praise of her work had quickly turned to constant criticism and scorn, until nothing she did pleased or satisfied him. His disappointment in her was obvious. He made it clear that he thought he’d been mistaken about her talent, and that he now saw her as a trite, talentless pretender unworthy of his time and attention. He had not only shattered her confidence in her work, but he had drained all the joy from it for her. Painting used to bring her such intense pleasure, but Mark’s unceasing and increasingly irrational demands gradually turned it into a grinding chore; an endless, fruitless struggle to win the approval of someone who was impossible to please. His relentless derision had finally stamped out every shred of belief she had in her work and crushed her spirit to the point where she felt it was pointless to attempt anything because she already knew it wouldn’t be good enough.
‘Mark needed an assistant, so I started working at the gallery.’ She realised now it had been part of his campaign to control every aspect of her life, so that it all revolved around him. He had gradually eroded everything she had for herself – her art, her work, her friends – until there was nothing in her life but him.
‘But you don’t work at the gallery now?’
‘No. Mark needed someone more qualified, more in touch with the contemporary scene.’ She tried to keep her voice even, not to betray how hurt she still was by that. It had broken her heart to leave the gallery. She had loved her job there. It had allowed her to keep up with the art world even if she couldn’t really be part of it. She had wanted to scream at the injustice of Mark taking on a recent graduate to replace her, explaining that he needed someone better qualified and more ambitious – someone who was serious about building a career in the arts. He had actually had the gall to cite the fact that she had never finished her degree as evidence of her lack of commitment. She wanted to argue that he was the reason she had dropped out of college. He had persuaded her that she didn’t need a degree and led her to believe that he would support her in her career. She had plenty of ambition and she would have been happy to build a career at the gallery alongside him. But she had said nothing, mindful not to do anything to provoke his anger. Instead she had stood mutely by while he whisked the rug from under her feet. That was when she first realised she was afraid of him.
It had been the final step in isolating her. ‘I’m just a housewife now, I guess,’ she said with a shrug.
‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Grayson said, ‘if it’s what you want.’ His smile was kind, but his eyes looked troubled.
‘What about you?’ she asked, desperate to take the focus off her. ‘Did you always want to be an architect?’
‘Well, not always. I did go through a phase where I wanted to be a power ranger.’
‘Power ranger? Impressive.’
‘Yeah, fighting crime in a spandex suit.’
‘Mmm, you’d look good in spandex,’ she smiled. God, was she flirting with him? It was a bit late for coyness considering the things he’d done to her in the kitchen.
‘But once I realised I’d never qualify as a superhero, I guess architecture took over. Mainly I just wanted to wear a hard hat and drive a digger.’ He gave her a boyish grin. ‘But I always loved building stuff, and I was a whizz at Lego. So I guess it was on the cards from an early age. What about you? What did you want to be when you were a little kid?’
She grinned. ‘It’s a bit embarrassing.’
‘Come on, I showed you mine, you have to show me yours.’
Lisa knew he didn’t intend it to sound like innuendo, but she couldn’t help blushing.
‘It can’t be more embarrassing than power ranger,’ Grayson coaxed.
‘Don’t be so sure. At least yours was human. I wanted to be a mermaid.’
His eyes locked with hers, his gaze openly appreciative. ‘Is this your way of distracting
‘Mark needed an assistant, so I started working at the gallery.’ She realised now it had been part of his campaign to control every aspect of her life, so that it all revolved around him. He had gradually eroded everything she had for herself – her art, her work, her friends – until there was nothing in her life but him.
‘But you don’t work at the gallery now?’
‘No. Mark needed someone more qualified, more in touch with the contemporary scene.’ She tried to keep her voice even, not to betray how hurt she still was by that. It had broken her heart to leave the gallery. She had loved her job there. It had allowed her to keep up with the art world even if she couldn’t really be part of it. She had wanted to scream at the injustice of Mark taking on a recent graduate to replace her, explaining that he needed someone better qualified and more ambitious – someone who was serious about building a career in the arts. He had actually had the gall to cite the fact that she had never finished her degree as evidence of her lack of commitment. She wanted to argue that he was the reason she had dropped out of college. He had persuaded her that she didn’t need a degree and led her to believe that he would support her in her career. She had plenty of ambition and she would have been happy to build a career at the gallery alongside him. But she had said nothing, mindful not to do anything to provoke his anger. Instead she had stood mutely by while he whisked the rug from under her feet. That was when she first realised she was afraid of him.
It had been the final step in isolating her. ‘I’m just a housewife now, I guess,’ she said with a shrug.
‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Grayson said, ‘if it’s what you want.’ His smile was kind, but his eyes looked troubled.
‘What about you?’ she asked, desperate to take the focus off her. ‘Did you always want to be an architect?’
‘Well, not always. I did go through a phase where I wanted to be a power ranger.’
‘Power ranger? Impressive.’
‘Yeah, fighting crime in a spandex suit.’
‘Mmm, you’d look good in spandex,’ she smiled. God, was she flirting with him? It was a bit late for coyness considering the things he’d done to her in the kitchen.
‘But once I realised I’d never qualify as a superhero, I guess architecture took over. Mainly I just wanted to wear a hard hat and drive a digger.’ He gave her a boyish grin. ‘But I always loved building stuff, and I was a whizz at Lego. So I guess it was on the cards from an early age. What about you? What did you want to be when you were a little kid?’
She grinned. ‘It’s a bit embarrassing.’
‘Come on, I showed you mine, you have to show me yours.’
Lisa knew he didn’t intend it to sound like innuendo, but she couldn’t help blushing.
‘It can’t be more embarrassing than power ranger,’ Grayson coaxed.
‘Don’t be so sure. At least yours was human. I wanted to be a mermaid.’
His eyes locked with hers, his gaze openly appreciative. ‘Is this your way of distracting
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