Page 17 of Sacrifice
Sienna blinked at her and then said, “OMG, you'rePretty Woman. Doesn’t that make you a prostitute?”
Eve bristled. Typical Sienna. “No, it makes me very specifically qualified in the subject matter of the exhibition.”
Bitch.
“And a hot chic in a designer label.”
“Hot?” Eve glanced up to find her reflection in the shop’s window. She’d never really thought of herself that way. She was slim, sure, but had always felt like she had just a little too much curve to her hips. There was a coffee undertone to her skin, thanks to long-ago middle eastern ancestors, that meant she didn’t have to bother with make-up when there wasn’t time. That was definitely a bonus. Her hair was long, thick, and dark. On a day-to-day basis, she tied it up out of the way, but it had its moments when she put in the effort.
“I guess I scrub up okay,” she conceded, “Stop raining on my parade. I’ve got a date with a legend. Can you actually believe it?”
“No. What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing! So far as I can tell, anyway. He’s so good-looking I can’t even tell you.”
“Married. That’s what’s wrong with him.”
“Didn’t see a ring.”
Sienna narrowed her eyes. “Doesn’t mean he isn’t. When it seems too good to be true- guess what?”
Gilbert appeared and made his way towards them. He looked pissed off.
“Eve, Rupert’s just informed me you are to be seconded to the new exhibition. I have to say I’m not happy. We’re alreadyshort-staffed as it is.” The tendons popped out of Gilbert’s skinny little neck. “I don’t know where he even got the idea.”
Eve bit her lip. It was official then, excellent.
She rolled the idea around in her head. It wasn’t exactly a promotion, but anything was better than playing second fiddle to Sienna in the shop. As a bonus Gilbert clearly hated the idea.
“Just don’t go getting any grand ideas. It’s only temporary, Eve. You’ll be back here in a snap, just as soon as the exhibition is over.”
Eve nearly laughed out loud at his attempt to assert authority but nodded demurely instead.
“No, sir. Of course, sir.” She wasn’t going to take anything for granted, but the light of possibility twinkled in her eye.
Finally, a chance to get my life on track.
Twelve
Eve tappedat her laptop keyboard. It wasn’t snooping if it was publicly available information. If there was a Wikipedia page, then that was totally acceptable. Who doesn’t google a new employer? She gave herself a mental pat on the back. This was totally fine. She scrolled down.
Dr Lucien Knight was the only son of Emeric Knight, a wealthy and eccentric art dealer who’d died when Lucien was a boy. An old photo showed him to have an extraordinary physical resemblance to his son. Dark, heavily lashed eyes looked out of the screen. They were peas in a pod. Eve scanned the page for a mention of his mother, but there didn’t seem to be one. Eve wondered what had happened to her.
Emeric Knight was descended from a long line of family money that had originated in Eastern Europe and migrated to England. Wikipedia was remarkably knowledgeable about his family. Someone had taken a great interest. Lucien’s grandfather had been involved in the excavations that discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun back in the 20s.
Wow, how about that?
The Knight family had a long-held fascination with archaeology and artworks, it seemed. Lucien was a chip off the old alabaster block.
And what a block it was.
Dr Lucien Knight was not just a renowned expert in his field, Gold Medal Award winner for Archaeological Achievement and Kenyon Medal winner from the British Academy. He was heir to a fortune worth billions.
Years of archaeological expeditions and extensive buying and selling of art had done nothing to deplete the family fortune. Lucien now sat at the top of the family tree. Handsome, lettered, and rich beyond most people’s wildest dreams.
Eve pushed her laptop away.
Holy shit. I’m going to a ball with a billionaire!
