"Who the fuck is that?"435Please respect copyright.PENANA341ChbBDGK
435Please respect copyright.PENANA1vLG63icxg
435Please respect copyright.PENANAEbj7NVUWY4
This comes from Rochester as he watches Shemarré, a man with perhaps the most ridiculous and pretentious name that I have ever heard, walk towards where I am currently standing, surrounded by his family members.435Please respect copyright.PENANAlshd5bpjKc
435Please respect copyright.PENANAVws1IdtrBs
435Please respect copyright.PENANASltNlHYqKw
"Another photographer," I say as nonchalantly as I can.435Please respect copyright.PENANA8AmRMnP4Ga
435Please respect copyright.PENANA6pdzvsUWHQ
435Please respect copyright.PENANAoshx3axZpB
He chuckles deep in his throat.435Please respect copyright.PENANAe9SKgxREQM
435Please respect copyright.PENANACzj4JAX2ov
435Please respect copyright.PENANAcHF518hgT8
"Ms Anderson, did I say that I wanted anyone else to come to this... gathering?"435Please respect copyright.PENANAvBDwPXVt8J
435Please respect copyright.PENANAKy3reR0X4b
435Please respect copyright.PENANAYIvRchDafS
I have to hold back my chuckle, because I can hear the anger in his voice. This man does not like to be overruled. He enjoys getting his own way.435Please respect copyright.PENANA7zg7GfZfoX
435Please respect copyright.PENANAT2ZBKdNQyw
435Please respect copyright.PENANAkJKzTtydMM
Well, so do I.435Please respect copyright.PENANAKeKy2QHnHD
435Please respect copyright.PENANAkFORHGafWn
435Please respect copyright.PENANAwpeSnkyAU4
"David," I say, emphasising his first name just to piss him off, "you gave me a job, and I'm simply doing it. If you have certain... quirks, you should have had the decency to sit down and discuss them with me, rather than bulldozing me with demands the way you did."435Please respect copyright.PENANAMO4YuBaEoI
435Please respect copyright.PENANAbHRzz4hDkJ
435Please respect copyright.PENANAhOXmGY70gv
I walk off, and leave Rochester with his jaw ticking and his hand shaking around his glass. I keep walking until I'm face to face with Martin.435Please respect copyright.PENANARCd1r7oHHs
435Please respect copyright.PENANAbV9WMJU6gP
435Please respect copyright.PENANA7LwcfPD33f
"Hello, Leah," he says, shaking my hand with poorly concealed enthusiasm.435Please respect copyright.PENANAPhGv6UbXfZ
435Please respect copyright.PENANA8yc8DtQaKP
435Please respect copyright.PENANAWslqG0e9K9
"Shemarré Martin. It's a pleasure to meet you."435Please respect copyright.PENANAmF0yQxJHn7
435Please respect copyright.PENANAHZHxzyud3W
435Please respect copyright.PENANAiDncl7dXPI
His smile broadens. "Please. Call me Shem."435Please respect copyright.PENANAc16e7CaQyg
435Please respect copyright.PENANAnoysMnat6a
435Please respect copyright.PENANAT2x6IF6pqw
***435Please respect copyright.PENANAI0P2M7n1hF
435Please respect copyright.PENANAdufvurFfuM
435Please respect copyright.PENANAaFr0MrKKvL
As I circle the family reunion several times, taking photographs, Shem passed on whatever he felt necessary to me.435Please respect copyright.PENANAJDd7tKbrPv
435Please respect copyright.PENANAUa6o99wM2i
435Please respect copyright.PENANA5UfsAwZmpm
"Stay in the background. Make them forget you're even there."435Please respect copyright.PENANAZZZ5alrrtQ
435Please respect copyright.PENANAChut5BMz1l
435Please respect copyright.PENANAaxseZsyPZI
