Chapter 28
Monday night, Valerie had a dream. She dreamed she was on the beach in a blue evening gown, looking like a model on a romance novel cover. The sun had already set, yet the colors of the sky were not making her happy. She was alone, waiting for her love, believing he'd never arrive.
Suddenly, she heard a somewhat familiar voice calling her name. She looked in all directions, but noticed a shadowy figure in the far distance to her right. He wouldn't move, but kept calling her name over and over.
"Who are you?" she called. "Please come forth towards me!"
He did, and Valerie was surprised that it was Bowzer. He wasn't in his police uniform; instead, he was dressed in black silk pants, and a black shirt unbuttoned past his chest. She was smitten by how wonderful he looked.
"Bowzer!" she cried happily.
"Valerie," he said softly, then brought his hand out for her. "It has been too long."
She took his hand and stood up, placed her hands upon his shoulders. "Oh, Valerie," he said, "you don't know how long I've been waiting. Ever since they found me guilty of sexually assaulting you, and banished me here for my crime, all I ever dreamed about was you. I couldn't sleep any more than four hours a night, and could only eat as much as your son. I miss him, too."
She started to explain, but he wouldn't let her. "I don't want to hear that you've been too busy to see me, you and your work. If you and Jeremy could come live with me here, you wouldn't have to work. I could take care of you both. Oh, but it must be this way. All I have here are the sand, the surf, my little hut, my dog, and the memories of you and Jeremy and what could have been."
"Oh, but we can't live here," Valerie insisted. "It's beautiful, but also so isolated. I've left Jeremy in the city with my sister; I only came here to find you, bring you back. Oh, but they have to welcome you back to Empire City. I know you frightened me that night, but I understand that you had good intentions. They have to understand, too."
"Then you'll throw over the rest of the competition, and choose me as your husband," Bowzer said.
She became quiet, suddenly confused, and slowly turned away from him. "I don't know," she whispered.
"Valerie, you must!" he pleaded. "Oh, but all this fate could've been spared if only you'd decided on me weeks ago. I can't just stand idly by and watch you date around with the rest of them, while you only see me on this side. It makes me feel desperate. I want to feel loved."
He undid the rest of the buttons, and took his shirt off. "Let me help you decide." He placed her hands upon his chest, and she kept them there for a few moments. She began to run her fingertips through his chest hair, then over his nipples. She slid her hands off, then placed them on his shoulders, rubbing them as if she had pain cream in her hands. She felt all the way down his arms, only to feel how hairy the forearms were. She slid her hands off again, this time touching her throat. Up until now, she didn't realize how rugged he was, or did she? She knew Sundown was rugged and handsome, too, but also charming, romantic and pleasing. Could Bowzer at least try to be those things?
Valerie stepped closer to Bowzer and put her hands on his waist. "Oh, Bowzer," she said, "but when I touch you, I can't help but to think of Sundown and his charm, especially how he makes love when he's with me at night. Oh, but if you can match his technique…"
He put his finger upon her lips, making a soft shushing noise. "Give me just one try," he said. He wrapped himself around her, and brought her close to kiss her. For once, they felt more alone than they were; in their passion, there was nothing around them but the purity and beauty of heaven, and they could heard the soft melodies of angels they couldn't see.
Valerie's lips left his, and they were soon kissing his neck. She stopped kissing soon enough to look at his chest again, and run her fingers through the hair once more. She got onto her knees, up so she was at his chest level, and began to kiss all over it. It made Bowzer feel sexy and energized, so he got onto his knees, too. Their hands clasped to each other, their fingers entwined, they were kissing each other's lips again. He leaned forward and made her fall upon the sand. She put her hands on his arms again, and felt her way to his upper back. She kept herself wrapped around him, as his hands were only on the back of her neck. They rolled around like a two-person log into the tide, and stopped when his ears were in the water, his hair soaking. She stopped kissing to look at him, how wonderful he looked when he was all wet.
Bowzer gasped and said, "Valerie, I have to get up and out. My pants will be ruined."
"Oh, but what could water possibly do to silk?" she wondered. "They can't possibly be dry-clean only, can they? Oh, but I've never realized how gorgeous you look right now." She kissed his lips again.
Suddenly, a wave enveloped them, and both of them were soaked all over. Bowzer sat up and examined his lover. The bounce and fullness in her hair was gone, and her dress was sticking to her skin. It was arousing him, so he crawled towards her, pushed her down, and they continued to make love among the ocean waves.
Valerie was rolling around in her bed, humming in passion and delight, not saying anything. When she could feel her arms wrapped around her pillow, she awoke and sat up. It was so dark, she couldn't even see her night stand. She turned on her lamp and saw the time read 2:13 A.M.
"God, was I just dreaming about Bowzer?" she whispered to herself. She looked at the other side of her bed. Thank God there was no one sleeping with her.
She got out of bed and went to her master computer. She wanted to check her e-mail messages. She was thinking of Bowzer the whole time; did he send her anything?
Sure enough, there were four new messages, and when she clicked on her inbox, she saw Bowzer's real name in the From Line. She clicked on that one, titled My Apology. It read:
Valerie, I just want to let you know how regretful I feel for what I did to you several weeks ago. I should've found another way to ask for more time with you. Barricade and the others were letting me know this at the headquarters the other day, and I had to hear Sundown lecture me about how men took care of women back in Texas. (God, if he could leave his Texas roots behind!)
Anyway, again, I want you to know how sorry I am. But you understand I had the best of intentions, right? I really can't bear the thought of you choosing someone else besides me. I tried dating other women while we were apart, but I couldn't shake my deep thoughts of you. And while I'm back working, I'm really worried about the future – my future. I wonder about this investigation that Police Chief Irons is conducting on me. I'm scared, Valerie. These rape charges over my head could cost me my badge, my gun, even Blitz. I know I can't stop it; could there possibly be a way for you to stop it? Only your sweet, persuasive manner can save me in this. I want to depend on you now.
Last, and most importantly, I want to say I'm sorry for upsetting your mother and sisters. I'll ask Bulletproof if I can have next Friday off. I want to invite you all to my house for dinner, to mend my rift with your family. Please show this to them; I need their acceptance. Please call me later, and I will give details. Love, Bowzer.
Valerie didn't feel like forwarding the message to Rhonda or Karen now. "It's too late at night for this," she muttered. She printed it out, anyway, and read over that part about the investigations. Perhaps she'll call Bulletproof in the morning and ask him about it. They could persuade Chief Irons to call off the investigation, if Bulletproof could believe Bowzer's sincerity. She took it to her room. She'll file it away in her briefcase the next morning, and also show this to Karen when she came home from work.
After she dropped Jeremy off at school, Valerie said aloud, "All right, Valerie, you are going to work today. You will not think of last night's dream, and you will not share that e-mail with anyone. Remember that centerfold ad you have for Hidieku Car Company, and that accompanying commercial. You will focus your energies on your work."
When she came in, Mr. Lancer immediately greeted her with good news. "We got an e-mail from Jim Kirkland late last night," he said. "The head staff members at Texas Pride have decided to keep the ad you put up as is. They say you can keep it up until the end of the year, at least."
"That's wonderful!" she replied.
"He further suggested that each of the front and rear modeling pictures can be used in a series of magazine ads," he said. "I'll send memos to Stephen Flett and Gerinna Donalds. That can be your next assignment when you're finished the Hidieku project."
