Page 51 of Art of Love
“Yes, anyway, it dawned on me that Juliana’s show looked like a maze, and the creatures she had are indeed from the sea, but that wasn’t the clue. That was her own work and ideas. However, the minute I thought ‘maze,’ I thought of the filmLabyrinth,and then I realized the layout for the set looked exactly like the labyrinth. You know, where the goblin king lived.”
Recognition washed over his face. “God, how the hell did you come up with that?”
“It just came to me.” That wasn’t entirely true. The truth was, he had a hand in my newfound clarity of mind. Clarity I didn’t expect to have when I was fifty thousand dollars short in my savings. “So, the answer to something from John’s childhood and to what inspired John to create the company is the movieLabyrinth. I looked it up and found it in an interview he did back in the late nineties. Everywhere else, he talks about other stuff, but the movie was the thing that made him think up the company in the first place. I’ll send you a link to the interview.”
“Thank you. Jia, I wouldn’t have guessed that.” He looked worried. “I thought I knew a lot about John, but I know I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“What would you have guessed?”
“I don’t know. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
I wondered if maybe his girlfriend had tried to contact him. Maybe that was something else. Something else I didn’t factor in.
“Your girlfriend?”
He chuckled. “No, not her. I did have a woman on my mind though.”
“Juliana?” I did see him talking to her before the show had started last week, and she was absolutely checking him out. The man was gorgeous. Of course she would. As did Celine and Jeanette and a few of the other women hired to work on the show.
“Come here. I’ll tell you.” I leaned over the counter, and he moved onto his elbows on the other side to lean in too.
“Who is it?”
He brushed his nose against mine and stayed there, holding my gaze.
“You.”
Right there, I could have gazed at him like this, in this weird position, forever. But he pulled back.
“Me?”
“Yeah, that sucks, right?”
“Why?” It was a stupid question.
“You know why, Jia. Let’s face it.”
Of course it was this job situation.
“What about the chemistry?” I didn’t know why I said that. It was stupid.
“Nothing gets in the way of chemistry. But hey, the good news is, looks like you’re way ahead of me since I couldn’t guess any of those answers. I strongly believe you’re in the lead to get the job. I may not make it past the first round.”
I actually felt bad at the thought of that.
“You’re talented.”
“You haven’t seen my work yet.”
I had an idea that I thought he might like. “Show me.” I beamed at the prospect of seeing his work. Weeks ago, I was scared, scared of the competition. But now, I wanted to see what he could do.
His smile widened. “How about I show you, if you show me. So far, I’ve kind of guessed what’s in your head, and that was pretty amazing. I’d love to see what you can do.”
That felt inspiring. “Okay, it’s on. Let’s paint.”
I moved over to the standing cupboard and pulled out two large canvasses I’d bought in the art shop near the studio. I’d covered them with sheets to keep dust from settling on them. Then, from the cupboard, I took out a box of brushes of different sizes.
“Damn, you’re as bad as me.” He came up behind me.
