AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Two neat eyebrows lifted quizzically.
‘Yvette, my friend.’
‘What about your Medici?’
‘Ah, well, I could try to email him. I thought I might try the “Wow, isn’t this an amazing coincidence” approach. There’s this bloke paintingyourcastles, just like I’m doing using a camera.Crazy, I know, but do you think you might know him? Yeah, I think that will be my non-confrontational approach.’
Joseph occupied the other half of the blanket. He leaned back on his elbows and crossed his bare ankles then wriggled his toes. ‘I would just come out and ask him if he’s my client.’
‘I’m trained to be polite and diplomatic, and only when things turn nasty am I authorised to harden my tone.’ I echoed the “customer is always right” mantra of my bosses.
‘You’re not in a hotel now. You should assert yourself with this guy.’
I rolled onto my side and the gap between us shrank a fraction. This close, I could see the dark pits of his pupils and the tint of his eyelashes.
‘I know he’s not my boss. Yvette sold me this idea of having a patron. A benefactor who supports my work. Hence I’m paid expenses. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.’
‘Is it?’ Joseph grimaced. ‘I’d prefer not to be tied to one person’s sponsorship.’
‘It wasn’t a big deal, not knowing his real name. Now I regret not insisting.’
‘Perhaps he’s famous. You said he lived abroad.’
I pursed my lips. ‘I don’t know. His English is excellent, like a native speaker.’ Except, I had never heard his voice, only read his words. My heartbeats pattered noisily, mirroring my racing thoughts.
Joseph touched the back of my hand and swiftly withdrew when I glanced down.
‘Camilla is hiding from me, and your Mr Medici has kept his motives a secret. We’re both in a bit of an awkward situation.’
‘So do we stop? Abandon the game—’
‘Game? This is work for me—’
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply it wasn’t. I just meant as in how we’re being played. Work should have clear targets and a process to follow, shouldn’t it?’
‘Maybe in a hotel, where there are managers, but we’re freelancers working on a commission.’
‘I have a contract.’ With David, I didn’t add.
‘Mine is with the agency.’
We stopped there, perched on the edge of some uncomfortable precipice of uncertainty, too scared to upset each other’s sensibilities.
‘I don’t like it,’ I said, finally. ‘I’ve been amateurish. Naive. Now I feel I’m stuck.’
The second time his hand settled on mine, it reassuringly stayed there. ‘But are you enjoying yourself? I thought you were happy to travel?’
An electric tingle shot along my arm. ‘I am happy. I think that’s why I don’t want to ask questions, or send that email. What if it he ends the agreement? What if he wants the camera back?’ I looked over to the boot of my car, where everything was locked away. Things I considered my own, but weren’t if I didn’t fulfil the criteria of the contract.
‘I can see your dilemma and it’s similar to mine. Perhaps we should just go with it until your friend gets back to you. Or maybe this professor guy?’
‘Tomorrow I’m at Bolton Castle.’ To the west, so I was staying put in Richmond for the night.
He sighed. ‘I’m going to have to take a rain check.’
I sat up, slowly, my hand slipping away from his.
He smiled. ‘Don’t worry, nothing to do with you. I’ve paintings to package up, which is complicated, and I need fresh supplies. I can get them in Richmond. I might reach Bolton… but I doubt it.’
