Mina couldn’t help laughing at the image, but it didn’t last long.
“I know. Right now I’m his golden girl, but if this exhibit goes south then I’m going to be looking a lot less like the Girl from Ipanema, and a lot more like Bea Arthur.”
Ivy grabbed her water bottle and took a long drink. “We just have to make sure that we get all the contracts in place up front. Once he’s committed—in writing—it won’t matter what happens between the two of you. The exhibit will be protected, and that means your position at the Oppen should be safe, too.”
Mina blushed at the thought of what could happen between them, and Ivy gave her a stern little look.
“Now that there’s a plan in place for the exhibit, you need to explain—in a little more detail, thank you very much—about how all this happened in the first place.”
Nothing could budge Ivy once she got her teeth into something, so Mina didn’t try.
“It’s like I told you. I was upset about Ethan, so I went down to Carlito’s with the idea of picking someone up and taking them home in front of all of Ethan’s co-workers.” Ivy’s heavily plucked eyebrows rose in surprise. Mina let out a groan of frustration, blonde curls flying everywhere. “I know, I know! I don’t know what I was thinking. It wasn’t like me at all, but I couldn’t help it. I think I was insane. All I could think of was how much I wanted to hurt him, or at the very least embarrass him, and you know what a bunch of backstabbing bitches he works with.” Ivy nodded and Mina went on. “When Marco showed up it was like the Universe had sent me the ultimate weapon. I couldn’t imagine anything that would piss Ethan off more than me, his frigid little cast-off, getting it off with Mr. Italian Club Med who wouldn’t give him, or his company, the time of day.”
The anger in her voice surprised even her. She thought she’d be able to let it go already but apparently Ethan’s betrayal cut deeper than she realized.
“I can see the want to hurt Ethan part,” Ivy said as she took another drink, “I can even see the screwing Marco Genovese part.” Mina raised her eyebrows in return and Ivy gave an unladylike snort. “I may not have a boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know a good-looking man when I see one.”
No one could argue with that. Marco was definitely a good-looking man.
“What I don’t understand,” she said, “is why a pick-up in a bar ended up with him playing Fairy Godfather at the museum today.”
Ivy tucked a long, straight strand of hair behind her ear and set her bottle down. She fixed Mina with the same look that deciphered two thousand year old petroglyphs, and Mina squirmed amidst the Marimekko.
“That’s the sixty-four thousand dollar question, you know? I admit it: I left without saying goodbye, but, so what? That’s not a crime. Men run out after one-night stands all the time.”
Ivy didn’t say anything, so Mina went on.
“What did he expect? Here he comes all sexy and Italian, touching me and kissing me and telling me he’s been waiting for me… I swear, if I’d been a little more drunk we’d probably have had sex before we even left the bar!”
Ivy jerked up at that. “He took advantage of you because you were drunk? That’s terrible! I didn’t realize…”
Mina held up a hand and headed off the rampaging Fury disguised as her best friend.
“No, no, it wasn’t like that. I was tipsy, but I knew what I was doing. And he didn’t force anything; it was just kind of crazy. I mean, one minute I was explaining that Ethan was screwing someone else because I was frigid, and the next he’d managed to drag those fingers of his over half a dozen spots and turned me into a puddle of goo. Not even goo… it was like my insides were melting out between my legs—I’ve never been so turned on in my life, and I still don’t know how he did it! I had zero control. Zero! Four years with Ethan and I never felt like that, and with him, what? Fifteen minutes and I’m agreeing to go home with him? It was insane.”
Confusion replaced anger on Ivy’s face.
“Let me see if I understand this. You wanted to pick someone up. You went to Ethan’s favorite bar to do it so you could maximize the gossip potential. Marco Genovese came in, let you pick him up, took you home with him, made you come your brains out, and in the morning when he expected you to stay, you snuck out without so much as ‘goodbye.’ Then, he tracks you down at work and instead of telling you off for running out on him, he offers you the opportunity of a lifetime, possibly making your career. The career, may I remind you, that you tossed away when you decided to marry the son-of-a-bitch who started this fun house ride by cheating on you?” She threw her hands up in the air. “Of course--it’s all so clear to me now! How dare he be so nice to you?”