Page 81 of Feel Free to Scream

Jesus, that man should come with a warning label. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to be this hot.

“Dada!”

He undoes the tie and tosses it to a side table, bending down just in time to take Octavia in his arms.

“I’m coloring the best unicorn with Claire. It looks so good! And I drew it.”

“No! You drew this? I don’t believe it. You can’t possibly have.”

This prompts Octavia to immediately restart unicorn number nine on the next page, which is good for her practice. It ends up being more anatomically correct than the first, and with a more dynamic tail.

Lisa, Arlo, and Iooohandaaah, appropriately impressed.

“Would you draw a dragon for me one day?” Arlo asks.

Octavia looks at me. “Can you show me dragons next time?”

“Absolutely. I am a dragon specialist.” I make a mental note to practice before Tuesday.

Spotting my example on the open notebook, Arlo whispers, “You’re very good. We have an artist in the house, huh?”

“Oh, no. I mean, I love to doodle, but it’s nothing serious.”

He slides my notebook forward, frowning. “It could be. I can imagine that unicorn on a collection—bedding, pillows, skirts, T-shirts, you name it. Maybe mama-daughter PJ sets. Those dreadful onesies selling crap-tons, too.”

“Language, Dada.”

Abashed, Arlo pats Octavia’s head. “Sorry, pumpkin. Dada’s thinking about work, and work makes him use bad words.” He returns his gaze to me. “Can you draw it digitally and send me a sketch? I’ll speak to Eric about designing a range.”

My jaw falls. “You’re serious?”

He shrugs. “Our brand might be well-known for the complex catwalk and Oscars gowns and the four-figure cocktail dresses, but the bulk of our money comes from the ready-to-wear retail things. Octavia models a lot of our children’s collection. The actual style of the clothing doesn’t change much, but we vary colors and prints. Good art is hard to come by—that is to say, good, unique styles that no one else can legally copy. If you’re willing to sell us the rights to some drawings, it’ll earn you a fair bit of cash. Not to mention royalties.”

“I…” I blink. “Yes. Definitely. A hundred percent.”

He smiles. “I’ll shoot you a contract next week. You can get your lawyer to look over the details.”

“Unnecessary.” Somehow, I know Arlo won’t screw me over. And even if he wanted to buy my drawing for fifty bucks, that’d be fifty bucks I didn’t have before.

“You know what I think? A family shoot. Darius, Octavia, and Claire. They’d be perfect, they’re all already so airbrushed. And, the actual artist in the shoot? Plus, Darius’s girlfriend? The fans will go crazy.” Lisa looks very self-satisfied.

“This is why you should work for me,” Arlo tells Lisa.

She laughs. “I’d murder you within a week.”

“If you’re up for it, that’s a good idea,” Arlo tells me.

I’m stuck on the word girlfriend. Did Keller tell his dad and sister I was his girlfriend?

I take a sip of the wine, just for something to do, and my eyes widen. “Oh, this isgood.”

32

KELLER

“And then, he said he’d pay me!” she says in complete awe. “For my drawings. Can you believe it?”

I flip through the blue leather notebook. “Having seen them, I absolutely can.”

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