ChapterFour
Josh pushedthe hotel room door open to find his partner waiting with dinner and a stack ofpaperwork.
“What happened to you?” Allen asked. “Were you in an accident with a runaway beachmobile?”
Josh collapsed onto the bed. “Is there such a thing? If so, I think it was a hitandrun.”
“Seriously, man. What happened? Did you get her to agree? Did she sign the contract?” Allen hovered at the edge of the bed, where Josh knew he would stay until he got ananswer.
Josh started to shrug but it only reminded him of the day’sfailure. “No.”
“What? Is she playing hard-to-get in the hope for more money?” Allen paced. He always paced, and while his pacing irritated Josh as much as his hovering did, the guy had a right to express his concern. Allen was invested in the company almost as much as Josh was. A not-so-silent partner. “No, it’s not aboutmoney.”
“What then? Is she some old lady who’s just being difficult? Remember that woman we worked with last year? God, that wastough.”
“No, she’s not old or difficult. She’s young and…” Josh shook his head and sat up. “Okay, maybe a little difficult. I don’t think she means to be, though. She doesn’t want todothis.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, but I plan to find out. If I’m going to convince her to tweak that drawing or at least give us the rights to it so we can find another artist to tweak it, I need to know what’s holding her back.” Josh pushed from the bed. “I’m gonna shower off, eat, and hit the hay. In the morning, I need to do a few things so I’ll be getting up early. Can you handle the office stuff for onemoreday?”
“Yeah, no problem. Finalizing contracts and working with our regulars I can handle. It’s your job to secure new contracts. You are the sales guy.” Allen returned to the round table covered in papers and his laptop in the other room while Josh staggered into the bathroom for a much neededshower.
He never knew sand could get into so many tiny places. Even after his shower, he could still feel grit between his toes. His skin stung and the heat of the shower pummeling his sunburned neck had been unbearable. He wiped the mirror free of steam and eyed his face. “Well, no wonder,” he muttered. “I’mfried.”
“What?” Allen called fromtheroom.
Josh finished toweling off and threw on some pajama pants and a shirt. “I’m alobster.”
Allen laughed. “No, dude, lobster is pale compared to you. Haven’t you heard ofsunscreen?”
Josh grabbed the tray from room service and carried it to the corner to sulk. “I was too busy trying to save our company to think aboutsunscreen.”
“I’ll get you some from the concierge later. Just make sure you put it on before you go chasing that girl, I meandealagain.”
“Funny. Real funny, man.” After finishing his dinner, Josh laid back with a full belly and thought about his conversation with Lily. Something told him her reluctance had less to do with the work and more to do with the emotional aspect of the piece. He wasn’t a psychologist, but he’d worked around enough artists to recognize when their muse had vanished. If that was her issue, he’d have to help her find anewone.
“What’s up?” Allen grabbed his bottle of water and hopped onto the other bed with a good bounce before settling into thepillows.
“Hmm?”
“You look like you’rebrooding.”
“No, just processing the situation.” Josh moaned. “Man, it even hurts to talk. My skin isonfire.”
“I’ll add aloe gel to my list,” Allen muttered, making Josh feel like a whiner. Allen propped himself up on one elbow and studied him for a moment. “She’s pretty,isn’tshe?”
Josh smiled then shrugged, but his skin protested and he wincedinpain.
“What’s that smileabout?”
Josh couldn’t tell him. Allen would think he was becoming infatuated and give him a lecture about not mixing business with pleasure. He had no intention of doing either. “Nothing. You had to bethere.”
Allen flopped back into bed. “Oh,no.”
Josh rolled over to face him, wincing with eachmovement. “What?”
“She’s not just pretty. That girl’s probably drop-dead gorgeous and already has your attention. I haven’t seen that look on your face since the time you first metNatalie.”
