Masterpiece

Her heels clicked against the tile as she made her way to the reception desk of the lavish Brown's Hotel in London. To those who didn't know her, it was as if Kylie Morrison did this often enough to not be impressed by the hotel's extravagance. In reality, however, Kylie had never seen such a gorgeous building. Beauty was her specialty. As a photographer, Kylie was responsible for finding the masterpieces of the world and capturing them in images. She was paid pretty well for her work and although it wasn't always the best means of making a living, Kylie adored her job. She wouldn't trade it for anything.

“May I help you, Miss?” The man at the desk asked in a deep English accent. He had a smile on his face that happened to be missing on many of the American hospitality workers' faces.

Putting her small suitcase down on the floor along with her camera bag, she placed her hands on the counter and gave him a friendly smile. “My name is Kylie Morrison. I have a suite reserved.”

The man turned to his computer and while he looked up the reservation, Kylie studied him. He was an older man of about fifty years old with black hair that was graying at the temple and wrinkles covering his face. She had the sudden urge to ask the gentleman if she photograph him. He'd make a beautiful subject.

“Ah here we are. Miss Morrison. You have the Hellenic Suite booked, yes?” He asked kindly.

“The Hellenic Suite? No, there must be some mistake. I couldn't possibly afford-”

“Putting up a fight the moment you arrive?” A male voice said from behind her, breaking into Kylie's wordy refusal of the suite. “I think I like you already.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Kylie visibly relaxed at the sight of familiar blue eyes. A smile graced her face as she spoke, “Joss.”

The director chuckled before putting his hands into his jean pockets. “You must be Kylie. It's nice to finally meet you, though I have to say, we've spoken so much on the phone that I feel as if I've known you forever.”

Turning to face him so she didn't appear rude, Kylie waved towards the desk behind her. “Did you?”

“Of course I did. My star photographer isn't going to sleep in a cheap hotel room.” Joss Whedon laughed as she processed his words.

“Cheap?” Kylie shook her head in disbelief. “I don't know what to say.”

“How about 'Thank you, boss'?” Joss offered.

A laugh escaped her lips. “Thank you, boss.”

Raising his eyebrows at her, Joss didn't lose the grin despite her sarcasm. “See- you're learning. I knew I'd like you. Ready to see the rest of the hotel?”

“Sure.” Kylie reached for her bags then stopped when she saw Joss put a hand out to stop her.

“Robert will get the bellboy to bring them up. Come with me, dear.”

Confused, Kylie glanced at 'Robert', who she assumed was the friendly old man behind the desk. His eyes were laughing at her, but at seeing her obvious discomfort, he remained professional in his demeanor.

“Go on, my dear. Here is your room key. I'll be here should you need me for anything.” Handing her the small magnetic card that was the key to her suite, a suite she had never reserved, he bowed his head slightly. “Have a good night, Miss.”

“Thank you, Robert.” Kylie responded, feeling silly for using the man's first name and yet not even knowing him. Then she hurried after Joss who hadn't bothered to wait for her. She met up with him by the large old fashioned elevator nearly out of breath for running in her heels. She was going to have to wear flats for the shoot the next day at this rate. Especially if she was going to be chasing after Joss the entire time. Putting a piece of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, she glanced at her new boss. “What time do I have to report at the lobby in the morning?”

Joss glanced at her with appreciation. “Ready for work already?”

“Well, like you said, I'm your photographer. You're my boss.” The elevator binged and the doors opened to reveal the velvet lined walls of the cart.

“No. What I said was that you're my star photographer.” They entered the cart and waited for the doors to close. Kylie watched as Joss pressed the button for the fifth floor. “So what time did you want to start?”

Flabbergasted, Kylie tried to figure out if this was a test. “You want me to set the time?”

Joss met her eyes with a serious expression. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, but I-”

“What time should I tell my slaves to be here?” Joss asked next, interrupting Kylie for the obvious reason that he didn't want to hear any more of her worries. “It's your masterpiece and I'm but a humble servant of yours.”

