Page 1 of Miss Merry and Mr. Bright
1
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY….DAY
JASPER BRIGHT
There’s something about a stormy day that speaks to me. I don’t know whether it’s the way the trees bend before the onslaught of the wind and rain, or snow. Or the feeling of nature’s fury battering at my house and reminding me that no matter what I might think, I’m just a human man and I can’t control every freaking thing.
But I crave that control. Need it more than I need to breathe sometimes. Even though I know what happens when you let that control take over.
Take a look at my family and you’ll now exactly what I mean. My father spent his whole life struggling to retain that control over every damn bit of his life and it made our family miserable.
Made my mother run away when I was twelve and leave me in his miserable home, wondering what I did to make her leave.
It was him though. He made us all miserable. There was no love left in our home. Just strict adherence to his rules unless you wanted to be locked in your bedroom until he decided you’d suffered enough.
I learned my lesson early. Control is everything. Rules are necessary. Or there is pandemonium and somebody gets hurt.
Sighing, I run my fingers through my hair and stare at my latest painting, grimacing.
It’s a fucking mess. There’s no way that anybody is going to want this piece of shit. If I show this at my art show in a month I’m going to find myself looking for a new career.
The ringing of my phone jerks me out of my dark thoughts. “What?” I bark into my phone.
“Well, well, well. I see Scrooge is still alive and well and he’s living in Starlight Bay.”
Rolling my eyes, I glare at my phone. “I’m working, Reese. You know how I get when I’m working.”
“Yeah? And how’s that going, Jasper? Because you’ve got a show in a month and as far as I know you’ve got one piece down. One…or did I count wrong when you sent me the pics to show the gallery?”
“Well…no. That’s all I’ve got right now but I’ve been working every day.”
“With most people that would give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Especially when I start thinking about the money.”
Growling, I stalk over to the window, staring out at the storm as lightning flashed and thunder growled. It fits my mood.
“Art isn’t just about money, Reese. As my agent you should know that after all these years.”
“Trying to remind me that you’re getting old, Jasper Bright? Trust me, I’ve thought about your demise more times than I can count. Especially when you growl at me and tell me you’re working but there’s nothing to show for it and I’ve got the damn gallery up my ass and getting nervous because they have only seen one piece!”
“I’m telling you…I’m working. I’m almost finished with another piece.” Crossing my fingers like a child when you’re lying, I grimace.
Dead silence answers me and thunder crashes, shaking the house.
“And is it good or you going to tell me it’s not good enough in a week and I’ll have to tell the gallery that something unfortunate happened to it. Because I’m starting to fantasize about telling them that something unfortunate happened to you.”
“That’s not nice, Reese.”
“When did I tell you that I was nice? I’m your agent. I work for you trying to make you money. None of that says nice. I’m a shark, Jasper. A shark that needs something to eat and you’re starving me.”
“You are a strange, strange woman.”
Her husky laugh almost makes me smile. Almost. If I wasn’t in such a damn fix with my art I’d really enjoy this conversation a lot more than I am.
“You’re putting me in a tough spot, Jasper. I have a plan but you’re not going to like it.”
“Thump, thump!”
“Hang on, Reese! I think there’s somebody at my door.” I stomp out of my studio and down the hall, muttering under my breath, “Who the hell would be out on a day like today and why’d they have to show up at my door?”
