A Baby for the Boss(22)

The restaurant was perfect for a wide mural on the back wall. She would paint it as if there was a path leading from the room into the forest itself. Sort of a trompe l’oeil, giving the guests in the room the feeling that they could simply step into the painting. Of course, being gamers, they would know what lurked in that forest, she thought with a smile, so maybe they wouldn’t want to follow the path.

On the opposite wall, there were tall windows, displaying the view of the tree-laden yard and the river beyond. Those she would surround with deep green vines, twining down the wall to pool on the floor.

She took a deep breath and simply sighed at the pleasure of having so many blank canvases just waiting to be turned into fantasies. Her hands actually itched to take hold of her brushes. God knew, she loved her job, but having the opportunity to paint rather than generating images on a computer was just...fun.

Grinning, she left the dining room and walked into the lobby. She had a great idea for the main entrance to the hotel and knew that it was only because she’d been here to see it in person that the thought had occurred to her. She wanted this painting to make a statement. To show the gamers and other guests that from the moment they walked into the hotel, they were stepping into another realm.

The lobby area was another big, gorgeous space that only needed some attention to really wake it up and make it special. And Jenny was just the artist to do it. There were a few crewmen in the room already, tearing out the old reception desk. It was white and sterile and too contemporary-looking for what the Ryans had in mind, so it had to go.

“Excuse me,” she said and waited until one of the men turned to look at her to ask, “who do I speak to about the color of paint I want on this entry wall?”

“Oh, that’d be Jacob.” A guy in his thirties with big brown eyes, a heavy mustache and deeply tanned skin smiled at her, touching off a dimple in one cheek. “I think he’s in the kitchen with the boss.”

“Okay, thanks.” She started that way, but stopped when the man spoke again.

“You’re the artist, right? Jenny?”

Jenny turned to face him. “That’s right.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rick.”

He really was cute and that dimple was disarming. His jeans were worn and faded, and his white T-shirt strained over a build that was truly impressive. And Jenny was pretty sure Rick knew exactly how good he looked. There was something in his stance—as if he were posing for her admiration—and in the knowing gleam in his eyes that told Jenny he was used to women curling up at his feet and staring up at him adoringly.

Hard to blame them.

“Hi, Rick,” she said. “Good to meet you, too. I’m going to be doing the murals for the new hotel. Well,” she hedged, “not me all on my lonesome. It would take me ten years to do all of them myself.

“But I’m doing the designs and supervising the artists we’ll bring in to finish the job.”

He nodded as if he cared and she knew he didn’t. Please. Were most of her gender really so easily manipulated by a gorgeous face and the appearance of interest in what they were saying?

“So what color do you want for that wall?” he asked.

She glanced at the wall in question. It was the first thing you saw when you walked into the hotel. Right now, it was cream colored, with sun stains from where framed paintings had once hung. But when Jenny was finished with it, it was going to be...mystical.

When she spoke, she wasn’t really talking to Rick-With-Dimples. Instead, she was describing her vision to herself, sort of putting it out into the universe.

“Deep purple,” she said, tipping her head to stare at the blank space as if she could see the wall changing color as she spoke. “I want it the color of twilight just before darkness falls. There will be stars, just barely appearing in the sky, with dark clouds streaming past a full moon, making them shine like silver.” She sighed and continued, “There’ll be a forest beneath the stars and moonlight threading through the trees. And in the shadows, there will be the hint of yellow eyes, red eyes, staring out at you, and you won’t be sure if you see them or not.

“But the night will draw you in, make promises, and you’ll dream about that forest and the eyes that follow you as you walk.”

She fell silent and was still staring at the blank wall when she heard Rick say, “Damn, lady, you’re a little spooky, you know that?”

She laughed, until Mike’s voice came from right behind her.

“You have no idea.”

Whipping around, she looked up into Mike’s eyes and noticed the all-too-familiar flare of anger. Well, for heaven’s sake, what had she done now?