Pictures of Vegas pt. 3

Jonathan prepared himself for the heat, but it was worse than he expected. His clothes clung to his lean frame, and his head cooked under the relentless sun. When he was growing up in Vegas, the heat never bothered. After spending the last few years in Huntington Beach, he couldn't handle hot weather anymore. If the temperature rose above 85, he felt completely exhausted.

Amy was already waiting for him at the Paris hotel. She was an ambitious, young writer with a handful of celebrity profiles under her belt. Jonathan admired her tenacious spirit and enjoyed working with her.

"So are we still doing an outside shoot? We might have to wait until the sun goes down."

She grinned, showing off her Hollywood smile. "I can't handle heat either. I was able to convince Mr. Freedman to have the interview inside the hotel."

"Thank goodness," Jonathan said. He didn't know all the details, but he knew that Gregory Freedman was the new executive chef in the Paris hotel. At age 28, he was already a rising star on the culinary scene. Jonathan didn't really care about the details. He just needed to know which angle flattered Mr. Freedman.

The interview went longer than scheduled. Jonathan thought that the young chef thought a bit too highly of himself, but he seemed polite enough. Jonathan took shots from various angles and waited for Amy to wrap up the interview.

After saying their goodbyes, Amy grabbed Jonathan's arm. "You're going to get mad at me. Greg just asked me out to dinner."

"Greg?" Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so now you're buddy-buddy." He sighed. "I'm used to eating alone. You two have fun without me."

"Are you sure? Maybe you could join us?"

"Amy, honey. I'm joking. Who am I to stand in the way of young romance?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Who said anything about romance? I'm in lust." She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder. "How do I look?"

"Professional but fabulous," he said. "I'll catch you at the airport."

"Thanks for understanding." She kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled as he watched the new energy in her walk. He missed that kind of giddiness. It had been a while since anyone put a bounce in his steps. At age 35, he was done with romance. He didn't think he would ever fall in love again.

Jonathan walked around the massive lobby. He thought about taking a few snapshots, but he didn't find any inspiration. Everything looked too gaudy, too overdone. He stopped by the famous ceiling, an optical illusion that tricked you into seeing a night skyline. Jonathan felt dizzy after staring at it too long.

He stopped at one of the bars. He would just have a few drinks and call it a night. He nodded at the attractive, young bartender. "Ketel One and tonic, please."

To Be Continued...