Portrait of Love Read online

  “That’s one of the things I wanted to discuss,” he said. “They weren’t supposed to change that until next week, though. What all did you need to order? I’ll take care of it.”

  She handed him her list. “Is everything changing around here?”

  “Pretty much, yes.”

  Mandy’s shoulders fell as her breath escaped her lungs. “Looks like I’ll need to be totally retrained.”

  “Everyone will.” As Tony looked down at the paper in front of him, she noticed the anxiety on his face. “The company is in the process of restructuring.”

  ❧

  Tony felt awful that he couldn’t share more with Mandy yet. Uncle Ed had made him privy to some company changes, but he wasn’t at liberty to discuss any of them—not even the ones that involved Mandy’s future with the company. They hadn’t finished hammering out the details yet, which complicated everything for him at the store level. But he couldn’t be too secretive with Mandy—not after all she’d done for the company. He’d have another talk with Uncle Ed and Ricco.

  “I—uh, I guess I’ll go back out to the front and get ready for my next photo session,” she said as she shuffled backward, out of the office.

  The second she was gone, he picked up the phone and punched in the number of the regional manager. His cousin Ricco answered on the first ring.

  “I need to talk to Mandy soon,” Tony said. “She knows there are changes, and I can tell she’s worried.”

  “Look, Tony,” Ricco said in his understanding but firm voice. “I know this is tough on you, but we don’t have anything firm to tell her yet. Have you discussed the changes in the first rollout?”

  “Not yet. We haven’t had the opportunity to sit down and discuss it.”

  “As long as you’re both doing your jobs, I don’t see what the problem is. Go ahead and tell her about the first phase.”

  Ricco had been away from the trenches so long, he obviously didn’t remember all the interruptions. Ricco had never wanted to work for Small World, but when Tony left for the army, Ricco’s dad, who promised it would be temporary, pressured him into it. Last they had talked, right after Tony got out of the army, Ricco said he actually liked the job now—especially since they were making some of the changes he’d wanted since he started.

  “Okay, I’ll just have to get one of the part-timers to come in early.”

  “You have the budget to hire another full-timer,” Ricco reminded him. “There are plenty of people out there looking for jobs. Why don’t you hire one of them?”

  Tony wanted Mandy’s input during the hiring process, but he couldn’t very well do that before telling her about the changes. “It takes time to find the right fit, Ricco.”

  “You’re right. It does.” He chuckled. “You really like Mandy, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. And I’d like to discuss Mandy’s options.” Tony knew his persistence could get on Ricco’s nerves, but he was willing to take his chances. “She’s worked so hard to keep this place running smoothly, and I’m sure she’s frustrated.”

  “Are you saying she’s got an attitude?” Ricco asked. “Because if that’s the case, maybe we should rethink—”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Mandy has been professional at all times. I just don’t want to risk losing her.”

  “It won’t be too much longer. Just tell her what you can now, and let her know we haven’t forgotten about her.” Ricco paused before adding, “If you want her input, let her know that, too. Maybe it’ll appease her until you have something more concrete to share.”

  Tony doubted that. Mandy was a smart woman who’d see through any actions designed to hide the fact that she wouldn’t get what she wanted.

  When it was almost time for Mandy to go home, Tony took advantage of the few minutes of quiet. “I’ll get Bella or Steve to come in, so you and I can have a meeting.”

  “Will this be a regular thing now?” she asked. “Even when Parker was still the manager, we never had meetings.”

  Tony racked his brain as he tried to think of a way to explain without saying more than he should. “I’m not big on meetings, either, but I do need to let you know some new corporate policies and decisions.”

  “Can’t you just tell me now?”

  “No, it’s sort of complicated, and you’ll probably have some questions.” He paused before adding, “I don’t want to get started and then be interrupted again.”

  She pursed her lips, tightened her jaw, and offered a clipped nod. “Okay.” The resignation in her voice let him know she didn’t completely trust him, but she knew who was in charge. That hurt.

  After she was gone, Tony rubbed the back of his neck. Now all he cared about was making Mandy understand and gaining her trust.

  ❧

  For the first time since working at Small World, Mandy couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Her job was about to change, but the only change she’d wanted was the promotion.

  Mandy needed to talk to someone, but not her sister or parents. Her best friend, Dahlia, had moved to Chicago, so she decided to call her.

  “Maybe you expect too much,” Dahlia said. “You’ve always worked so hard but never tooted your own horn. If you don’t let people know what you want, don’t expect them to read your mind.”

  After they got off the phone, Mandy thought about expectations. Were hers unrealistic? She hadn’t even dated since college because no one measured up to what she thought she wanted.

  She had a tough time falling asleep, but when she finally did, she dreamed about Tony. The next morning, she got ready for work knowing he wouldn’t be there because his sister was in town.

  There were so many walk-ins that morning, the hours went by in a blur. She’d barely finished with her last family before lunch, when she glanced up and spotted Tony walking toward the studio. He sure looked handsome in his charcoal gray pinstriped suit. Flanked by a woman holding the hand of a little boy on one side and a little girl on the other, he would have made an excellent model for a dad on his way to have his family’s pictures taken.