"Candids are always better; they speak the truth."435Please respect copyright.PENANAE0Gofh76cB
435Please respect copyright.PENANApJLWxvf4TK
435Please respect copyright.PENANAGz71zsdtoh
"At events like these, the ratio of candids to posed photographs should be approximately ten to one. That should be your aim."435Please respect copyright.PENANAuPvfOjex8l
435Please respect copyright.PENANA56YoGa0dDf
435Please respect copyright.PENANAHlyq25NdFt
Now, everyone is packing up, and Shem has to leave for his daughter's cello recital. 435Please respect copyright.PENANAWzKvPOYK92
435Please respect copyright.PENANAMoYwLTf0ca
435Please respect copyright.PENANAYvVQluJ8ly
"Um... Shem?" I say, unsure of how to phrase the question that I want to ask.435Please respect copyright.PENANAbcoy4H6Jbb
435Please respect copyright.PENANA8KPMu5L26R
435Please respect copyright.PENANAYvLZ5psyPU
"Yes?"435Please respect copyright.PENANAGhNYczOCWS
435Please respect copyright.PENANASjEaoB5UCk
435Please respect copyright.PENANAB3dF5RQw8R
"Um... Why?"435Please respect copyright.PENANACHMaVXYSV5
435Please respect copyright.PENANAoM7lnt7SN7
435Please respect copyright.PENANAcal4wVkXbs
He looks at me as if I'm stupid for a few seconds.435Please respect copyright.PENANALaaDzHUce5
435Please respect copyright.PENANA8yKq1vO4TW
435Please respect copyright.PENANA48EqTwoWSm
"Huh?"435Please respect copyright.PENANAQuXYdRzHXA
435Please respect copyright.PENANAt78xGqVoyV
435Please respect copyright.PENANALCE5Sl0uMO
"Why did you do it? Help me? You're so busy, but you went out of your wa—"435Please respect copyright.PENANAE8BE03GxDy
435Please respect copyright.PENANAJfMnbE5zaJ
435Please respect copyright.PENANAuoyNp2fmSW
"I saw one of your photographs at a show two years ago. It was called 'Wheels'; a photograph of two children, playing in a meadow. One on a bicycle—"435Please respect copyright.PENANASQzV5b3Exa
435Please respect copyright.PENANAkrQ6zPWNlm
435Please respect copyright.PENANAifzxys5VDA
"—and one in a wheelchair," I finish.435Please respect copyright.PENANAvP6vYb6B4V
435Please respect copyright.PENANAxwqsJa0kDF
435Please respect copyright.PENANAUt6z4EXWe6
"Yes," he says with a smile. "They looked so... happy. I loved how... it was just not what you would expect. Wheelchairs and joy... And I knew that I had to meet you. So when your agent called..."435Please respect copyright.PENANADXcZ7VUtqb
435Please respect copyright.PENANAsAhnkxsd0q
435Please respect copyright.PENANAaIUbdkhl1Q
He shrugs, and then looks at his watch. 435Please respect copyright.PENANAHlAKhYBk5t
435Please respect copyright.PENANAB9qvDhOaI6
435Please respect copyright.PENANACwQP2gyYub
"Shit! Kelly—"435Please respect copyright.PENANAXrsJT5QKAr
435Please respect copyright.PENANAhMFvCGCIGw
435Please respect copyright.PENANAguz5QnfnbT
"Go," I say, as he walk-runs to his car, in a desperate attempt to not miss his child's recital.435Please respect copyright.PENANARTnS4WTxW1
435Please respect copyright.PENANAs7fkFJjCmd
435Please respect copyright.PENANAKJze2OJua3
I let out a shaky breath, all too aware that David Rochester has been stabbing me with his eyeballs for the past five hours, and I now have no one to protect me.435Please respect copyright.PENANAk71npJdnAL
435Please respect copyright.PENANANI9zndlqnr
435Please respect copyright.PENANAzplVO55xqE
