Mr. Imperfect

chapter 46



It had taken Mike an hour to make it past the lobby. The exhibit space was ideal for Mike’s particular style of capturing events. The open, airy gallery had very few natural obstructions and presented the issue of offering him too many options, rather than too few.

Seven cameras would probably work best, though. Five fixed, one on a track, and one handheld with him that he could use to roam around. He was supposed to check with Fredrik about where he could set up his monitor feed so it wouldn’t distract from the event. But Mike didn’t see how that would be a problem, since he could make anywhere in the building work. Even a linen closet.

He would place the first stationary camera at the entrance where it could capture the mood of each attendee as they arrived and departed. High and angled would be perfect. The next camera—

“Can I help you?” a female voice called out from behind Mike. He turned to see a platinum blonde with a pixie cut striding his way with purpose. She was his age, maybe a little older, but definitely more stylish.

Mike sent her a broad smile and held out his hand. “I’m Mike. I’m the videographer for Friday’s event. Just here to case out the logistics.”

She didn’t take his hand. “Who let you in? The exhibit is closed to visitors during the transition.”

“Sorry. I wasn’t aware of that. I was just on my way to meet up with Rori when I saw the space and just kind of showed myself in.”

“Right,” she said. “You just figured no one would care that you were alone in a room full of millions of dollars of art without any supervision.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Mike drawled, taking a second look at the art around him. Millions of dollars? Really?

“You think it’s overpriced,” she accused.

Mike shrugged. “I think art is worth what people will pay for it. That’ll always be the name of the game, right?”

She gave a small nod. “So, you call her Rori, huh?”

The quick change in subject caught Mike off guard. “Well, it’s her name.”

“No, her name is Aurora. Everyone that I’ve ever heard calls her that. Except you and Fredrik.”

He wasn’t quite sure what to say to that.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“I, uh, no.”

“But you want her to be,” she amended. “That’s why you’re here under the ruse of filming. As an excuse to get close and get in her good graces.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would,” the woman said, her New York gaze assessing him anew. “Hmmm. Interesting.”

Mike didn’t dare ask this what exactly she found interesting lest he fall into some other invisible verbal trap.

“So, to impress her, you’re going to wander around during her event and annoy guests with stupid questions so you can capture them on film?”

“Well, not exactly—”

“Because, as a heads up, 95% of the people who will becoming wouldn’t know Aurora Townsend if they passed her on the street. They’ll just be here because it will be one of the ‘it’ things to do that night and they want to appear on the social page or a fashion blog.”

“Well, if I do my job right very few people will take notice of me. I’m thinking of using seven cameras for the occasion, most of which would be overhead and out of sight of all the guests. I would be able to control them by remote and then take a handheld through the crowd during busy pushes and capture candid chatter and reactions.”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “Seven?”

Mike nodded. “I think that should be enough.”

She chewed her bottom lip lightly. “With monitor feeds for each one?”

“Yeah.”

She watched him for another beat, then stuck out her hand. “I’m Chloe, by the way. And I guess I should do my job and help you find Fredrik.”

Mike took her hand. Man, the woman had a grip. “Thanks, Chloe.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Talking a big game and delivering a good game are two different things. I minored in film in college. I just want to see what you can pull off in the name of impressing Rori.”

Mike made the mental note to call Rori “Aurora” in professional circles. “You have a great space here, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to pull off something marketable.”

Chloe smirked at him over her shoulder as she started away and didn’t offer an answer. Mike had no idea what she was thinking, but he was pretty sure that he had just set something in motion.

One minute after Chloe disappeared a man Mike recognized from Rori’s pictures on Facebook appeared.

“Well, here you are in the flesh,” he gushed, holding out his hand. “I’m Fredrik.”

Mike shook his hand. “Mike. Thanks for having me.”

“Of course. Did Chloe show you around?”

He sent her a smile. “We didn’t get that far. She found me showing myself around.”

“Oh, we can’t have that,” Fredrik said. “Let me show you the space. Personal tour.”

“That’d be great. Thank you.”