nodded. She lifted her chin
to indicate the door. “I’ve stood around in a towel long enough.
Could you go so I can get dressed?”
“Of course.” He strode to the door then
stopped. “Would you like breakfast or lunch?”
“Surprise me.”
He smiled, and for a half-second her knees
threatened to buckle. “I will,” he said then left, closing the door
behind him.
A day. Two at the most. A guy like that
didn’t need her kind of trouble coming down on his pretty head.
The shopping bags were full. Casual stuff:
jeans, cargo pants, a mix of t-shirts and long sleeve tops. Mostly
dark colors like black, gray, navy blue. Stuff she might choose for
herself, but the quality was like nothing she’d ever worn. He must
have dropped a few hundred dollars on these two bags, at least.
Then she examined the underwear and upped her
estimate of the cost. Every piece was exquisite, bore no labels,
and was a stunning shade of dark red. She’d never seen anything
like it outside of magazine ads.
Dani selected what to wear, dressed then
dried her hair. Combing it out took a few minutes. She was on her
way out the door when she realized there were no shoes in either
bag. No shoes so she couldn’t leave too soon – so the guy had great
taste in clothes and a bit of a passive aggressive streak.
The big, airy penthouse had two floors. She
descended to the lower level, checking everything out. The place
was clean and modern and masculine without being overbearing about
it. The living room was split into two sections, one with furniture
centered around a huge television and the other with seating
grouped together for conversation. The walls were divided between
shelves full of books and white space with framed abstract art in
the center. Opposite, floor to ceiling glass looking out over a
balcony and a magnificent view of the city skyline.
Dani examined both the books on the shelves
and the art on the walls. Most of the books were non-fiction,
volumes on art, music, and history. She didn’t know what to make of
the abstract paintings. The largest piece was at least four feet
across and three feet long, a white canvas full of brilliant blues
and greens in geometric shapes accented with looping spirals.
The lab hadn’t been all experiments and
tests. Once Dr. Hurd took over and conditions became more humane,
classes became part of the routine. Dani’s own education had been
patchy at best before, but those classes had filled in everything
she’d missed and then some. The arts and humanities had not been
skimped over simply because of the nature of the lab’s mission. Dr.
Hurd had seen to that.
Dani carefully searched the painting for a
signature. There was something in the bottom right corner that
might have been the artist’s initials but it was so stylized she
couldn’t quite make it out.
Kevin approached and stood by her side. “What
do you think?”
“It’s like a Kandinsky but it’s not a
Kandinsky.” She shrugged then crossed her arms over her front.
“Some other abstract artist, I guess.”
He said nothing. From the corner of her eye
she caught the faint smile on his face, the understated glow of
pride. She peered at the initials again.
“You painted this,” she said.
Kevin placed a finger over his lips. “Don’t
tell anybody. They think I only took art classes for the nude
models.” He winked. “I hope you’re hungry. I decided on
brunch.”
“Right about now I’d eat roadkill.”
“Hopefully my cooking’s better than that.” He
raised an arm to guide her. “This way.”
The dining room was as spacious as the rest
of the rooms, and like the living room had a floor to ceiling view
of the city. The glass must have been polarized because the
sunshine added warmth and golden light but no painful glare. A
large rectangular table pushed against the glass on the right side
of the room served as a desk, with a laptop and various books and
notepads and other supplies scattered about its shiny
to indicate the door. “I’ve stood around in a towel long enough.
Could you go so I can get dressed?”
“Of course.” He strode to the door then
stopped. “Would you like breakfast or lunch?”
“Surprise me.”
He smiled, and for a half-second her knees
threatened to buckle. “I will,” he said then left, closing the door
behind him.
A day. Two at the most. A guy like that
didn’t need her kind of trouble coming down on his pretty head.
The shopping bags were full. Casual stuff:
jeans, cargo pants, a mix of t-shirts and long sleeve tops. Mostly
dark colors like black, gray, navy blue. Stuff she might choose for
herself, but the quality was like nothing she’d ever worn. He must
have dropped a few hundred dollars on these two bags, at least.
Then she examined the underwear and upped her
estimate of the cost. Every piece was exquisite, bore no labels,
and was a stunning shade of dark red. She’d never seen anything
like it outside of magazine ads.
Dani selected what to wear, dressed then
dried her hair. Combing it out took a few minutes. She was on her
way out the door when she realized there were no shoes in either
bag. No shoes so she couldn’t leave too soon – so the guy had great
taste in clothes and a bit of a passive aggressive streak.
The big, airy penthouse had two floors. She
descended to the lower level, checking everything out. The place
was clean and modern and masculine without being overbearing about
it. The living room was split into two sections, one with furniture
centered around a huge television and the other with seating
grouped together for conversation. The walls were divided between
shelves full of books and white space with framed abstract art in
the center. Opposite, floor to ceiling glass looking out over a
balcony and a magnificent view of the city skyline.
Dani examined both the books on the shelves
and the art on the walls. Most of the books were non-fiction,
volumes on art, music, and history. She didn’t know what to make of
the abstract paintings. The largest piece was at least four feet
across and three feet long, a white canvas full of brilliant blues
and greens in geometric shapes accented with looping spirals.
The lab hadn’t been all experiments and
tests. Once Dr. Hurd took over and conditions became more humane,
classes became part of the routine. Dani’s own education had been
patchy at best before, but those classes had filled in everything
she’d missed and then some. The arts and humanities had not been
skimped over simply because of the nature of the lab’s mission. Dr.
Hurd had seen to that.
Dani carefully searched the painting for a
signature. There was something in the bottom right corner that
might have been the artist’s initials but it was so stylized she
couldn’t quite make it out.
Kevin approached and stood by her side. “What
do you think?”
“It’s like a Kandinsky but it’s not a
Kandinsky.” She shrugged then crossed her arms over her front.
“Some other abstract artist, I guess.”
He said nothing. From the corner of her eye
she caught the faint smile on his face, the understated glow of
pride. She peered at the initials again.
“You painted this,” she said.
Kevin placed a finger over his lips. “Don’t
tell anybody. They think I only took art classes for the nude
models.” He winked. “I hope you’re hungry. I decided on
brunch.”
“Right about now I’d eat roadkill.”
“Hopefully my cooking’s better than that.” He
raised an arm to guide her. “This way.”
The dining room was as spacious as the rest
of the rooms, and like the living room had a floor to ceiling view
of the city. The glass must have been polarized because the
sunshine added warmth and golden light but no painful glare. A
large rectangular table pushed against the glass on the right side
of the room served as a desk, with a laptop and various books and
notepads and other supplies scattered about its shiny
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