***435Please respect copyright.PENANA3yFmGHTHLG
435Please respect copyright.PENANAhe3Y31YLM9
435Please respect copyright.PENANAItwBJFPaae
Since Shem, drove off approximately three minutes ago, David has been giving me this "you're mine now" look, with a fucking smirk, which, if I'm going to be honest, is starting to creep me the fuck out. 435Please respect copyright.PENANANTOXKre48Y
435Please respect copyright.PENANAeZJpIJCU3z
435Please respect copyright.PENANABEsc5zpaFJ
For the first time, I actually feel intimidated by him.435Please respect copyright.PENANA2kto5LTwHH
435Please respect copyright.PENANACPyk4w9B8g
435Please respect copyright.PENANA64YKldoYZe
Which means that I have to leave. Now.435Please respect copyright.PENANA4Ki4wbVw5e
435Please respect copyright.PENANA4qeL1deTMv
435Please respect copyright.PENANAKCpGuIobdY
As soon as I get the chance I sprint to my car, and throw my camera bag onto the passenger seat as soon as I sit. I let out a breath that I didn't know that I was holding, and then go to close the door, which is pulled back.435Please respect copyright.PENANAQHYpPCJXLo
435Please respect copyright.PENANA2HdKcbmKsL
435Please respect copyright.PENANA3MeXM4mrvZ
I don't have to look up to know who it is.435Please respect copyright.PENANA1rmDL0vDaD
435Please respect copyright.PENANAAxvYGdpPvM
435Please respect copyright.PENANAmd6D8Bafl9
"I wasn't done speaking to you."435Please respect copyright.PENANAhT5w1J5Chc
435Please respect copyright.PENANAdy5KixMVI3
435Please respect copyright.PENANAoe09yt1DXj
"Well, I was." With a shaking hand, I try again to close the door — and he pulls it back. Again.435Please respect copyright.PENANAAkFJ387Y2t
435Please respect copyright.PENANAN9mKIJFj7n
435Please respect copyright.PENANAmuQuSCAmlB
"I think... it would be more... polite to speak to me outside of the car. Wouldn't you agree, Ms Anderson?"435Please respect copyright.PENANAjMGLFVYvLq
435Please respect copyright.PENANALfvGfFQKIR
435Please respect copyright.PENANAjAXQ5GETRW
I gulp. "I have to go—"435Please respect copyright.PENANAcXjK8j1O1B
435Please respect copyright.PENANAqoFmaBDSiD
435Please respect copyright.PENANAMoNt3FUt9t
"I don't think you have to do shit. I think you're scared of me."435Please respect copyright.PENANAMico29a28M
435Please respect copyright.PENANAMDVbBh8dNo
435Please respect copyright.PENANAfDFN9oD2Rj
My face heats up.435Please respect copyright.PENANAO40puGviLi
435Please respect copyright.PENANADcp3uPA7QV
435Please respect copyright.PENANALp8he4haT9
"I am not."435Please respect copyright.PENANApkPJi42Wbv
435Please respect copyright.PENANAlsPwlsMoty
435Please respect copyright.PENANAioahKqVrKR
He smirks. He knows he just got me.435Please respect copyright.PENANAHQXJJwZk3V
435Please respect copyright.PENANAZISb2gUJkp
435Please respect copyright.PENANAiMVOgWAYtg
"Prove it."435Please respect copyright.PENANABR7rcxKOyo
435Please respect copyright.PENANABdRg0JrE1d
435Please respect copyright.PENANApUrYpIcsqT
With a shaking hand, I push the door open and step out, sealing my fate.435Please respect copyright.PENANADgprehGxwE
435Please respect copyright.PENANAH0stn5Zqam
435Please respect copyright.PENANA36HRgZC6xL
"Much better," he says, with a look of approval.435Please respect copyright.PENANAZ3F3QWxD2Z
435Please respect copyright.PENANAXpHwznvk5Y
435Please respect copyright.PENANAWInMb1QoCM
