government."
As h e moved towards the cabin ets and removed dessert plates, h e was only a few feet from her. He placed the plates on the counter top then turned to look at her.
"Then, all that's left to discover is the really interesting stuff. And, I prefer to find out those things myself," he said and moved towards her. He took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it.
"There is nothing interesting to report," she said.
"Okay, tell me about your photography then ."
He removed coffee cups from another cupboard.
"I point the camera and press a button," she explained.
"You are saying that in the hope that I missed that CKQ poster you had over the fireplace of your home. It had three signatures and on the bottom WB Marketing."
She gave him a sharp look. The poster he referred to was an original blown up poster of her first printed ad for CKQ Clothing Company, one of the largest top of the line designers in the world. The advertisement had been a smashing success. It plucked her company from relative obscurity and propelled it in to a media powerhouse in the fashion and design industry.
"I only left you for a second," she said.
"Willow Barnes Marketing," James said.
"Okay," she confessed. "I started a marketing company straight out of college. I ’ m not a marketer. I’ m more of an image consultant. I did some marketing courses in college but my degree is in photography and graphic design."
"Is that image as in what you want to port ray or as in print selection?" h e asked. "I ’ m not hip with these new age job descriptions."
"It is not new age. The job is a little bit of both. Sometime s you luck into a photo. That’ s what happened with that particular photograph."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw the fellow just outside Arsenal Stadium. He was just bouncing a ball and I started snapping away. The photo you saw was frame thirty three. To capture that precise shot at that precise moment was sheer luck."
"He wasn't a professional model?" James asked.
"Not at the time."
"That is infinitely more interesting than politics," he said. "Cream and sugar?"
"Yes, please."
They took their coffee and cake went back to the outdoor living area. This time they settled in to a comfortable rocker. The lights were low and the patio heater provided a warm cozy atmosphere.
"So you ’ re a soccer fan then ," he said.
"Heavens, no," she said. "My date was a huge Arsenal fan. If I like any team it would be Manchester United. I just thought I would get great pictures for my collection , that’s all ."
"What happened to that date?" James asked.
"Let's just say I do n’ t know what the inside of Arsenal Stadium looks like. The only great thing that came from that day was that photograph and of course what came after."
"Wow, now I feel intimidated."
"You have nothing to worry about. I'm your neighbor. We have to play nice. That’ s the reason I said yes to your invite." Even as she said it, she knew it was not entirely true and she suspected that he knew it, too.
"I thought you came for my cooking skills."
"When you invited me for dinner I didn ’ t really expect you to cook. I thought you’d have a cook here to prepare us dinner. So perhaps it was the charm, the good looks, the hero