"I accept," Valerie said. "Thank you, sir."
She went into Scott Onions' office, where he and Josh Slann were ready to show her the photography layout. "We worked on it all last night," Josh said.
She examined it over herself. The car was an attractive shade of light blue, like the color of the ocean in the summer, with a standard roof, which took up four-fifths of the layout. The last fifth was interior pictures shown vertically, with four-inch deep bucket seats of black leather, a panther black dashboard with a stereo that said Rock in the picture, the picture of the back showing a screen for a built-in DVD player, and two-shoulder seatbelts in the back. "I still don't know about this 'satellite stereo' thing," she said. "Do you think this will grab enough interest?"
"Why not?" Scott asked. "It's commercial free continuous music and news twenty-four hours a day. Just like MaxTrax on television, this new brand of stereo represents hassle-free radio of the future."
"Look, the one thing I don't like to put up with when listening to the radio," Josh added, "is waiting through five minutes of commercials for my favorite songs. Not that we've put out any bad radio ads, but what if I'm driving a short distance, the DJ announces my favorite song coming up, and I have to sit through mostly commercials the whole ride? People think it's a real drag if your favorite song starts to play just as you arrive at your destination."
Valerie began to laugh boisterously. "Which could still be a problem with this new stereo," she pointed out.
"That's why our client mentioned the voice-activated 'smart-com' for requests," Scott said. "They'll instantly play your favorite song right after the current one. Of course, a vast knowledge of music is helpful; your song won't play if you're on the wrong station. And speaking of mentioning…"
"I have the text all ready, but I want you to proof-read the pitch."
She activated her laptop, clicked onto the word processor and selected Hidieku Car Project. The first page consisted of a headline on a metallic blue background. The headline was, Now introducing a car that will reshape the future of vehicles.
"I like the metallic blue," Josh cooed. "Matches the one that was shown to us."
"That, of course, is for the front," Valerie said, "before you open up to see the car photo." She scrolled down to the second page. "And here's what I want you boys to look over."
Scott and Josh read over the few double-spaced justified lines, and were impressed. With the technologies of vehicles past, they read, Hidieku is pleased to present a car destined to change the future of convenience. After the brief, important bit about speed, horsepower, headlight power, and tire description, Also, we introduce bucket seats and back seats made from all-leather to comfort and relax both driver and passengers, and a stereo playing your choice of continuous music via satellite, with an accompanying intercom designed to take instant musical requests of favorite tracks. Backseat passengers can also be entertained with a built-in DVD player. Further noted are two-shoulder seatbelts in the rear, expressively designed for children's safety, as well as standard dual-stage airbags and front seat mounted side airbags. She even included the company name and slogan.
"Excellent," Josh said when he finished reading the whole thing. "Nice that you covered all the automotive basics first, but then you really took care of what our client will be looking for in the interior. Let me see your notebook, I'll bet you took down a lot."
"Very funny," Valerie said. "Now, should I try to fit this all into one column? How much centerfold space did you take up with the pictures?"
"Actually, there should be more than enough room on the 'magazine page' part," Scott noted. "And if we make enough room, we should be able to move two of those interiors pictures on there just above the text in editing. And I may have saved the Hidieku logo in my graphics folder on my computer. We'll take care of that."
"Then I suggest we get busy," Valerie said. "Lancer wants the ad by noon, so we can get started on the commercial after lunch. Maybe even before that if we finish quickly."
At lunch, Valerie, Scott and Josh were already discussing what to do with the commercial.
"I really think we should film on the highway outside the city limits," Josh suggested. "The fall colors should be at their most beautiful by now."
"That won't be until next week, at the earliest," Valerie objected. "Maybe even early October. We can't wait that long to film; this has to be ready by Friday morning." She bit into a turkey submarine sandwich and swallowed. "Besides, we have to use that same blue car in the commercial. It wouldn't look good with the red, yellow, orange and brown leaves. I like Scott's idea to film in the city, and close off several streets and intersections. But we need a city permit."
"I'll take care of that," Scott volunteered.
"And who should we hire as the stunt driver?" Josh wondered. "Because I was thinking about maybe one of your friends from that C.O.P.S. group."
She gave him an unnerved look. "Don't tell me you've based that decision on all the gossip you've heard!"
"No, it's just that given the talents of some of them, they'd be perfect," Josh said.
Scott rolled his eyes and said, "Right, and why don't we just install a computer, CB radio, siren and police lights, paint the word 'POLICE' on both sides of the car, and donate it to them afterwards?"
"Actually, now that you mention it, Josh, that does sound like a good idea," Valerie said.
"All right, and does that group have a vehicle expert?" Josh asked. "We would need someone with an expertise in cars to make the product more interesting."
"What, Hardtop?" Valerie replied. Right away, her only date with him, her disastrous dinner, started coming back to her. She was feeling humiliated again, thinking about Whitney Morgan showing up, Hardtop's crush object. "No, screw that, Josh. After what went on with us that one crucial time, working with him is the very last thing I want to do. Besides, he'll just bore the consumer, the viewer, by just talking about the interior. We need someone who'll take the car for a spin, show us how fast it'll go, all the while working with the interiors – including that all-important stereo. I'm thinking maybe Highway – he'll definitely take the car to top speed, or even Mace."
"You're just saying that because they're your crush objects," Josh teased. "Admit it, Valerie."
Valerie glared at him. "Josh, what did I say about basing these decisions on the office gossip?"
"It's more than just the gossip, Josh," Scott said. "Valerie's right. Putting someone who'll actually drive the car in the commercial will snag the consumer's interest. It always does, because they want to see how fast and how far it will go. I'm sorry for my sarcasm earlier." He took out his cell phone. "I'm calling C.O.P.S. headquarters right now. Do you know the number, Valerie?"
"Not here, not now!" she hissed. "Don't you know it's bad manners to carry on a cell phone conversation in a restaurant? Wait until we're back at the office to do that! Besides, it's more important that you call City hall for that permit. Unless they insist we film in the countryside, there'll be no commercial without it."
Scott stopped, stared dumbfounded at his phone, put it away. "Right, you're right, Valerie. But I'll still need the number for C.O.P.S. headquarters later."
On her way home from work, Valerie decided to stop by the headquarters. Not only did she want to ask about the commercial, she also wanted to show Bulletproof that e-mail Bowzer sent her.
She'd been thinking about Bowzer the whole way there, and decided to ask about him first. She'd made small talk with Barricade and Highway on the way to Bulletproof's office, promising to call them both. She knocked on Bulletproof's door and entered.
"Ah, Valerie," he said. "I received a call this afternoon from a Scott Onions. I hear you're working on a car commercial."
"Well, yes, but I –" she began.
"And Mr. Onions told me he wants to put someone from my team in your project to endorse it," Bulletproof said. "When I called Commissioner Highwater about it, she became pretty excited. As you know, Valerie, one of the things police departments pride on in their precincts is the handiness of marked vehicles. Highwater believes that an officer endorsing a car would make great publicity."
"That's wonderful," Valerie said, "but I wanted to –"
"And after a thorough discussion, I've decided that I'm going to release one of my people for this project."
