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“Of course”

“Darapher Out of Santa Monica, I think Do you know his name?”

“Sure, but can I ask what’s up?”

“Valentine’s Day,” I adraph of me Kind of artsy—I have a pose in mind And then I’ll adjust the color on Photoshop and add a caption I know I’ve waited till the last minute, but I’ve set up the self-tiht withoutbehind the lens”

“He’ll love it,” Sylvia says “Perfect for theon earth that he wanted”

“What’s that?” I ask, cohs “Duh You”

“Oh” I feel a blush of pleasure rising up ht

“His naive you his number But I happen to know that he’s out of town He’s on a shoot in Australia until March”

“Oh Well, daraphers? Someone in the PR department or—”

“I could do it”

“Really?”

“I don’t take a lot of shots of people, but I’ve been into photography for years Architecture,for, I’,” I say And not only because she would be solving raphy, too

“Listen, I’ve got a call co in Shoot , okay?”

I agree and end the call just as Mrs Crane—the receptionist for my shared office suite—buzzesJalad to see her I’d called her last night to schedule lunch and gossip for later in the week, and then, of course, I’d given her the quick-and-dirty rundown on Daer hunt, the first clue, and my frustration

“So?” Jamie asks as she bursts into my tiny office She looks around—as if shocked that the decor hasn’t changed in the feeeks since she’s been by—then flops down on the little sofa “Has the cupcake come yet?”

I shake my head “Why are you here?” Her condo is just a fewin Venice Beach, and that’s way the hell and gone fro—I’ the idea”

“You can love it without driving to the Valley,” I point out

“Which brings me to reason number two Audition,” she says, then holds her hand up for a high five, which I happily supply

“Seriously? What for?”