"This wasn't the first person to ask to appear in the music video. Before this, Ilena and even Paris Hilton had shamelessly come looking for a part.
"But even if Aomei hadn't earned merit, she'd put in the effort lately. Besides, the ending of the music video already included shots of a crowd partying, which would require quite a few young women as extras. There was room for Aomei—and even for Ilena and Paris.
[I can agree, but only if you satisfy me first.] Ryan replied.
[What do you want me to do now?]
[Nothing. Just do your job.]
Ryan flew straight from Florida to California, where Taylor's personal assistant, Erica, was waiting to pick him up at the airport.
"Taylor's filming in Santa Clarita. She won't be back until tonight, so she said you should wait for her at the hotel," Erica said as she drove.
Santa Clarita was a Disney-owned backlot, with plenty of country-style buildings and barns, making it suitable for filming rural scenes.
Ryan handed Erica an address.
"Let's not go back to the hotel. Take me here first," Ryan said.
"But Taylor said..." Erica hesitated, probably because Taylor had specifically told her what to do.
"She has her work, and I have my own plans. Besides, do you want to be stuck in the hotel the whole time?" Ryan asked with a smile.
Having Erica accompany him was partly about seeing to his needs, but also, to some extent, about keeping an eye on him.
So much for trust between people.
"What are you going there for?"
"To visit a... colleague. A former colleague," Ryan said.
Erica eventually took him to the address. It turned out to be the athletic field of a local high school in Los Angeles.
Any photographer whose work made