Immediately, Valerie started to forget about the memo for just a few moments. "Really?" she asked. "That's great to hear. Thank you so much." She leafed through her briefcase. "I assure you, we'll pay you a handsome price in our budget for this, just name it." Then she found her memo and retrieved it. "Oh, and before I leave, I want to show you this e-mail I got from Bowzer last night."
As Bulletproof was reading, Valerie continued speaking. "I know I wouldn't normally reveal intimate stuff like this to a man, but I think maybe this would also help with your decision. Last night, I dreamed that I found Bowzer all alone on a deserted island. He'd been banished there after he was found guilty of raping me. He said he thought and dreamed of me the whole time. And he misses Jeremy, too. Then we–"
"Valerie," Bulletproof interrupted. "You'll have to take this to Chief Irons. I'm not the one in charge of investigating."
"Right," she said. "But the dream actually showed me that I still have feelings for Bowzer. You know that, right?"
"I believe you, Valerie," Bulletproof said. "I suppose I can fax this to the head department. Maybe I'll inform Irons that you still have some feelings toward Bowzer. That could help. Maybe if I can persuade him to let Bowzer apologize in a press conference, I can get the investigation stopped."
"I saw nothing but remorse and concern," Valerie said. "That is a first step. Maybe a public apology will be necessary."
As she got up, Bulletproof offered, "Do you want to make a copy of this for you? You should show this to Karen when you go to her house?"
"No, that's all right," she said. "I still have it in my e-mail. I'll forward it to her, Rhonda and Mom later tonight. And good luck with Chief Irons."
On her way out, she made eye contact with Highway again. She didn't try to look flirtatious; she wanted to ask a business question. But just as she opened her mouth, she heard a gruff voice yelling, calling someone a "punk." She turned to see Mace and Longarm escorting a teenage boy in handcuffs, around sixteen, long combover hair dyed black, rock n' roll T-shirt and bone trousers. Someone who didn't look familiar to Valerie.
"Uh, Longarm," she said, "why don't you deal with that boy yourself? I need to have an important word with Mace and Highway. It's about business."
"Sure thing," Longarm replied, and took the suspect to his desk.
Mace stood beside Highway, and Valerie began explaining the Hidieku magazine advertisement, giving every detail about the car, showing their interest. "Now we've just started work on the TV commercial to go with it," she said, "and we'll need the best driving expert to work the car, so we can promote it properly. And before anyone could think of hiring a stunt driver, Josh Slann quickly suggested hiring one of you guys. I just spoke with Bulletproof, and he's given permission for us to do so."
"An' yer assumin' one of us knows the road well enough to pull it off?" Mace guessed.
"Look, I know car commercials aren't exactly in a police officer's job description," Valerie replied, "but given their reputations as smooth, conscientious drivers, you have to admit it is a nice idea."
Highway cleared his throat, trying to remain humble. "Valerie, I spent years on the California Highway Patrol," he told her. "I might just be a motorbike and scooter expert, but I know a thing or two about driving. I should know, I spent the first few years just driving one of those patrol cars. I'd be happy to do it."
She kissed his mouth and smiled at him. "I knew you'd be the man for the job," she said. "Thank you so much for volunteering yourself. I'll call Scott and Josh, and tell them what's happening."
"Maybe when I'm off shift, I'll come straight over to your house," he offered. "You can give me details about where you're shooting this, and what time to show up."
"I'd love that," she said. "See you tonight."
Outside the headquarters, she ran into Bowzer and Blitz. She immediately wrapped herself around Bowzer and kissed him. When they let go, she said, "I dreamt about you last night. And right when I woke up, I went to check my e-mail to see if you wrote me. I kept it with me all day and just gave it to Bulletproof. We'll see if it can get you off."
He took her hand and said softly, "My darling, this police work is all I've ever dreamt about when I was growing up. Just as you were all I dreamt about when I first saw you. I'm sorry for not going up with Mace, Sundown and Barricade at that picnic to get your number. Now, everything I've ever achieved and hoped is in jeopardy because of my foolish desperation."
"Don't worry, Bowzer," she replied. "I would like to try again with you, provided that my mother and sisters approve. But if I can't, I'll at least feel good knowing that I saved your career. That should be more important to you."
"Valerie, I put my career on the same level of importance as you. Everyone else seems to, so should I."
She kissed him again. "I'll see what I can do. I promise." Then she checked her watch. Twenty minutes after five. "Listen, I have to go. Jeremy is waiting for me. I'll talk to you later." She kissed him one last time and left for her car.
Before she got in, however, she decided to call Josh. When she heard him answer, she said, "Josh, it's Valerie. Listen, I'm just leaving C.O.P.S. headquarters, and mission accomplished. Bulletproof said yes."
Highway came over to Valerie's house that evening, as he said he would. He was still in his police uniform. She only took his hand; she didn't bother to kiss him because she wanted to discus the commercial first. But he didn't take it too lightly.
"Hey, what's with this lack of affection?" he asked. "It's not like we're in a corporate boardroom. I thought the details would only take a few minutes."
"I know," she said, "but I want to get it out of the way first, then we can share some quiet, romantic time, okay?" She hesitated for a few moments, but gave him a quick smooch on his cheek.
They sat on the living room sofa, and she explained, "Now, we weren't able to get a permit to close off a path downtown for you to drive. No thanks to that damn Mayor Davis; I can't believe he just told his secretary to take City Hall off our vendor list."
"Let me guess, he was tired of spending money on advertising permits," Highway guessed.
"I couldn't believe it when Mr. Lancer called a meeting to tell us this, and the e-mails he got from our competition agencies," she griped. "He'd severed ties with every advertising agency in the city." Highway held her close, and she began to feel better. "Anyway, then we got a hold of the State Highway Authority, and they agreed to close off a section. One hundred miles of the highway located west of the city; they said a scenic view would be important."
"That's wonderful," Highway said. "It'd certainly be better idea than filming in the city."
"Now, unfortunately, Mr. Lancer has the final version of our magazine ad, so I can't show it to you," Valerie said. "But we'll be using the same model of car in the commercial as we used in the print ad version. Scott asked the video crew to install mini-cameras in the front to show you driving, and one in between the seats to show the satellite stereo. They'll especially be looking for that. Meantime, you'll be wearing an invisible earpiece, and I'll be giving out instructions as you drive."
"That'll be great. I'm already pumped."
Suddenly, Jeremy came from upstairs with his homework assignment, stapled sheets. He had a map of the United States, with all the states numbered, and the next page was a worksheet of state capitals and largest cities. "Are you all done?" Valerie asked.
Jeremy gave the homework to his mother to check. Valerie was impressed by the map. "Very good, Jeremy, you got all the states correct." She checked the worksheet next, and noticed all the states capitals were correct, but noticed some errors on the largest cities.
"Eugene is not Oregon's largest city, Portland is," she pointed out. "And Maine's largest city is also called Portland, not the capital, Augusta. Raleigh is not North Carolina's largest city; I think that would be Charlotte. New Jersey, now that's tough, I don't know about this one. It's so densely populated. Are you sure it's Patterson?"
"Auntie… Karen… said… it was… either… Patterson… or… Elizabeth," Jeremy said. "She… claims… those… have more… people… than… Trenton. Drew… tried… to tell me… it was… Atlantic… City…, but… Auntie… Karen… said it… had a… population… of… eighty… thousand."