"Fuck you," I growl, my irritation with this man getting the better of me.435Please respect copyright.PENANAdRMWR4L1iH
435Please respect copyright.PENANAypZsdZqJlY
435Please respect copyright.PENANAhiC6BIuDye
He just smiles at me as if I just said the most beautiful word in the world.435Please respect copyright.PENANA5aTOaMlWtC
435Please respect copyright.PENANAqFDExVq9nC
435Please respect copyright.PENANAz8i10yTqv3
"Awe, I never knew that Little Ms Anderson was a potty mouth," he says, caging me in against the car making me feel so... small. 435Please respect copyright.PENANARyIzXUCeyr
435Please respect copyright.PENANAPdF7cm09Xx
435Please respect copyright.PENANACaCMAZGGzN
"Now let me explain something to you," he says dangerously low, his lips against my ear, "when I give instructions, I want them followed. I don't strangers showing up at my events—"435Please respect copyright.PENANADarubjVZKk
435Please respect copyright.PENANA3lvSrtmNPB
435Please respect copyright.PENANAn4jzAaUip7
"I was doing my job—"435Please respect copyright.PENANAQTn5sRuj6y
435Please respect copyright.PENANASzVooIEKVs
435Please respect copyright.PENANAmFxlPfXF6c
"And I get to say who can—"435Please respect copyright.PENANA4EpizcymTA
435Please respect copyright.PENANAxoOIzGJ7nO
435Please respect copyright.PENANAnVsTtrBkPd
"Then don't ask me to do shit for you again! You're so fucking demanding! You can't even wait until the next morning for an answer, and I can't bring anyone along? Fuck you!"435Please respect copyright.PENANA0yrK4mmell
435Please respect copyright.PENANAqfTJr6QDhF
435Please respect copyright.PENANAv99IebmRXX
I push his right arm out of the way and jump into my car. He's still standing there when I drive off.435Please respect copyright.PENANAucwYk8WsWB
435Please respect copyright.PENANAeZwltiWS09
435Please respect copyright.PENANABrLmW1TVIr
***435Please respect copyright.PENANAjfzYpHLvhY
435Please respect copyright.PENANAdpIfRjoyMq
435Please respect copyright.PENANA3oRkfSxBAs
Dear Leah,435Please respect copyright.PENANADygcW19RWG
435Please respect copyright.PENANAlrF9qpbNOR
435Please respect copyright.PENANAjXx7TzUCnl
I sincerely apologise for my prick-ish behaviour towards you over the period of time which I have known you. I can't promise that I will behave, but I can promise that I will try.435Please respect copyright.PENANA6xbCLCax3o
435Please respect copyright.PENANAuz66BRa5dD
435Please respect copyright.PENANAjbW912wRCq
I have your cheque prepared — I will be home all day today, so just come by and pick it up. If you want to have nothing to do with me, I completely understand.435Please respect copyright.PENANARspHiZY57V
435Please respect copyright.PENANAK3z3jbcHsW
435Please respect copyright.PENANAL37rrbjmiH
Sincerely,435Please respect copyright.PENANAoDVl0O2e0C
David.435Please respect copyright.PENANAPMbYnxv0QJ
435Please respect copyright.PENANAowhzKGVuy3
435Please respect copyright.PENANAfuDopd0bsP
Please note that this is a textmessage that I received from David Rochester at 3:57 a.m. this morning, a text that woke me the fuck up, and the only reason why I am going to his apartment at 9 a.m. on this lovely Saturday is because he has my money.435Please respect copyright.PENANACZKiD620wx
435Please respect copyright.PENANAFS8mjCuHTw
435Please respect copyright.PENANAubNCD4SToq
