result.

Eric stood behind her as they both assessed the pictures for any last problems needing to be fixed.

"You're good, Vanessa. I'm very proud."

"Thank you Mr.-" she turned around a little too swiftly and stumbled right into Eric Williams's rock hard chest. His arms instantly encircled her waist to keep her from falling and she placed her hand on his chest in an attempt to keep her own balance.

Their eyes met and Vanessa took note of the little brown specs around her boss's green eyes. He smelled strongly of some expensive cologne-Giorgio Armani? Yves Saint Laurent? Christian Dior?-and she lightly inhaled the intoxicating scent. With one smooth motion, Eric gently tucked the stray hairs clinging to Vanessa's face behind her ear before caressing the sensitive spot. Her breath hitched in her throat at his gesture and she desperately wanted to break away from his embrace but his eyes seemed to pin her to the ground.