"Better check it with the teacher," Valerie advised. She took his pencil and erased the other errors. "Now, you can go to the table and put in the right answers, okay? Remember, Portland in both Maine and Oregon, Charlotte in North Carolina." Jeremy nodded and went to the dining room.
Highway looked at her again. "Is there anything else you want to tell me about the commercial?" he asked.
"No, I think we've covered everything that you need to know now," she answered. "Just that I plan to be up at seven tomorrow morning, so we can start filming at nine." She checked the time. Quarter after eight. "So, what do you want to do now?"
Highway looked at Jeremy, correcting his homework. After a few moments, he asked, "Jeremy, how much do you have left to do?"
"Give me… a minute," he called. "I got… both… Portland's…, now… I have… Charlotte… left."
Highway smiled, then turned back to Valerie. "I was thinking maybe playing a game of Pictionary or something. Something that will be easy with Jeremy, yet more enjoyable for the two of us."
"Good idea," she said. "I'll get a big pad of paper, and a marking pen. It'll help Jeremy identify the pictures."
By the time Jeremy was finished his worksheet, Valerie had already started to set the game up. Valerie and Highway were both drawing pictures really big, taking up half a page almost. They were still satisfied that it was helping Jeremy with guessing, though he was slow and loud with it. And when it was Jeremy's turn to draw, it looked like a bunch of messy doodling. They could only tell what it was some of the time. They'd finished just in time for Jeremy to go to bed, and Valerie won.
As she was tucking him in, she said, "Now I have to get up early to shoot a commercial tomorrow, so I'm going to have Auntie Karen or Cousin Sheldon take you to school." She kissed him good night, went to check her alarm clock, setting it for 7:00 A.M. She went to the living room.
Highway stood up, looking like he was ready to go home. "I know how early you have to be up tomorrow," he said, "so not to be rude, but perhaps I should stay only another hour."
"Nonsense," Valerie replied. "Whenever I have a boyfriend over and we're up too late, or I have to get up early, I ask him to stay the night. You know that." She kissed him rather erotically, and it immediately convinced him.
"Well, since you put it that way…" When his voice trailed, he found himself kissing back. He was rougher than she was, so fast and hard, their heads were moving about. Valerie quickly stopped him, and he looked confused.
"Was I, um, coming on too strong?" he asked. "I can slow down if you want me to."
"No, it's just that it's a little too quiet," she said. "It looks a little boring. Here, I'll put on some appropriate make-out music."
She took out the same soul groove CD that Barricade played for her when they made out on her loveseat. But she sat Highway on the sofa this time, making out as she took his clothes off to the music.
"Oh, Valerie," he breathed, "now this is what I call affection."
"Oh, Highway," she said in a slight moan. She was about to take his T-shirt off when he stopped her, then he pulled it off over his head. She was mostly caressing his shoulders and chest as they continued in their passion. Moments later, they stopped, and he stared at her clothes. Despite this heated, beautiful moment, he decided not to take them off.
"Nah," he said. "I think maybe you need me to be a gentleman tonight." He brought her close once more, and continued their love, running his fingers through her hair, all the way up and down her back.
"Highway," Valerie said, "I think I should tell you this is more than the affection you wanted." But then again, who cares? she thought.
"Wow, this has to be the most beautiful car I've ever seen!" Highway complimented at the commercial filming location the next morning.
Valerie took the causally-dressed officer to the makeup and hair trailer. "Tell you what," she said, "I'll ask the Hidieku company how much this costs, make a bargain, then send three to C.O.P.S. headquarters."
When Highway stepped out, Valerie escorted him to the car. He immediately noticed the cameras, one located in between the front seats, for the stereo; one attached the windshield on the driver's side; and one in the middle of the ceiling facing the back seat. She noticed the two-shoulder seatbelts in the back, the buckles welded to the floor, and said, "Shit! I forgot about these last night! Damn, now how are we going to show these seatbelts?" She glowered at Highway a bit. "Dammit, Highway, of all the times for you not to be a parent! You don't have any nieces or nephews who live around here, do you?"
He shook his head. "My whole family lives in parts of California, Oregon and Nevada."
"FUCK!" she screamed aloud. "Now who the hell are we going to put in the back to show the two-shoulder seatbelts? God, I didn't anticipate this, I thought we would mention that in the voice-over!"
"I told Scott that we shouldn't put in a camera to show off the seatbelts," Josh said, then glared at his co-worker. "I told you we wouldn't have enough time to audition anyone to be placed in the back. But, no, we just had to show off all the features!"
"It's important that we do," Scott replied. "Besides, I wanted to put my six-year-old son in this thing. I got him all excited about it, but my wife said no, she doesn't want him to become some child actor, and she wants him to go to school. We had a huge fight about it last night, and you should've seen how quickly I left the house this morning."
"Whatever!" Valerie griped. She took out her cell phone and dialed the agency. "Looks like I may have to incorporate my family again. The bosses are going to think I have some sort of fetish."
When she heard Mr. Lancer's voice, "Mr. Lancer, it's Valerie. Listen, I've just learned that Scott installed cameras into the back part of the car for the commercial, so the two-shoulder seatbelts can be shown off. Will this be a necessity?"
"Well," Mr. Lancer replied, "I wanted to show off the driving and speed ability, and the stereo most of all, but now that you mention it…"
"Oh, that's just terrific!" Valerie griped. "Because we have no one to put in the back! I already have someone from C.O.P.S. headquarters driving this thing, and if we put Scott and Josh in there with him, I'm not sure what the clients will think."
Highway, Scott and Josh all looked at each other strangely.
"Look, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to put Jeremy in this thing as well," Valerie continued. "I think it'd be a better idea if we had a child in there to promote the child safety of the seatbelts to begin with."
"If you think that's a good idea, I suppose we can do it," Mr. Lancer said.
"Great, I'll see if he's still at my sister's. Talk to you soon, boss." She hung up and called Karen's house next.
"Come on, Valerie!" Josh protested. "Three adult men in the car together don't automatically mean homosexual relations arising. Putting your kid in at the last minute! I'll bet he has school to go to!"
But she immediately shushed him once she heard her sister answer. Valerie explained the situation to her and asked, "You're not ready to take him to school just yet, are you? I'm filming on Highway 45, just west of Empire City."
"It's quarter to nine, I'm just about ready to take him to school," Karen said. "Will this take long?"
"I just need him for a couple of hours," Valerie answered.
"Fine," Karen said reluctantly. "Shall I look for a filming crew?"
Then Highway whispered something into her ear, and Valerie said, "No, Highway and I will flag you guys down. You just hand him over to me, and we'll do the rest. See you." She hung up, then phoned Jeremy's school and relayed the same information.
She heard Ms. Lancaster sigh over truancy, but Valerie begged, "Look, I know this is trivial, but I just found this out when I arrived here, and it's much too late to find a kid suitable enough to ride with Highway. Please, it'll only be a couple of hours."
"All right, but I hope you won't make a habit of this, Ms. Boston," Ms. Lancaster said. "This really could hinder on Jeremy's education."
"I'll admit him to the school myself when we're done," Valerie promised. "Thank you."
She gave a relieving sigh as she hung up. She turned to Scott and Josh. "You should consider yourselves lucky that filming is being delayed only an hour. We wouldn't have been in this mess to begin with if it weren't for that extra camera." She and Highway left the set to look out for Karen and Jeremy.
