“And the painting’s out.” Lucia leaned in without blinking. “To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes. It’s rare to find genuine new art.”
“I suppose. Still, your client may be disappointed. A piece like this, if real, would have generated a lot of interest.”
Lucia shrugged. “They have enough money. This was more about the art itself, I think.”
“I see.”
Lucia’s lips curved into a lazy half smile. “Do you?”
Her tone stirred something in Penelope, and for a second, she allowed herself to be drawn into this pull, before blinking rapidly. “I’m not so sure anymore.”
A beat of stillness passed amid the low hum of the electronics around them.
Lucia’s jeans and shirt were unremarkable, yet Penelope couldn’t stop noticing the way the cotton clung to her back, the low, coiled bun, the sharp line of her cheek. Too much detail. Too much attention. Dangerous.
Lucia was a threat wrapped in a question mark. And Penelope had never been good at resisting puzzles.
“That makes two of us,” Lucia almost whispered.
“Dr.Blackwell, may I have a word about… Oh, excuse me. I wasn’t aware you had a visitor,” Clara Montgomery said, folding her hands in front of her.
Penelope took a step back, straightening. When had they gotten so close?
“That’s fine. How may I help you, Dr.Montgomery?”
“Just come by my office later. I was on my way there and thought I’d stop by to see if you’re free. There’s no hurry.”
“Thank you. I’ll be there.” Penelope straightened as she turned back to Lucia after Montgomery left. “Where were we?”
“Beats me,” Lucia said with a soft laugh. “The new director, right? You think you’re in trouble?”
Penelope furrowed her brows. “Why would I be in trouble?”
“You stiffened like you’d just been called to the principal’s office, and your boss reminds me a bit of a strict schoolmistress, but you tell me.”
“Do I strike you as someone who gets in trouble, Ms.Rossi?”
Lucia’s gaze pinned her in place. “No. You strike me as someone who could give others trouble.”
Penelope’s lips parted. She hoped the flush burning her neck wouldn’t travel to her face.
Lucia tilted her head slightly, eyes gleaming with amusement. “No worries, I like a bit of trouble myself. I probably shouldn’tkeep you longer. I’m assuming you’ll do the same work with the Bellini?”
Penelope could only nod.
“Good, good. Keep me updated.” She smiled. “Good-bye, Dr.Blackwell. You’d better hurry to your principal.”
“She’s not—”
“I’m joking.”
“I see.”
Lucia stepped toward the door before she turned around. “About the coffee. Text me or give me a call when you’re free? I’m wide open for the next few days.”
At this point, Penelope must have lost the capacity to string together a coherent sentence since she could only stare after Lucia as she walked out of the lab and disappeared. What had just happened?
Penelope shook off her stupor and left the lab, still mulling her encounter with Lucia as she made her way to Montgomery’s office. She had no time for personal entanglements. Could she even trust her assessment of the woman, clouded as it was by this unnerving pull? How utterly inconvenient and annoying.