  “Hey, Mandy, I’d like for you to meet my sister, Angela.”

  The attractive woman with the shoulder-length dark hair extended her hand. “I’m so happy to meet you, Mandy. Tony has said many nice things about you.”

  Tony nudged her. “Shh. Don’t tell her my secrets.”

  “What secrets?” Angela said playfully before turning back to Mandy. “He said you were the best thing that ever happened to Small World Portrait Studio and that if you weren’t here, his job would be miserable.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “He also told me you were very family oriented—just like us.” After smiling at Mandy, she turned to Tony. “And you’re right. She’s beautiful.”

  Tony lifted both hands and let them fall to his sides, clearly pretending to be annoyed. “Well, there ya go. Anything you want to know, just ask my sister.”

  “Thank you.” Mandy laughed, in spite of the heat that had crept up her face. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Angela. Are you here to have your children’s pictures taken?”

  Angela grinned and winked at her brother. “And she’s an excellent salesperson, too.” She turned back to Mandy. “Not today. I just wanted to meet you after all the nice things Tony said. He told me about the Children’s Museum, so I thought we’d go there.”

  After Angela left, Tony went back to his office before coming out with a stack of papers. “Going somewhere important?” she asked.

  seven

  Tony nodded. “Chamber of commerce meeting. It won’t be a long one, though,” he said. “I’ll be back this afternoon.”

  He walked toward the door, turned around to face her, and paused. She had the feeling he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He just lifted a hand and waved before walking away.

  Mandy barely had time to gather her thoughts before the next family arrived. She got the children in place, snapped their pictures, and arranged the computer proofs without any trouble.
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  “Mommy, look what the nice lady gave me!” the youngest of the three boys said.

  The woman looked at the plastic dinosaur Mandy had pulled from her bag, then glanced up, grinned, and mouthed, “Thanks.”

  Mandy smiled then refocused her attention on the computer proofs. The children had been extremely good for her once she got their attention, but they were bundles of energy. She had a tremendous amount of respect for mothers—particularly those with more than one small child.

  She worked as quickly as possible before the children’s attention spans ran out. Finally, she motioned for the mom to come take a look.

  “I wanna see!” the middle boy said.

  Mandy pulled a couple of step stools out from behind the counter. “How’s this?”

  The two older boys each took a stool, and the mother picked up the smallest child. Mandy handed the mother the mouse and encouraged her to let the boys help.

  It didn’t take long for them to agree on a package. “Thank you so much,” the mother said. “My husband will appreciate the fact that I didn’t spend a fortune, since we just had pictures taken six months ago.”

  She spotted Tony walking toward the door. It took all her concentration to keep her mind off his presence as he came in.

  “We want you to come back.” Mandy pulled out a coupon for the family’s next visit. “Put this someplace safe and use it toward your next photo session.”

  “You’re amazing with people,” Tony observed. “I’d like to take you to the next chamber of commerce meeting with me.”

  Her sister called, so Tony went back to his office to give her some space. “Hi, what’s up?”

  “Mom and Dad are really after me to get a job.”

  “I agree with them,” Mandy said.

  “It’s not that easy. I’ve e-mailed and sent my résumé to a few places.”

  “You have to put a lot of effort into a job hunt.”

  “If those people in Hollywood weren’t so mean, I’d have an acting job.”

  “But you’re not in Hollywood anymore. You’re in Wheeling, West Virginia, where hardworking, decent people live.”

  “I can work hard,” Christina said. “Someone just has to give me a chance.”

  “I’m getting off early tonight. Why don’t you come to my apartment after dinner?”

  “Mom said she’d fix dinner, and I can bring you some.”

  “When did she say that?”

  “When she told me to call you and see if I could come over one night this week. Sorry.”

  Mandy chuckled. So she’d been set up, and she’d fallen right into the trap. But that was okay. This was for a good cause.

  “Perfect. I’ll call you when I leave here.”

  A half hour later, Tony came walking into the studio. “I just heard from Ricco. He’s scheduling a meeting for you.” He breezed past her on his way to the back before he stopped and added, “In Atlanta.”

  “When?”

  “As soon as possible.” Weird. He wouldn’t look her in the eye.

  “Do you know what it’s all about?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say.” He edged away from her. “But I do know they want you there in two weeks.”

  “Two weeks?”

  “Yeah, and he wants you to go over to the store in Pittsburgh to show the new photographer some tips on getting the children to cooperate.”

  “When?”

  “This afternoon.”

  Before she had a chance to say another word, he’d left her alone with the cameras.

  She rounded the corner, where she spotted him punching some numbers into the phone. He was clearly avoiding conversation with her, so she backed away.

  Rather than press Tony for answers, she decided to wait until she met with Ricco in two weeks. She gathered her things, stopped at the desk, and stared at him until he looked up at her. She needed to brief him on the children he’d be photographing. “The little girl is diabetic, so their mother doesn’t want either of them having sugar. She’ll smile for the purple dinosaur, and her brother likes action figures.”

