Page 59 of Love Is an Art
“Cheating is a lot worse than lying,” Miranda says. “And it’s not like you knew him personally when you said you were an artist. He shouldn’t take it personally. He should understand that you were trying to catch a guy scamming struggling artists. And then you wanted a chance to have a fun date without any labels. It’s not a huge deal.”
She sounds like she is getting angry on my behalf, but she doesn’t understand.
“You and I think that. But he’s been betrayed before,” I say. “And I’m like his kryptonite—not only a lying lawyer, but also a work colleague. Everything he’s sworn to not date again. And I’ve sworn not to date someone who hates workaholic lawyers. So, I should stay far away from him too. And he’s clearly not over his ex.”
“But what about the client dinner?”
“I’ll get food poisoning and miss it.” I walk into our kitchen to pour myself a cold glass of water. My throat is dry. “Do you want some?” I drink it greedily.
“No. Won’t that look bad for the bonus?”
I sit next to Miranda at the table. “That’s why I thought it had to be food poisoning. Because then I really can’t suck it up and come.”
“You should go. What if Stuffed Shirt scores points with the Capital team?”
“Brooke and Zeke are savvy enough to see through him.”
We sit in silence.
“I’m sorry, Tessa,” Miranda says, rubbing my back.
“It’s okay.” It’s not, but I have to believe it will be okay. “How was your day?”
“Fine.” Miranda shuts down her laptop. “I sent Officer Johnson the photo of your painting and told him what Scammer Guy said about your having potential. He laughed so hard when he saw the image. He said we made his day.”
“It was so bad,” I say.
“ButDalmations Gone Wildshows potential, so it’s in there—somewhere—under that corporate lawyer facade.” Miranda pokes me. “It’s just that working at a law firm doesn’t give you any time to explore other creative outlets.”
“That’s for sure. Except cooking. And whatever schemes we come up with.” The tears well up in my eyes.Usually my schemes don’t hurt the good guys. “Officer Johnson believed us … that Jurgen might be trying to scam artists?”
“Officer Johnson definitely believed that the guy was trying to scam struggling artists if he said your painting had potential. But we still need actual proof.”
At least that was a small success. I hope the cost isn’t Zeke. I hope he thinks it over and changes his mind.
“Are you crying?” Miranda asks.
“Tearing,” I say and rub my eyes. I hold my head in my hands.
Miranda hugs me. She rubs my back. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to do this.”
“No. It’s my fault.” I take a deep breath.
“Once he thinks about it, he should come around,” Miranda says.
“I hope so.”
“If he’s smart, he will,” Miranda says. “And you can give it a few days, and then you can call him and ask for a second chance.”
“I’m not going to pursue him if he’s not interested,” I say.
“He sounds like he’s worth pursuing, though.”
“No. I learned my lesson early,” I say. At age seven.
Miranda looks like she wants to argue the point, but instead she sighs. “Do you want to try painting something?”
“No.” I snort. “Definitely not.”
