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"Agoodage.”
"And whyisthat?”
"Twenty-five means you’re old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway.Aren’tyou?”
"I’ll admit I’m tempted. What are theterms?”
"In exchange for having carte blanche over your body—all three holes, thank you—I’ll saveTheRed.”
"You’ll save my gallery.” She ignored the comment about the holes. At least she tried to. Her body didn’t ignore it nearly as well as she would haveliked.
"I will,” he said. "I can andIwill.”
"What’s The Redtoyou?”
He raised his hands, palms up. "What can I say? I’m an artlover.”
She believed there was more to it than that, but she didn’t press him. The art world could be very shady—she knew that for a fact. Her mother had more than once allowed a painting with dubious provenance to be sold through the gallery. That was where Mona and her mother parted ways. Her mother loved the art world. Mona loved the art alone. But she’d also loved her mother, so she considered Malcolm’s offer veryseriously.
Mona leaned forward, put her elbows on her desk, clasped her hands in a prayerposition.
"Half a million dollars,” she said. "That’s what I need just to get The Red out ofthered.”
"How long can you keep the gallery open with your finances in their currentstate?”
"One year atthemost.”
"How much do you need to stay open for fiveyears?”
"Another half a million,” she said, throwing out agrandsum.
"Are you making me an offer?” heasked.
"You are seriously willing to pay me that much money just tofuckme?”
He smiled at her. His dark eyes glinted like struckflint.
"You smile like the devil,”Monasaid.
"The devil doesn’t smile,” he said. "The devilsmirks.”
"You speak as if youknowhim.”
"Would it shock you if I saidIdid?”
"It might be the least shocking thing you’ve said to me tonight. One million dollars simply to fuck me? Really? That’sabsurd.”
"I’m not paying you a million dollars just to fuck you. Fucking you is the least of what I’ll do to you. What I’m paying a million dollars for—minimum, mind you—is to fuck with you. Pardon myFrench.”
She pardoned his French. She pardoned nothing else of his,however.
"It scares me to think what you’ll expect from me for that amount of money. I’d rather sell myself for one hundred dollars than onemillion.”
"You shouldn’t let a man shake your hand for less than a hundred dollars, Mona. And you shouldn’t beafraid.”
"You won’t do anything perversetome?”
"I’ll do everything perverse to you. But you still shouldn’t beafraid.”