"Which car is Karen driving, do you know?" Highway asked.
"A silver Sedan, extra shiny," Valerie replied. "Bart likes them that way, says it makes cars look sexier."
They spent the next forty-five minutes looking out for silver cars, but the closer they got was light grey. Then, Valerie saw the silver car and her sister's hand sticking out of her open window, waving. She watched as Karen pulled over near them and got out, then went to her and said, "No need, sis. I can get Jeremy myself." She waved at Jeremy, then opened the door and unbuckled the safety belt, took his hand as she escorted him from the car.
Karen bent down to her nephew. "Now, listen," she instructed, "I want you to listen to your mother and do exactly–"
Valerie was laughing, and she interrupted, "He knows how to behave in a commercial, Karen. I think this will be his third one."
As she and Highway brought the boy to the set, Valerie only gave two instructions. "Now, I know this isn't your nature, Jeremy, but do you think you can sit still for about twenty minutes in the car? Try not to move your head so much. And do you think you can stay quiet during that time, too?"
"I… behaved… myself… like that… when… Bowzer… took me to… the… movies… that… one… time," Jeremy said. "I think… I can… stay… still… during… a… car ride."
"Great," she said. She introduced her son to Scott and Josh, then sent both Jeremy and Highway back to the makeup and hair trailer. "Jeremy needs a natural look, and can you see if Highway needs to be re-done?" As she waited, she called to Scott and Josh, "I'm going to put Jeremy in the passenger's side. Can you adjust the camera so it faces that way?" They nodded, and she went back to the trailer. A few minutes later, Highway and Jeremy came out.
Highway pointed to the blue Hidieku. "See that car?" he asked Jeremy. "That's the one you're going to be riding in."
"Cool!" Jeremy declared.
Valerie put Jeremy in the back and buckled him up. She was impressed at how tightly the seatbelt restricted him; Jeremy could barely move his body around because it felt so tight at the shoulders. All he could do was move his head and arms around, and kick his legs. Wow, she thought. It's better than those babyish booster seats. She waited a few minutes as he stopped, then gave him another instruction: "Now it's time to sit still, sweetie. Look at the camera; it's going to be filming you at all times, so don't move around so much or talk. I don't know about Highway, but you don't have any speaking parts."
"Okay, Mom," Jeremy said, then Valerie shut the door.
She joined Scott and Josh at the screens, where they saw Highway, Jeremy and the satellite radio. Josh gave her a walkie-talkie and said, "Designed to work with the earpiece we put into Highway."
"Thanks," she replied, and found the talk button. "Highway! Highway, it's Valerie. Can you hear me okay? How's the earpiece working?"
They saw Highway looking into his camera on the windshield. "Valerie!" he called. "I can hear you just fine through this thing. I'm ready to go now. Will I be driving as you start filming?"
"That's the way car commercials usually start," she laughed. "Rev it up; the keys are in the ignition." Highway did as he was instructed.
"And take off!" she called.
Scott took the walkie-talkie from her. "Mr. Lancer assigned me to direct, thank you." He looked up at a sphere-shaped flying camera located at a far distance. "Cue the camera-bot!" A fourth screen turned on to see the car going down the highway, moving along with the vehicle.
"I'll ask about Highway's speed," Scott suggested after watching a few moments, "then we can edit out his voice." He spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Highway, how fast are you going?"
"Sixty," Highway replied.
"Go around ninety." The flying camera soon saw the car speeding up.
Scott waited thirty more seconds before instructing Highway again. "Now, do you see the new stereo on the dashboard? There's an on-and-off switch below the two knobs. Flip it on." Highway did so, and they were hearing an old country song, something from the 1970's playing, as the stereo system camera showed the words Classic Country in glowing digital text.
"God, that's fricking awful!" Scott winced. He spoke into the walkie-talkie again. "Uh, Highway, see if you can find some good rock music playing. The tuning knob is just one above the switch." The team watched as Highway switched stations, and when they saw Rock displayed, Scott said, "Hold it right there!"
That station was currently playing a song by Satellite Jones; Highway could identify it easily. He was getting into the sound. "Ah, good music!" he declared.
Valerie smiled and said, "We're keeping that line in there."
"I concur," Scott replied, then instructed Highway again. "Now, do you see that little box on the dash next to the wheel? Right where the stereo and ashtray are. Think of your favorite rock song, title and artist, and say it into the box."
They saw Highway smiling, and he requested, "Fastlane Lover, by Mark Lansing."
"Cool song!" Scott grinned to his team. Moments later, the Satellite Jones track ended, then a computerized voice announced Highway's request as the next song. At the opening beat, the satellite stereo camera caught Highway's fingers on the top knob, turning the volume up. They heard him call, "Yeah, baby!"
Meanwhile, Valerie was looking at the backseat camera screen. Jeremy was sitting quietly, his head tilted so he could try looking out the window. But with Highway's song playing, he started bopping his head left and right to the music. She turned the knob associated with that screen, so the camera would tilt down to his eye level, and focus in on the seatbelt.
She pointed at Jeremy and said, "Oh, look how cute! The Hidieku clients will be so impressed that even a child likes the new stereo system."
"Does he even know about the song that's playing?" Scott wondered.
Valerie elbowed him in the ribs. "He's totally deaf in one ear! I'm just glad he's able to hear it!"
They watched the camerabot film the car at the rear, as it drove away and turned at the first corner. Scott declared, "Okay, that's probably enough footage for a commercial. Let's wrap this up, people! Camerabot off!" That screen shut down, while all the cameras inside the car kept rolling footage."
He spoke into the walkie-talkie again. "Highway, that's a wrap. Drive into the first road you see, put out, then come back to the set!" Highway gave a "thumbs up," then turned into another dirt road, and put the car in reverse. When Scott saw him driving back, he switched the interior cameras off.
Ten minutes later, the crew saw the car return. Valerie watched Highway get out, then get Jeremy from the back. She rushed over and kissed him, then took her son.
"You were wonderful, Highway," she said. "Such skillful driving." She looked back at his motorcycle parked with her car. "So, are you thinking of trading in that old thing for this?"
"Maybe I can use that for my leisure driving," Highway replied. He strutted over to his motorcycle and Valerie followed. "But when it comes to my police duties, I could never trade this baby in."
"So you're already thinking of trading in your old car?" she assumed.
"Well, how much does the Hidieku cost?" he asked.
She'd already got Jeremy settled in the backseat of her own car. "I'll ask the clients when I see them at the presentation meeting, I promise."
When Valerie returned to the agency, however, she received a surprise from Mr. Lancer.
"You want me to get started on the Texas pride magazine ads now!" she cried.
"Not this minute, but pretty soon," Mr. Lancer said. "Mr. Sussex told me of the progresses of two different projects that Stephen and Gerinna are working on. Gerinna is almost finished her part of a brochure for domestic abuse awareness, for a non-profit organization called Jimmy Handel's Home. Stephen just had an acceptance for a 30-second promotion ad for a new computer accounting program. It was for new client, Mystic Computers, Inc." He excused himself and returned with the jeans used in the billboard ad. "Probably as early as after lunch can you get started on the Texas Pride project."