Kylie wanted to laugh, but couldn't find the ability. “Seven o'clock?”

“So shall it be, my dear. So shall it be.”



Seven o'clock came rather quickly and despite how exhausted Kylie had been after her flight, she had trouble sleeping. She wasn't sure if was excitement or terror that weighed on her mind, but she couldn't sit still long enough to fall into a deep sleep. Now it was showtime and all she could worry about was how terrible she must look. She covered up the dark circles with makeup and did her hair in her normal straight style, but she was worried that she looked frumpy.

With a sigh, Kylie straightened the pencil skirt and button up blouse she'd put on after showering before going back to her setup. The camera sat on it's tripod as she focused the lenses. Once she was positive that it was in the perfect position, she paced around the room to check every little detail.

The huge double doors that lead to the conference room Joss had reserved opened to reveal the first of many men who would be arriving for their photos. Kylie had glanced up quickly when she heard the door, but before she could look at who had entered, she was momentarily distracted by the wiring of the overhead lights. As she moved the wires out of the way of where everyone would have to walk, Kylie thought about the poses she'd have to run through to get the guys warmed up.

“Have you done all this by yourself?” A British accent floated towards her as she continued her work.

Glancing up to answer the man, she froze as she realized who was sharing the room with her. Unable to say a word, Kylie stared wondering what she should to say to someone as perfect as he.

“It's brilliant.” He continued, not noticing her hesitation. “Joss wasn't wrong when he said he'd hired the best.”

“Thank you.” Kylie managed, fearing that her voice came out as a squeak instead of anything close to normal.

“You should be thanking Joss Whedon. The man is magnificent, but is still a tremendous pain in the arse.” He chuckled at his own joke, but all Kylie could see was his piercing blue eyes and a mane of pitch black hair. Hair she wished to touch. Those bright eyes finally met hers and widened slightly. She must have looked frazzled. “Are you alright, love?”

Kylie blinked away her confusion before putting a professional smile on her face. She had to stay focused or this man would distract her to no end. “Of course, Mr. Hiddleston. You surprised me, is all.”

Tom scrunched his face up in confusion. Kylie wasn't sure if she should laugh at the expression or feel sorry for him. “Mr. Hiddleston? It makes me sound so old.”

“I wasn't implying anything.” She said instead, trying to be sincere, but he was too damn adorable.

Tom laughed at the response. “Oh! You're a joker too!”

Kylie couldn't help herself. She laughed with him. “It comes with the job, I'm afraid.”

Tom was watching her with longing. It was as if he saw her for the person she was, not the person she pretended for the sake of her career. It was spellbinding and terrifying all at the same time. He was an actor and a pretty famous one at that! How could she even flirt with him? Who was she compared to him?

Kylie turned away from those blue eyes to check the wires one last time. It wasn't as if she needed to, she knew her setup like the back of her hand, but she needed a distraction from the perfect specimen who was studying her.

“What is your name?” He asked out of nowhere. They hadn't spoken a word for nearly a minute, Kylie had pathetically counted the seconds in her head.

Turning to him as if she had no free will, Kylie told him.

“Boomerang.” Tom said with a smirk.

Unsure of what he was talking about, Kylie tilted her head slightly as she gazed at him. “Excuse me?”

“It's what your name means. Australian boomerang.” Tom told her, his smirk staying in place.

Impressed, Kylie shook her head as she tried to hold in her laugh. “And how do you know that?”

“I know a lot of things.” He responded with a touch of devilishness.

Kylie was prepared to speak when the doors to the conference room opened again, this time displaying the rest of the movie's cast as well as its director. Joss, spotting Tom and Kylie standing by the lights, called out to his actor.

“Slave! Join the others! We don't have all day!”

Kylie covered her mouth as she giggled. Tom smiled at her reaction, lighting up her entire world.

“This isn't over, 'Boomerang'.” He promised her with a glint in those blue eyes. Then he turned to join where his friends had gathered.

Kylie watched as he walked away, admiring the new view she had of him. With a smirk, she walked to her camera with one thought on her mind.

She had found her Masterpiece.