Page 3 of All the Gossip from Paris (Royal Fashion #2)
His words shifted her focus from his body to his body of work.
Her father often used the same photographers for his runway shows, and lately she’d found their pictures lacking in flair.
Her ex Patrice, who worked in La maison du Royal apparently had some deal with a couple of local fashion photographers which meant they kept coming back year after year.
But if Papa could see someone else’s work, he might decide to change…
She was convinced that a fresh perspective was what the House of Royal badly needed.
The current clients on the list were all slowly ageing.
The writing was on the wall. For the business to survive long term, they were going to have to attract the next generation of women who had haute couture money at their disposal.
Those younger women were likely to be on social media. Having someone like Liam creating new and exciting images could be a fantastic move.
I should take a look at what other work he’s done.
“Our father will be launching his next collection during Spring/Summer Haute Couture week. That’s in late January. Do you have a professional portfolio I might be able to take a look at?” replied Sophie.
“Of course.”
He pulled an iPad out of his bag, and handed it to her. “I don’t have much in the way of fashion runway experience, but I have done quite a few magazine shoots. I’ve also worked with some of the bigger sporting publications, and that always involves capturing the perfect image at the right time.”
Sophie tapped on the screen, and it opened to a website.
Wow, Liam actually has his own photographic site. And it’s amazing.
There was a tab titled Costa Rica. When Sophie clicked on it, the screen filled with images of lush green jungle and towering mountain peaks. She scrolled through the gallery, and the photos became ones of stunningly beautiful tropical flowers.
But it was the photos which Liam had taken of people at a local produce market which really set her heart racing.
He’d cleverly captured the color and movement of the scene.
Sophie felt as if she was standing in front of one of the market stalls.
She could almost smell the aroma of freshly picked bananas.
“This looks incredible. I was expecting to see a few photos, but you have put together a brilliant portfolio,” she said. Sophie clicked on the tab titled TV, and the screen was suddenly filled with photos of gorgeous guys. And one lone woman.
“What’s this?” she asked.
Liam came to stand next to her. “Ah yes, some of my earlier work. Ryan was on a TV show called Bachelors on the Beach and I got to take lots of the behind the scenes shots of the cast.”
Camille had told Sophie all about the series, and she’d watched a few old episodes online, but she wanted to hear Liam’s take on the shoot.
“I owe a lot of my career to that show. Though I messed up a little while back when they approached me about a reboot.”
“What did you do?”
“I kinda put Ryan in a hard place. I didn’t mean to, but I did. That’s why I offered to do Camille’s fashion runway shoot for free. I want my brother to keep his job.”
The fact that Liam was prepared to own his mistake was a big plus in her book. She knew plenty of guys who would have found a way not to accept the blame for what they’d done. Working with Liam could be a good thing.
“I’d love you to speak to my father. The photographs we are currently getting from our runway shows are nowhere near as dynamic as yours. And don’t get me started on our so minimalist ‘it hurts’ official website,” she said, adding finger quotes for effect.
Francois Royal had always claimed that when it came to the four thousand or so women in the world who could afford high fashion, he knew exactly who was who.
He also knew which clients he valued the most. Rather than maintaining a complete email list, her father had an old fashioned rolodex with phone numbers in it.
“Let me show you some of the work I recently did in Tahiti for one of the major sports channels. The world surfing championships were held in Teahupo’o, and that part of French Polynesia is pure magic,” said Liam.
He flicked through a series of images and short videos. Liam’s gentle voice provided the background for Sophie’s journey into the rich blues of the ocean and the bright colors of the Tahitian landscape.
It was only after she’d taken in the last of the stunning images that Sophie realized Camille had moved quietly away and was now on the other side of the room.
She’d been so caught up listening to Liam’s dulcet tones, that she hadn’t noticed. This guy was sex on a stick, but also seriously talented. She was more than a little attracted to him. Maybe she should hold off on passing his details to her father.
In a rare moment Sophie considered doing something that didn’t involve another act of self-sacrifice for the Royal family business. When Liam smiled at her, the decision was made. She’d keep him and this brief time in New York City all for herself.