"Fine, I'll get started on the presentation speech right now," Valerie said, then turned to Scott. "Scott, I'm counting on you to give it in my place."
"That's all right," he replied. "Just refer to yourself in the third person when you get to Jeremy in the backseat. The clients are definitely going to wonder who the kid in the back seat is."
Several hours later, Valerie was in her office, formulating a plan for the Texas Pride project. She said, "I was thinking about using the same format as the billboard version we worked on. Mr. Lancer didn't actually say this, but I suspect that Jim Kirkland has definitely decided to include the 18-30 age group into his marketing niche."
"He mentioned this in the memo he gave us," Gerinna said. "Didn't you get a copy?"
"No," she said, then sighed. "That could've been useful information for me, the project manager. I'll have to speak to him about that." She shook her head lightly. "Anyway, the difference between the billboard version and this magazine version, is that this time around, we'll create a series of four magazine ads, one for each color of pair."
"That makes sense," Stephen agreed.
"So, we'll call the Royal Brass Modeling Agency, make an appointment for as soon as possible, and ask for the same models as our billboard," Valerie declared, then started thinking. "Uh, do you remember who modeled which pair of jeans?"
Gerinna and Stephen shook their heads. "I doubt that even the agency will remember what models they recruited for the billboard," Gerinna replied.
"Look, there has to be other twenty-something male models working for Royal Brass," Stephen added. "Let's call for the next available appointment right now, do the casting, and if we see anyone first from the first time around, we'll automatically put them in."
"Good idea," Valerie said, then picked up the phone and dialed. When she got an answer, she requested to speak to the agency president. Moments later, she saw a young looking woman (in her fifties, Valerie could figure out) dressed in a pink blouse and purple suit jacket, her long dark brunette hair down past her shoulders. The woman smile and said, "This is Enda Peters speaking."
"Ms. Peters, it's Valerie Boston from Lancer and Sussex Advertising," she announced. "Listen, my boss received an e-mail two days ago from Jim Kirkland of the Texas Pride Jeans Company. Our billboard featuring the young male models we picked won them over so much, they've decided to expand their market to that buying crowd."
"That's wonderful," Ms. Peters replied.
"Now, they're requesting a magazine ad featuring the same pairs of jeans we used in the billboard," Valerie explained. "We plan to do a series of four, one of each color pair, and we were thinking about using the same models for this project. Do you remember who posed in which pair?"
"Let me check." Ms. Peters excused herself, and moments later, came back with a sheet of paper. She was mulling over it, frowning. "I have some good news and bad news, Ms. Boston. The good news is two of the models, Blake and Samson – they posed in the blue and black pairs respectively – they're available. The bad news is the other two, Casey and Jude, are both in Europe on assignment." She put the paper aside. "When do you plan to get the necessary photographs?"
"We wish to get them as early as tomorrow," Valerie replied. "Would it be all right if we meet with you right now?"
"Actually, I have an interview in a few minutes, someone who sent in his portfolio for a modeling job. I should be able to fill you in for right afterwards, three-thirty, would that be okay?"
"Three-thirty would be excellent. So we'll be looking forward to seeing you then, Ms. Peters. Goodbye for now." When Valerie hung up, she retrieved a pad of paper and pen. "Okay, with that done, now we need some concepts that will appeal to Ms. Peters. Any ideas?"
"Valerie, honey, we're talking about Texas Pride jeans," Gerinna said. "There's only one appropriate concept for four individual ads. A Wild West theme, one posing in a saloon, one on a deserted town street, one in a prison, and one outside a sheriff's office or barber shop."
"That's going to be a problem," Stephen said. "The only place that's got a Western flavor in this big city jungle is the Bullring Saloon, and I don't think they'll be receptive to letting us take modeling pictures there. We're going to have to ask about Wild West theme backgrounds and appropriate props. Valerie, what do you think?"
"I like the concept, Gerinna," Valerie replied, "but Stephen has the right idea. We can spend a lot less money if we do it at the agency with everything provided. Besides, there's not much around here that even resembles the Old or Modern West, just this one country club Sundown and I went to one time, and they don't operate in the daytime. No prison or police headquarters around here would look appropriate, and there aren't any cactuses or tumbleweeds around here for miles."
"And," Gerinna added, "since the shirtless thing won that company over so much, I propose we do it again for the magazine ads."
Valerie rolled her eyes. "I think they accepted the billboard version in spite of the shirtlessness, Geri." She wrote it down anyway. "We'll take that to Ms. Peters, and see what she thinks."
"I think having some of the models without shirts would be a fabulous idea, Ms. Boston," Ms. Peters said at their appointment, while examining the jeans. "It'd bring out enough sexiness in the product to capture to consumer's eye and soul, and make them feel sexy when they put it on. Thank Ms. Donalds for that one."
Valerie nodded, already persuaded. "All right," she said. "If you think it's a good idea, then we'll go along with it."
"But I further propose that we put two models in each ad," Ms. Peters continued. "One to show the front of the jeans, one to show the back. We can put the back view models in shirts, so it looks less like we're promoting gay lifestyles. However, in a 'shirts and shoes required' situation, like a deputy's office, prison, or saloon, we'll put the front view models in T-shirts, so it's still sexy, yet tasteful."
"Gerinna, that would actually be a better idea," Valerie agreed.
Gerinna thought it over, saloon patrons and prison guards with no shirts on. Somehow, those thoughts didn't appeal to her as much. Looks much too scandalous, she decided. She said, "All right, I think I can go with that."
Ms. Peters smiled. "So tomorrow, you can select six more models to work alongside Blake and Samson. And we have Wild West backgrounds that we can project on the green screen, and props to suit the theme. I'll have it all set up for you tomorrow morning"
"That would be great," Valerie said, then she and her team shook her hand to conclude the meeting. "So we'll see you tomorrow for the photo session."
As they left, they overheard Ms. Peters say, "And now, I'll have my assistant go out and buy four more pairs of Texas Pride jeans, one in each color."
Valerie, Gerinna and Stephen spent much of the next day at the modeling agency. Valerie had Stephen oversee the set-up process, while she and Gerinna chose the young male models. By eleven o'clock that morning, they were ready to begin the photo session.
They started with the brown pairs on the deserted street background; the front view model shirtless, while the back view model was wearing a black dress shirt, to make him look like an outlaw. With plastic toy guns flashed at each other, Valerie thought this look like a realistic shoot. Gerinna, the photographer, had them switch places after a few shots. Valerie immediately shook her head and thought, No, sexy deputy facing the camera, young outlaw facing back, much better look.
They'd finished taking pictures of the black pairs in the prison setting, and were about to start on the last shooting with the grey pairs, when they heard a bumbling voice called, "Awright, youse guys, freeze! This here's a raid!"
"Nobody make any sudden moves!" added a wisecracking voice. Valerie turned and was horrified to see all of Big Boss' crooks, not including Nightshade. Buttons McBoomBoom had his machine guns sticking from his chest as usual. Valerie immediately threw herself to the floor, and brought her project team down with her.
But Buttons noticed her, and went straight over to her. "Hello, Valerie," he said. "Ya, know, we don't remember tellin' anyone to git down on the floor." He offered his hand, but she wouldn't take it, getting up herself. "So, ya ready to give our love one more shot?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Valerie replied, "but didn't I go to the Big Boss' place to tell you all off earlier this week?"