  “I can handle them,” Tony said. He managed a slight smile and a glance in her direction. “Especially now that I know I won’t have to handle the candy.” He leaned back in his chair, still looking at her. “Seriously, Mandy, I appreciate your concern for this place, but I promise I won’t mess things up too bad.”

  She pursed her lips and nodded. He was right. She did need to let go.

  “You don’t have to come back this afternoon,” he added.

  Mandy opened her mouth but decided it was pointless to say anything. On the way to the studio in Pittsburgh, all sorts of things flitted through Mandy’s mind. Why the urgency of helping this new photographer? She’d heard he’d had his own studio for years.

  Right when she pulled into a parking spot, her cell phone rang. It was Tony.

  “Are you there yet?” he asked.

  “I just got here, but I’m still in the parking lot.”

  “I wanted to warn you that Ricco is there. The new photographer has never worked with children before, and he threatened to quit. We needed someone, and he’s got a tremendous amount of experience, as well as a name in the area, and Ricco wanted to give him a chance. I told Ricco to give you some time with him, and he agreed.”

  “I don’t get why he needed a job if he was so good or why he was hired if he had no experience with kids.”

  “People couldn’t afford his prices, and he waited too long to drop them, so his business folded. Don’t bring this up to anyone, but I think he begged, and they were desperate for a photographer. At least his background checked out, so I think he’s trainable.”

  A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. “That’s good.”

  “I didn’t want you to be surprised. As for the meeting at the home office—well, try to relax and let things happen as they’re supposed to. Ricco’s a good guy. He knows what a valuable employee you are.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “I asked him to explain some stuff while you’re in Pitts-burgh, and he said he would.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “I said a prayer for you.”

  “Thank you, Tony.”

  Mandy squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that she could remain calm, no matter what Ricco wanted to discuss. She opened her eyes and took several deep breaths. She wished she’d worn something a little nicer, but at least there was nothing offensive about black slacks and a white-collared blouse. Boring, as Christina would say, but not offensive.

  She shoved the door open and walked into the reception area where she was greeted by Peggy, who’d helped her when she first started with the company. Peggy lifted a hand and waved. “Come on back, and I’ll introduce you to James, the new photographer.” She lowered her voice and added, “He’s a little out of sorts today, so don’t be too upset by anything he says. Want some coffee?”

  “No thanks.” Mandy smiled at Peggy then looked around at the photos covering the walls.

  The hallway was wide but short, so they didn’t have to go far. The studio was bigger than the one in Wheeling, but everything else was basically the same.

  “Children these days are so bad! How can you expect me to get decent portraits of them?” He flailed his arms. “They need to listen.”

  Ricco sat on a stool across from the ranting man. He glanced up and waved as he spotted her.

  “C’mon back, Mandy,” he said as he gestured.

  She gulped hard and did as he asked. She felt her cheeks flush.

  “Mandy, this is James, one of the best photographers in Pennsylvania. He recently decided to shut down his studio, so we talked him into working for us.”

  Mandy extended her hand as she realized how Ricco was trying to flatter James while he was there. “Nice to meet you, James.”

  He reluctantly shook hands with her. “So you’re the one everyone’s raving about.”

  “I am?”

  Ricco let out a nervous laug
h. “Yes, you’ve developed quite a reputation for getting kids to cooperate.”

  “It’s just a matter of getting down on their level and figuring out what they like.”

  Ricco got off his stool and took a couple of steps toward the front. “I’ll leave the two of you to talk. Come see me when you’re done, Mandy.”

  After Mandy got an earful of how terrible he thought the working conditions were, she gave James a few helpful hints. When his appointment arrived, she even showed him how to position the children and get them to smile. He resisted at first, but after a couple of awkward attempts, he succeeded in getting them to behave. Once he had the children under control, the session was great.

  After the children went to the front to wait, James shook his head. “No wonder they like you so much, Mandy. Thanks. Maybe I’ll give this a little more time before I make my decision about staying or leaving.” He pointed toward the office area. “Ricco wants to talk to you now.”

  Mandy found her way back to the office where Ricco waited for her. “Have a seat.” He glanced down at some paperwork on the desk, until she got settled. “Tony gave you a glowing report. Says you were doing a great job of running the studio single-handedly before he arrived.”

  Mandy smiled. “I did the best I could.”

  “We appreciate all your hard work. Unfortunately, while we’ve been in the process of reorganizing, we overlooked some important details.”

  “I understand.” Her voice came out much weaker than she wanted, so she cleared her throat.

  “The company is still in a state of change, but we have some thoughts about how to utilize your skills.”

  Mandy blinked. This sounded like a good thing. She leaned forward, hoping to hear that she was under consideration for a promotion—or at least something concrete.

  “But unfortunately, we haven’t ironed everything out yet.” He offered an apologetic smile as he tapped the end of his pencil on the desk. “There are two reasons I wanted to bring you in. First, we needed you to spend some time with James. How did that go?”

  “Okay, I think. His photography skills are obviously there, but I think his pride was getting in his way.”