Free Following Isaac by Casey McMillin

the country's largest wholesale suppliers. It was close by, but it took me forever to get there since traffic was horrendous. I easily found and purchased the same orchids and windowsill planter I worked with earlier that morning when I made the arrangement the first time.
    It was after two by the time I got to the hotel, and I was nervous about what kind of reception I'd receive since the flowers were late. The orchids were expensive and were packaged elaborately to avoid damage in transport. As a result, it took three of us to carry everything. Two of the hotel employees helped me get the packages to the ballroom. I was familiar with the place, and knew which direction to go. St. Andrews was one of our hotels, and I'd filled in for the regular girl one time when she was sick.
    I did a quick scan as I walked into the room. I was under the impression that they were taking pictures of the flowers, but this was a big-deal photo shoot. I instantly felt self-conscious. I'd scarcely even looked in a mirror all day and was in such a hurry to get the orchids, that I didn't even consider my appearance. There were about twenty people in the room, and I just put my head down and walked around to the left side where I thought I'd be out of the way. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that someone was crossing the room to speak to me, and I set down the planter I was holding so I could see where he wanted me to set up.
    "I wanted them lining the bottom of the window," he said in an agitated tone.
    "Yes sir, they told me," I said. "What window would you like?"
    He gestured to the one right next to me. "I assumed they'd be ready to go," he said.
    I really didn't feel like hearing him complain to me about something that wasn't my fault, so I tried to get across that the accident sucked for all of us and I'd do the best I could to work quickly and get out of their way. Just as I finished my explanation, a movement caught my eye. I glanced at the people standing near the middle of the room, and nearly felt my knees give out from underneath me when I saw Isaac Charles standing there, staring back at me. I returned my gaze to the hipster photographer quicker than you could say Jack Robinson. He told me something about my plan being fine. I didn't really even hear him due to the sudden pounding in my ears, but I assumed he wanted me to get to work, so that's what I did.
    Utterly mortified that I was in no state to meet him for the second straight time, I pulled my supplies over a few yards so I could work behind some racks of clothing. I was nowhere near ready to see him. I wasn't even that confident with the proper hair and makeup, and a good pair of Spanx, but right now I had none of those, and my self-assurance was out the window.
    I wanted to leave before they finished what they were doing in the middle of the room. I contemplated texting Naomi out of sheer panic, but decided I couldn't waste any time. I proceeded to work faster than I'd ever worked in my life. I was shaken, but easily put the arrangement together since I just had a practice run that morning.
    It must have been about an hour later when the photographer came over to see how I was doing. I only had a few adjustments left to make, and was relieved to have made it through. I took a few seconds earlier to pull a small compact out of my purse to make sure I didn't have a poppy seed between my front two teeth. I nervously put on some powder while I had the compact out, looking over my shoulder the whole time. After that, I went back to working like the wind and was practically done when he came over.
    Only seconds after the photographer got there, Isaac Charles walked up to stand behind him. I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact.
    "You see why I wanted them in the picture?"
    I heard the photographer ask. I assumed he was talking to Isaac. "Yeah, those are cool," he said. I couldn't help myself—I looked at him when he said it. A glimpse was all I could handle before