Page 5 of Building Courage
Setting aside her fashion insecurity, she concentrated on something more important. “A good photograph depends on many factors, Natalie. Light, atmospheric clarity, and composition. It’s difficult enough on land to capture those elements, but underwater…” Brynn shook her head. “I don’t have any experience using underwater camera equipment. That’s not something you can pick up in a matter of days or weeks. It takes years.”
“You’ll have five months to familiarize yourself with the camera equipment. And just so you can do that…I’ve lined up an instructor to teach you how to scuba dive.”
She said it like her announcement was a grand surprise and the answer to both their prayers.
She should have never done the skydiving thing. It had given Natalie the idea that she was a Wonder Woman with a camera. “I’m not sure I’ll feel comfortable enough underwater to do this. This is a specialized field and one I’ll be a complete novice at.”
“You can do this, Brynn. You’re the best photographer we have, and this is a big account.”
The woman was clearly delusional. “You need to hire someone outside the company who has experience. I don’t, and I’m not sure I’ll want to dive in the shark-infested waters of Australia. I’m up for a lot of things, but meeting face-to-face with a great white isn’t one of them.”
“We’ll have people there who’ll have your back. Besides, just imagine how many followers you’ll get on your podcast with this new adventure.”
The podcast had been a boon for the magazine as well as the sale of her photographs.
However, as she’d picked up more and more jobs and built a reputation, Natalie had been putting more and more pressure on her to work for the magazine exclusively. Though the money was good, Brynn resisted. The magazine work would swallow up all her time, and she already did a lot of advertisement work for them. If she were under contract, they could lay claim to every photo she took. She’d lose the opportunity to do her own thing. Life was too short to have her creativity bound in a stranglehold.
And she was all too familiar with strangleholds.
At her silence, Natalie said, “This trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Brynn. The guy I’ve contacted to instruct you is a master diver with the Navy SEALs.”
Brynn’s interest was piqued instantly, but allowing Natalie to see that would be like throwing chum to hungry sharks. The woman was relentless.
“I’ll give it some thought and let you know.”
“You need to let me know ASAP because he may be called up for a mission at any time. His team’s been shipped out at a moment’s notice before.”
“How do you know him?”
“I met him four years ago. One of the receptionists at the magazine I worked for was dating his teammate Denetti or Denotti—or something like that.” She waved her hand as though fanning herself. “He was a big guy with dark hair, a beard, and shoulders as wide as a door. He could’ve stood in front of the Colosseum with a sword in his hand, and you’d swear he’d time-traveled. I asked him if he’d ever done any modeling, and he laughed and said he was too busy living in the real world.”
At Natalie’s insult-edged tone, Brynn fought off a smile. Damn, she liked a guy who could stand his ground.
“Anyway,” Natalie continued, “I asked her about him later, and she told me he was a SEAL. She told me about meeting his swim buddy, Gilly. Not his real name, but anyway, she said Denotti told her he was the best dive instructor in the teams and an expert in several types of diving with all sorts of equipment. So, I reached out to him, and he told me to call him when we had concrete plans, and if he was in the country, he’d give you some pointers.”
Brynn bit back a sigh. “Pointers and diving lessons are two different things, Natalie.”
“He’s going to take one look at you and want to give you lessons on his own.”
The urge to roll her eyes like a teenager was almost too hard to resist.
“You’re gorgeous, and you know it, Brynn. Guys hit on you all the time.”
“Natalie…” She struggled to maintain her patience. “I don’t want a scuba instructor who’ll hit on me. Scuba is a sport, but it can also be dangerous. The human body was not built to withstand deep pressure beneath the ocean, and we certainly can’t breathe water. If I’m trying to learn a new skill with the added component of life-or-death safety issues, I need someone who’ll behave in a professional manner.”
“He is a professional. He was a master diver before he ever became a SEAL.”
“I’d rather talk to him myself to find out if he’s willing to take this on. I’ll have to see how I feel about the whole thing before I commit.”
“Okay. I have his number here somewhere.” Natalie moved some things around on her desk.
Brynn gathered her hobo bag from the chair next to her and stood. “Text it to me, and I’ll call him. I have some work to do.”
Natalie jerked it free of a folder on her desk. “Here it is.”
Brynn tugged her cell phone from her back pocket, snagged the paper, took a quick picture of the note, checked to see if the name and number were clear, and then handed the paper back.
“Call him soon, Brynn,” Natalie said.