Page 10 of Tears of Revenge
“You are very forgiving.”
“I think I just prefer the honesty.”
Before Varos could answer, Marcus entered the room with a stack of papers in his hands. His eyes zeroed in on her like a magnet. “You look beautiful.”
She flushed. “Thank you.”
“Have you two decided what we’re doing tonight?”
“I wanted to wait for you,” Varos explained.
Marcus set down the thick stack of papers on his desk. “We found a private art studio we could book.”
She interrupted him before he could speak further. “Like, a private painting session?”
“Yes. It would only be the three of us and all materials would be provided.”
“That sounds really nice but would that be something that interests the two of you?”
“As long as our finished products don’t scare you off,” Marcus laughed.
“They won’t!”
“Then I believe we’ve made our decision. Unless you’d like to hear the other options.” She shook her head, so Varos started clicking and typing into the computer. A moment later the printer whirred to life. “We have a slot for the whole evening.”
“Is Lysander staying behind?” Marcus asked with a cheeky grin.
Varos’s face hardened. “Lysander has been nothing but rude from the moment he walked in.”
“What a shame.” Turning to her, Marcus asked, “Do you have everything?”
She nodded emphatically, unable to hide her excitement.
Varos opened the door for her. “Where did you park?”
“I don’t have a car.” Before the door closed behind them, she turned back to Lysander. “It was nice meeting you.”
“How do you get to work if you don’t have a car?” Varos asked.
“Bus.”
“Why haven’t you bought one yet?”
“I think I have commitment issues,” she joked. “That’s quite a lot of money.”
That seemed to amuse both the men, their eyes sparkling and their smiles wide.
“We can take ours then,” Marcus suggested.
The studio wasn’t far, but rush hour made the drive much longer than necessary. Downtown was packed with people rushing home to start their weekend.
The studio had a keypad at the door, and Varos typed in the code after glancing at their reservation. They allowed her to enter first, the smell of fresh canvas and turpentine wrapping around her like a warm blanket. Someone had set up a few blank canvases in varying sizes. Shelves were lined with paint and clean brushes ready to be used.
“I love this!” she exclaimed, breathless.
“I’m glad. Now let’s hope we don’t disappoint you too much.” Varos laughed, but she could tell he was still slightly insecure.
“I’ll take that canvas over there,” Marcus announced, marching over to claim the smallest of them all.