Briefly, I wonder what the hell his new job would be. No amount of money, however, would see me working with that asshole again.435Please respect copyright.PENANAcgBUJnN7re
435Please respect copyright.PENANAJ95jU4s84n
435Please respect copyright.PENANAWwgXaFtRH3
The door opens before I can knock. 435Please respect copyright.PENANAAF1V8iFhX2
435Please respect copyright.PENANAGcV9wEXxZe
435Please respect copyright.PENANAqN2kxi58i1
"Good morning, Leah." 435Please respect copyright.PENANAO9kyKsKZsK
435Please respect copyright.PENANANdIhUI8DjG
435Please respect copyright.PENANAxrFJcnlAtS
"David."435Please respect copyright.PENANAGoG5aV7KAj
435Please respect copyright.PENANAF6EV1G9dmV
435Please respect copyright.PENANAybBcbyxHoG
I take the liberty to sit down on the couch, noting that my photograph now hangs beside the television. 435Please respect copyright.PENANApehecHj8ab
435Please respect copyright.PENANAC3up2fHqBE
435Please respect copyright.PENANAKeeS4xQFAn
"Beer?"435Please respect copyright.PENANAlxSsaYzWK6
435Please respect copyright.PENANA67s268MSW7
435Please respect copyright.PENANAdRQWuTET7P
"Yeah."435Please respect copyright.PENANAjyYHHTNjA0
435Please respect copyright.PENANAVGf2GYNZCq
435Please respect copyright.PENANAgYSxtciVj6
And he gives it to me this time.435Please respect copyright.PENANAlKVKzTMTqE
435Please respect copyright.PENANALrxEQpFZd1
435Please respect copyright.PENANAT6zHatz0u4
He flops down in the chair perpendicular to mine, and fiddles with a piece of paper, that looks suspiciously like a cheque.435Please respect copyright.PENANAJXrRz2qDsj
435Please respect copyright.PENANASTCweO27j5
435Please respect copyright.PENANAYmP4OyA18i
"I... I just want to apologise. Again."435Please respect copyright.PENANAUpMJkwqxof
435Please respect copyright.PENANA0fKgAEERCe
435Please respect copyright.PENANAGzwlCXKvTZ
"David, I really don't give a shit anymore."435Please respect copyright.PENANAZY7kDoCao1
435Please respect copyright.PENANAyFSUinms98
435Please respect copyright.PENANAVHeSxYHQYe
He sighs, then looks up at me.435Please respect copyright.PENANAIJm3HfBF1C
435Please respect copyright.PENANAZVOJsXSJRd
435Please respect copyright.PENANAKKrhAZM4VR
"Leah, my behaviour was unacceptable. I can be an asshole and sometimes, I don't realise it, but that's no excuse."435Please respect copyright.PENANAd1r7UWW8aY
435Please respect copyright.PENANAPpxaLtcBCt
435Please respect copyright.PENANAuWRIJ5CuTk
I'm actually surprised by the sincerity in his voice and eyes. He actually has some degree of decency. Wow.435Please respect copyright.PENANAn0lqu2Q2xS
435Please respect copyright.PENANAuajwtRvrf3
435Please respect copyright.PENANAu8kEDZrkSJ
"I... I accept your apology David."435Please respect copyright.PENANAcQrMrtTeQl
435Please respect copyright.PENANAGzpZgGqIoW
435Please respect copyright.PENANAj8E5zpRPt1
His eyes light up.435Please respect copyright.PENANAd2dsISRKRd
435Please respect copyright.PENANAF4BXKx0TJn
435Please respect copyright.PENANAYg1x0q0qTe
"Really? So we're friends now?"435Please respect copyright.PENANAwM0WeLMFD5
435Please respect copyright.PENANArIJcqAFVwA
435Please respect copyright.PENANAsXpArgS8eo
I have to laugh humourlessly at that. Really? Friends?435Please respect copyright.PENANAgBBeV7Swih
435Please respect copyright.PENANAywT59mCSEX
435Please respect copyright.PENANAyJRPbHNYor
"Not even close."
ns 172.70.130.179da2