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"That's the one I like over there," Ray said, pointing to a large canvas hanging on a feature
wall.
"Oooh, I love that one. I would buy it myself if I could afford it," Faye declared. "Are you
getting it?"
Ray smiled at her indulgently. "Yes. I'll go and secure it now and follow you to the other room
afterward."
"Okay."
She walked to the next room and made a beeline for one of the smaller paintings. Her heart
sank when she saw the red sticker on it, too. She moved a few steps to her other choice - a wavy heart
inside colourful geometric patterns.
Yes! Still available.
"Hi, Faye," Victor said, startling her.
"Victor," she gushed. "I want this one. I have to run to the front before it gets sold. The other
two I liked were already bought."
"Wait, you don't have to," Victor said, pulling out his mobile phone. He called someone and
asked her to reserve painting number 26 for Faye Summers.
"You can pay for it on your way out," Victor advised when he finished the call.
"Hey, that's great customer service," she chuckled.
"I know. Can you believe Evan's already sold eleven paintings so far and it's only the first day
of his exhibition? His smaller pieces are the most popular because they're very well priced. He was
so worried he wouldn't even sell one!"
"Is he kidding? He's really good. Ray's buying one of his big ones from the other room."
"Really?" Victor asked in amazement.
"Yes. He's paying for it right now."
Victor looked at her quizzically. "You two have had your private conversation?"
She smiled shyly. "Yes. Although it wasn't exactly private because Kane was there. But we've
sorted it all out."
"Yay! I'm so glad, darling," Victor replied giving her a big hug.
"I wonder where Kane is," she mused. "Ray and I are leaving shortly, and I want to say
goodbye to him."
"Ooh, leaving so soon, huh," Victor teased. "He's in the next room chatting to the others."
They wandered over to where Kane was conversing with Will, Clarise, Rob and Jessa.
"Hey, guys."
"Where's Ray?" Kane asked Faye with a wink.
"He's buying a painting. Did you find one you liked?"
"Yeah. Victor had it reserved for me."
"Everything okay?" Clarise asked Faye as she threaded her arm with hers.
"Yes," she smiled serenely. "Everything's great. You guys didn't tell me what you did," Faye
scolded her best friends, but her smile indicated she wasn't at all displeased.
"Sometimes, we just have to keep things from each other," Clarise shrugged impishly.
Faye chuckled. "Yes, since Ray's your boss, I can't tell you everything. It would be weird if I
did. I'd have to hold back on some of the details."
"You're right, we definitely wouldn't want to know," Victor agreed with a shudder. "Imagine
being in a staff meeting with Ray and having a picture in our minds of what the two of you did on the
weekend. I don't think so."
Laughter was ringing out from their little group as Ray joined them.
"What's so funny, chaps?" he asked as he placed a hand on the small of Faye's back.
"They were talking about imagining you and Faye naked during staff meetings," Rob
responded cheerily.
"Rob!" Jessa lightly swatted her fiancé's arm then turned to Ray. "No, what we were talking
about was how we wouldn't want to be imagining you and Faye naked during staff meetings."
"How did that even come up?" Ray asked in astonishment.
"Remember when I told you before that I tell my best friends everything?" Faye piped in. "We
were just discussing the fact that they wouldn't hear the same level of detail they were used to in the
past when it comes to you and me."
"Well, that's a relief," Ray responded, giving her a wide grin. "Was your painting still
available?"
"One of them was. Victor called to have it reserved for me. I'll pay for it on our way out. Are
you ready to go?"
She flushed as she saw the desire in his eyes as he nodded his head in confirmation.
*******
Ray waited with Will and Rob by the gallery front door as their women lined up at the counter with
Kane to pay for their purchases.
"Will we see you during the gang's Friday night dinners, Ray?" Will asked him.
"Oh, so you guys join them, too?"
"Yes, most of the time."
"That'll be great - if Faye invites me."
"Unlikely that she wouldn't," Will chuckled.
Ray was already looking forward to it. He loved the thought of being a part of Faye's life in
every way. It had an added bonus of spending time with other people he genuinely liked and
respected.
"If it's going to be a regular thing, I guess I'll need to change my Friday night routine. I usually
go to the gym after work, even on Fridays," he mused.
The other two men laughed.
"Join the club," Rob said. "Will and I have made changes to our normal schedules just for our
women. Mind you, we do get great value out of those Friday dinners. We talk business while the
others chat about food and girlie things. When you're there we can have a business mastermind
session."
Ray grinned. Rob and Will were both sharp and savvy business owners. Conversations with
them were always stimulating. "Great! Now I'm "
"Ray! There you are. I've been looking for you!"
He groaned silently at the unwelcome interruption by a woman who was supposed to be smart
but couldn't seem to take a hint.
"I need to take my mum home now," Rita Maxwell continued, "but we wanted to say goodbye
first."
He gave her a small smile and nodded politely to her mother. "Goodnight to you both."
"I hope everything's okay with you and Kane, Ray," Rita said coyly. "You know, I only just
met him tonight and, well, I didn't want to create a scene by telling him not to bother me. I hope you
didn't mind."
"It was none of my concern, Rita. I didn't care that he flirted with you," he said firmly.
"Oh." Rita's face grew beet red. "But I thought & "
"We better go, Rita," the elderly woman said to her daughter.
"Sure, Ma," she responded. "I'll talk to you next week, Ray," she said to him with a doe-eyed
look as she followed her mother.
Ray scowled at Rita although she didn't see. Now what the hell would she want to talk
about? He looked at the other two guys.
"What do you do when someone just can't take a hint?" he asked them in frustration.
"Tell her the truth in no uncertain terms," Will suggested.
"Yeah, I should have done that in the first place. She's a client and I didn't want her to feel
uncomfortable working with me. I thought subtlety would work, but she just doesn't get it."
"I think she gets it but she's not ready to throw in the towel." Rob commented. "It's funny, isn't
it? You either thank your lucky stars or you get the shits, depending on which woman doesn't give up
on you."
"Yeah," Ray chuckled as his mind transported him back to his thirty-fourth birthday four and a
half months ago.
His well-meaning sister had invited her workmate, Beth, to join their family-only party. Beth
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