Read Online Sheikh's Hired Mistress by Sophia Lynn, Ella Brooke - Free Book Online Page B

an eye for it, even if you don’t spend every day discovering what others think.”
    Laine pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. There was no reason not to explain to him where the paintings had come from, really. In some small way, though, she didn’t want him to know about her abandoned hobby.
    “What is it?” Aziz asked.
    “Well, to be honest, I didn’t select those paintings.”
    Aziz’s face fell. “I see. So…you have another do that for you? Should I fly this person out as well, so you can do your job more efficiently?”
    Laine made a noise. “I’m perfectly capable doing my job.”
    “I did not mean to offend, but I would like some of that sense of art in the redesign.”
    Laine stared at him hard. “I didn’t pick them out because I painted them, Aziz. I painted them years ago. You don’t need to hire someone else. You just need to get me paint I can actually work with. I’ll arrange for everything else.”
    Aziz’s eyes widened and he straightened up, taking her in as though he’d seen her for the first time.
    “ You created those beautiful works of art?”
    “Indeed, it was I,” she said sarcastically.
    “You are angry with me, and I am not certain why. They are truly amazing. You are an artist as well as a business woman.” Aziz shrugged. “I am a businessman, but no artist. It is natural to admire what you cannot do.”
    “I’m not…” Laine shook her head. “I’m just a designer. I’ve never worked as an artist.”
    “You create art. This is all that is needed to be an artist.”
    “Maybe. But it doesn’t pay, and it’s not practical. Emma has her acting career, and dad had a hard time making ends meet for a while. Right out of school, I had to be the practical one.”
    Aziz pursed his lips and nodded. “A practical artist.”
    Laine crooked her mouth to the side.
    “I say we get cleaned up and take our artist out to get inspired.” He touched her hair gently.
    “What, you suddenly have time to take me out?”
    “Yes. I came home early because a meeting was canceled. It is that way sometimes. My time is not always my own.” Aziz pressed a kiss to a paint-free spot on Laine’s forehead. “But when it is, I am all yours.”
    “We’ll see about that.”
    ***
    It was uncanny walking through the malls in Bahrain. They were a bit like the ones Laine had grown accustomed to back home. There were shops located closely together, but the structure of the mall was different, somehow. The look and feel of it was different. It felt like they’d taken a bazaar and stuck it inside. More natural light lit the spaces. More open space allowed easier movement. Laine couldn’t quite put her finger on the biggest difference, though, and she mused on it as she and Aziz strolled through the broad common area.
    “The ads!” she exclaimed suddenly.
    Aziz tilted his dark sunglasses down and looked at her. “Pardon?”
    “The advertisements. They aren’t littered everywhere .” She looked up and around the space. Men and women streamed past them on either side, chattering on about their own business.
    “This is not a bad thing.” He brushed a hand over the front of another bicolored shirt. Even without the suit, he looked as though he expected to see the king any moment.
    “No, it isn’t. I’m just noticing…In America, we’re bombarded with advertisements practically from birth. They’re everywhere. Malls, airports, schools. They even slip them into television shows. You’re watching some teen drama and suddenly people all have superpowers based on the chewing gum they’re trying to sell.” Laine raised one hand holding an invisible drink. “Enjoy a cool, refreshing Cherry Snork.”
    “That cannot be effective. You must stop noticing them after a while.”
    “Oh, we do. So they get more aggressive. But the thing you have to know about selling to people these days is that it’s less about the product and more about everything else you’re selling