Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 10

Everything was looking good. The photographer was setting up. The dressing room was filled with the outfits, and everyone had gotten there early.

Everyone except the most important one.

"Are you sure that he's going to come?" Angel asked him. Niko asked if he wanted to tag along just so he would have someone to talk to. He wanted the man's opinion on the photoshoot anyway. Even though his father didn't seem to appreciate him, Niko knew just how good the man was at his job.

"I'm positive," Niko said. "We've still got about an hour until the set time anyway."

"Did you tell him that he's supposed to come an hour early?"

"It was difficult enough just trying to get him to take the job," he sighed. "I didn't have time to tell him things like that."

"And we're paying him triple times the amount in the ad?"

"He's perfect for this, Angel!" he told his friend. "I just know that this will do well."

That was the only reason he was willing to go through all of this just to get Solomon. If this project went well then the money that went into it would be easily paid off and then some.

"Who is it, anyway?" Angel asked. At least Niko was glad that the man never kept an argument with him going. He would always tell his opinion on the matter and then leave it at that. He knew that the man didn't do that for everyone.

"Solomon Balter," Niko told him.

"Wait," Angel's expressionless face changed for once. His eyebrows raised ever so slightly. "Did you just say Solomon Balter?"

"Yeah," he looked at him, confused. "Why? Do you know him?"

"Let's just say I'm glad you were able to convince him," Angel took a sip of his coffee. "It wouldn't be good if you got on his bad side."

He was going to ask why when he heard a familiar voice. Niko smiled when he saw Solomon come in exactly an hour early. He must have remembered that from the ad or something. That, or he had remembered from the other modeling jobs that he had done before. Either way, it relieved some stress that he had been under.

"There he is!" Niko walked up to him. Solomon immediately looked over. He swore he could have seen the man smile for a second. "I'm so glad you came!"

"You thought I wasn't going to show up?" he raised an eyebrow at him. He looked good in the outfit that he was in. He was in just a simple t-shirt and some jeans. But, for some reason, the man seemed to look amazing in everything.

"Let's just say it's been a stressful day," he told him. He didn't know why he told the man that. He was never one to tell a stranger about his issues. There was something about him that just made him want to talk. "Did you do something to your hair, by the way?"

"Yeah," Solomon eyed him suspiciously. "I got it cleaned up before the photo shoot today."

"It looks great!" he smiled at him again. It really did look good. It shined in the bright lights that the room had. He quickly led him to the dressing room, where one of his best agents were.

"Do you really think so?" Solomon asked. "Or are you just saying that?"

"Honestly," he put a hand to his heart. "I truly think so."

"I thought you didn't like my long hair."

"It wasn't something that I was used to," he shook his head. "And it may have taken me a while to realize that it was perfect for these ads. But I really do think it looks good."

"Good," Solomon gave him a shy smile. "I'm glad that you finally got over that, then."

"I still owe you for taking care of my unit at the office so quickly, you know," it was fun to finally get the man to relax a bit around him. As soon as he wasn't on edge, it was easier to talk to him.

"That was just a part of my job," he shook his head.

Niko was enjoying making him smile like he was. It made him look softer. He made sure that the receptionist gave him a copy of the card that Solomon gave them. Knowing their luck at that old building, they were going to need him.

"Come on," he opened the door to the dressing room. "Let me introduce you to a good friend of mine."

Rico was his go-to person for all modeling projects that he had to do. He was one of the best in the business. He knew this stuff like the back of his hand. Niko was excited to see the man's reaction to Solomon.

"Hey Rico!" he got his friends attention, "This is-"

"Solomon?" the red-head took off his flashy sunglasses to look at them in utter shock. "Is that you?"

"Nice to see you again, Rico," Solomon said.

"Solomon! Baby!" Rico practically ran over to him. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"You two know each other already?!" Niko was starting to get more curious about this man. How many people knew him? Even Angel seemed to know his name at least. Why was he the only one who had just met the man?

"Are you kidding me?" Rico looked at him dramatically. "Solomon was one of the best models out there! The pose! The face!" he moved his hands to frame the man's face. "Pure perfection!"

"You really haven't changed a bit," Solomon laughed. Then he looked over at Niko. "We worked together on a few of my old projects."

"You really should have made a profession out of it, Sol," Rico shook his head. "You can still be a star, you know."

"I'm just doing this for fun, Rico," Solomon put a hand up to stop him from talking any further. "I still have no desire to become a professional model."

"Maybe you could do a few more jobs for our company in the future, then," Niko said. "As a hobby, of course."

"We'll see how this one goes first," Solomon smirked at him.

"Oh, it's going to be perfect!" Rico said. "I can taste the success, baby!"

Niko left the room so that Solomon could get ready, hearing Rico talking the whole time. He had known Rico for a long time, but he had no clue that him and Solomon would have met before. Sure, he knew that Solomon had done a few modeling jobs. But he didn't know that Rico was involved in those projects.

All of this just made him more excited. Rico was right: you could taste the success.

Author's Note: You made it through the first ten chapters! Congrats! I had a lot of fun writing these, and I hope you enjoyed reading them. Niko is a bit of an asshole. And, by a little, I mean a lot! Is Will going to be proven right though? Are Solomon and Niko a good match? Or is this going to go down in flames?

Thanks for all the votes and comments! If you see any grammar errors, or just parts that don't quite make sense, leave me a comment please! This story is extremely light hearted and there's going to be a bunch of characters to enjoy and get a laugh out of, so get ready!

-Saturn