"Buttons!" they heard Turbo Tu-Tone call. "What the hell do you think yer doin'?" He rushed over to his accomplice. "You ain't talkin' to Valerie, are ya? She don't want us, remember? We're here to bring back some beautiful–" But Buttons covered his mouth.
"Not if front of those who'll squeal," he hissed. This had him pointing his guns at Valerie, Stephen, Gerinna and the models. "If any of you takes this to the C.O.P.S., youse ain't gonna live to see another sunrise."
As they left, Valerie whispered to Stephen, "I sure hope this agency has an effective alarm system. I want those C.O.P.S. down here right fucking now!"
Everything was quiet for a short while, then they heard women screaming and the crooks yelling orders from another room, and Button's machine gun being fired. Valerie and her team, and anyone else who heard, all dropped to the floor; the project team clutching onto each other to stay together.
"Okay, now I really want those C.O.P.S. here," Valerie squeaked.
"I'll bet Ms. Peters got the message from security, and is calling them right now," Stephen assured.
Valerie got her team up, and told them, "You try and continue the shoot. Make the models focus on their work instead of…" She looked towards the hallway she saw the crooks pass into, heard the orders given and muffled screams, "That."
She rushed towards the entrance way, and minutes later, she saw Bulletproof and his entire C.O.P.S. team come through – including Mainframe. Valerie rushed to them and said, "Thank God you're here. I saw those assholes run into the hallway past where we were shooting our magazine ad." The C.O.P.S. rushed past her, and all drew out their weapons when they arrived at the Texas Pride modeling session.
She overheard Bulletproof say, "You people better vacate this area for a while. This could get dangerous if the crooks come face to face." And around a minute later, she overheard him say louder, "Freeze, lawbreakers! You're all under arrest!"
Stephen and Gerinna managed to get the models out just in time, before various officers and crooks started shooting, mostly Buttons' machine gun and various magnums, but she thought she heard Mace fire his bazooka.
"Christ, I hope they're not destroying the set," Valerie said lowly.
But she turned to see Gerinna smirking; it looked like she had an idea. Valerie said, "Gerinna, what are you thinking about?"
"Valerie, who was that fine-looking gentleman in the cowboy hat and the silver badge?" Gerinna asked.
"His name is Walker Calhoun, also known as Sundown," Valerie replied. "He came here all the way from Texas to use his sheriff expertise–"
"Texas?" Gerinna repeated. "That's just perfect." She whispered into Valerie's ear, and the project manager looked surprised at her.
"Are you sure?" she said lowly. "Sundown has a job to do, and you want to interrupt that with a separate photo shoot here? I don't know what Bulletproof will say."
"I think he'll accept when we explain the product first." Gerinna looked over at Stephen. "Stephen, go find our models, and get one pair of jeans in each of the other colors." They saw Stephen leave, and Ms. Peters arrive at the brawl. Seconds later, Gerinna and Valerie prepared themselves as the C.O.P.S. escorted the crooks out in handcuffs.
"Excuse me," Gerinna said, "but which of you are Bulletproof and Sundown?" The two C.O.P.S. handed their crooks off and stepped forward.
"Thank you," she said, then looked at the rest of the team. "The rest of you can go about your business. Valerie and I want a word with these two."
They led the FBI agent and Texas sheriff, as well as the two "grey" models, into the now destroyed photo shoot area. All the props were down but remained unbroken. The green screen had a gigantic rip in it from when someone went through it, and there were enough bullet and bazooka holes for it to look like Swiss cheese.
Stephen arrived with the other jeans just as Valerie started explaining their project to the C.O.P.S. Sundown seemed pretty interested in the Texas Pride company, although he admitted, "I don't own none of what they make in my drawer."
Valerie gave them both the blue and brown pairs, and Gerinna made one model strip off his grey pair. Gerinna explained, "Well, Sundown, when Valerie mentioned that you originated from Texas, we instantly believed that you'd be just right to promote Texas Pride jeans. Especially with a Texas native as rugged and handsome as yourself, you'd be the ultimate jeans model." However, Sundown nearly became dismayed when he saw the size tag.
"Thirty-three by thirty?" he exclaimed. "This ain't gonna fit me! I wear a size forty-two waist an' thirty-five leg!" He went into a private room to change anyway, and when he came out, they saw him struggling. The jeans were barely up to Sundown's waist, he was holding the button and hook together with one hand, and he couldn't get the zipper fly done up with the other.
Gerinna looked a little embarrassed. She asked Sundown for his size again, then sent Stephen out to buy one pair of each color in that size.
"Look, Bulletproof, I know normally you'd veto something like this, but we might as well go ahead with Sundown now," Valerie said, staring at the green screen. "This'll be a 'while we wait' thing. Enda Peters will have to find some alternative area for us to continue the original with the props. Just give us two hours with him, tops. I'm sure Stephen will be back in half an hour."
Bulletproof looked reluctant, but said, "All right, if this will keep you busy while you get your project back up. But please don't do this too often. I have to keep my people on their priorities."
Twenty minutes later, Valerie and Gerinna heard a ring tone. Both felt their waists, and Valerie discovered it was her cell phone. Stephen was calling on his cell. She didn't have time to figure out how he got it; she was eager to hear good news. "Hello?"
"Valerie, listen," Stephen said, "I'm outside St. Charles Place, and I found those Texas Prides in Sundown's size at this store, Port Callbeck. I got all the colors we're working with. I gave the information to the salesclerks, they were so helpful."
"Great," Valerie replied. "We're still here at Royal Brass. Luckily, Bulletproof accepted this, though hesitantly. Get back here ASAP. I told Bulletproof two hours."
"I'm on my way." Stephen then hung up.
Immediately, Valerie instructed Gerinna, "Escort Sundown to a vacant soundstage, and take some of these props from our real project with you. Freshen him up the best you can." She nodded, and picked up a hay bale, fake tumbleweed, and came back for a cherry oak chair. Before Gerinna disappeared the first time, Valerie called at her, "You owe us, woman, big time!"
When Stephen returned, Valerie took each pair and inspected the labels and tags. "Excellent!" she declared. "The correct brand, and just the size Sundown wears. Now follow me. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can send Sundown back to his real work."
They saw Gerinna in a vacant white room, in the hallway they'd seen the crooks run into to torture the working models. Sundown was practicing his posing, with one foot on a white block and the other on the floor. He was grinning like he'd just spotted an attractive girl from across the room. Valerie immediately got the sensation that he was looking at her, and smiled back.
"Oh, yeah," Gerinna said. "Damn, baby, that looks sexy. You should moonlight as a model for Western outfitters in the city."
"Gee, haven't looked into it much, ma'am," Sundown replied, "but I can build m'self a portfolio when this is all over."
Valerie handed him the blue pair of jeans, and showed him a private changing space in the back. He nodded and went in behind a white curtain, coming out just a minute later showing everyone the Texas Pride logo.
"Oh my God, those make you look fabulous, Sundown!" Valerie breathed. "And I'm not saying that just because I'm into you, I swear. Why don't you go back to that white block and pose like you did before? I liked that one." He nodded and put his right foot back on the square.
"Ready, ma'am," he announced.
Gerinna started taking pictures of him, but after five shots, she got her idea again. "Sundown, sugar, why don't you take your shirt off? Let's see what you look like then." He hesitated for a moment, but tossed his hat at Valerie, and pulled his sleeveless shirt off. He showed off to Gerinna before getting back into his original pose.
Gerinna was amazed by what she saw. "Oh my God!" she hollered. "Valerie, you never told me he had a fabulous body! Oh, we are keeping it like that for the rest of the session!"
Valerie looked unimpressed as she watched Sundown pose at the front and back, and she said, "Okay, now I'm starting to wonder about the shirtless thing, Geri. Do you honestly think it'll help to sell the jeans here, or do you just want to satisfy something? For God's sake, you're married!" But she could see Gerinna was too emerged in taking pictures to answer her.
While Sundown changed into another pair of jeans, Valerie and Stephen decided to put away the hay bale and tumbleweed. "There's no need for these things in a room like this," she told her team. "This session is so far from a Wild West look, it's scary. But the chair would still be a nice look. We'll do that last."
Sundown came back in to brown pair, and Gerinna told him to lie down on the block facing her. He did, his head tilted so it was nearly touching his left shoulder, his face looking more serious and attitudinal.
God, he looks so uncomfortable, Valerie thought. Sure hope that screen gets fixed or replaced soon, so we can get back to the real work. And I really hope that Mr. Lancer doesn't get angry over this. Maybe Mr. Kirkland can accept two series of magazine ads instead of just one.
After about twenty shots, Gerinna told Sundown, "Now roll around and show us he back. Turn around and face me. You look beautiful, you sexy man!"
"Gerinna, you're married!" Valerie mouthed at her, but she never turned to see her.
For the black pair, the block had already been removed, and Sundown was standing behind a white background. Gerinna photographed him wearing his hat first, but then made him take it off and put it on his bare chest. For the first time this session, Valerie started to feel less tense, concerned, and more loosened up. She actually thought he looked sexy with the cowboy hat on his chest. He put his hat back on, and turned around for the back shots. His hands were in the front pockets, and he grinned at Gerinna like he wanted her. But Valerie could tell he was really trying to look at her.
They got the chair ready while Sundown changed into the last pair. He sat down and put his boot-clad foot onto his upper leg. He put his right arm on the back of the chair and pretended to look bored. After around ten shots, Gerinna told him to spread his legs out.
Valerie was disturbed when he did so. She didn't mind staring at his crotch, but this would be shown in magazines all over North America. "Gerinna!" she cried. "Are you crazy! Mr. Kirkland isn't going to accept the ad like that! I'd nearly go for that first pose!"
But it got worse for her when it was time to model the back. Sundown got up, grabbed the back of the chair and straddled it. Valerie looked both nervous and sick. Oh dear God, she thought. If this gets into the magazines, Bulletproof is going to kill me.
"Gerinna," she said, "I'm going to talk to Ms. Peters, and ask if the screen's been fixed." She left the session quickly, now desperate to get back to the original assignment.
Valerie and her team managed to complete the original magazine ad assignment at the end of that day. With the repairs the maintenance staff had to make after yet another violent bust by the C.O.P.S., the project team stayed until nearly six o'clock. Valerie was still amazed at how stressful it became.
"It was supposed to be so swift and easy!" she lamented to Karen when she came to get Jeremy that day. "God, but I hope those fucking wardens do their damn jobs properly, and keep those crooks in there for good!"
When she got home, she badly wanted to lie down on her sofa in front of the TV. She was close to being exhausted. But she hadn't seen Mr. Lancer around when she went back to the advertising agency to clock out. As she went to her computer, she said to herself, "God, I hope Stephen informed Lancer of what went on." She typed up a report on what happened at Royal Brass Modeling Agency, anyway.
"After this, I'm going downstairs to work out!" she said to herself when she was halfway down the page.
She was in the middle of describing the "side assignment" with Sundown when the doorbell rang. She heard Jeremy say, "Don't… worry…, Mom! I'll… get it." Seconds later, she perked as she heard the boy squealing Sundown's name. She saved her memo and left her computer.
Sundown was standing in the front hall, grinning at Valerie like he did when he was posing for his ads. She was surprised, yet delighted, but still tired.
"I really didn't expect you to come here so impromptu," she told him. "Look, you understand I had a really long day today, and I'm really in no mood to go out anywhere."
"I reckoned you wouldn't," he replied. "That's why I'm keepin' ya company here tonight."
She smiled a little, and went up to kiss him. "That's so thoughtful of you. In that case, I'm so glad you came."
He retrieved his own album of romantic country songs, and volunteered to take Jeremy down to his playroom. "Don't want him intrudin' on our alone time," he said to her. She sat on the couch and waited for him. He came back up after a couple of minutes, and immediately put the CD in the player.
"You know, Sundown," Valerie said, "I was just writing about you in my memo to my boss when Jeremy announced your presence. On our way back to the advertising agency, Gerinna said something about combining the front and back shots of you to get both images into one advertisement." She touched his face rather intimately. "I can't wait to see the final products. You really did look sexy in those jeans with no shirt on. Sexier than those younger models, in fact."
"Why, thank, you, ma'am," he replied, smiling.
"Although, I must say that your back pose with the chair did look a little, um, sexual," she said. "What was with that straddle? I just hope you don't get in trouble over this. I understand that police are supposed to practice a little, um, discretion in their off-duty time. And Bulletproof would see your modeling gig as 'off-duty.'"
"You'd go down wit me, I reckon," Sundown reminded her. "This is yer project, ain't it?"
She tapped his shoulder lightly. "The only trouble I'm going to get in is with Mr. Lancer if he finds the Walker 'Sundown' Calhoun version unacceptable. Then I'll tell him it was all Gerinna's idea. I think she tried to flirt with you when you and the others came into the agency."
"I reckon yer boss and that client – whoever he may be – will both love the two projects."
Then he brought her face closer to his, and puts his hands around her neck. Slowly, he moved his lips towards hers for a kiss. She didn't really know what that felt like, but she didn't care. She needed someone to help take her away from the stress of her work. They kept making out, touching each other, for the rest of the CD.
When the music was over, they both decided to send Jeremy to bed, even though it was just past eight o'clock. Valerie watched as Sundown gave the boy a bath, then she helped get him ready for bed. Afterwards, Sundown gave her that same grin, and took her to her bedroom.
"I reckon I've got just what you need there, lil' lady," he said.
He unbuttoned her blouse, lay her down on her stomach, then removed her bra. In a romantic massage, he stroked his fingertips all the way up and down her back, and rubbed it as light as he could with his hands. Valerie instantly felt relieved.
"Oh, that's so nice!" she said. "I didn't know rough n' tough cowboys like you had such gentle touches, this gentle."
"All in the name of love, my darlin'," he replied softly. He began to rub her shoulders lightly. "Oh, but you've got such beautiful, touchable skin. It's soft like satin. Skin like this only deserves the velvet touch."
When he was done, he took off his shirt, bent down and started to kiss her back just like he was rubbing it. She felt his lips, turned and smiled at him. She turned around to face him, lightly touched his cheek and chin, then grabbed his arms and brought him down with her.
"Oh, Valerie, I love you," he muttered at her, "an' I want ya wit me, I do."
She was too busy kissing him to respond, so he put his hands around her back, and let the massage get more sexual.