The Art of Deception (Choc Lit) Read Free

ancestors. It was just that we had to pick two options at college, alongside art. I took the History of Art as one of them, and Italian as the other. I love the work of the Italian Renaissance artists so it seemed a good idea to learn their language, and I’m really glad I did. Thanks to my college, I got a summer job just outside Florence. It was brilliant, and the family asked me to go back again the following year, so I really got to practise my Italian. I’ve made a point of keeping it up since then.’
    ‘ Well done, you. You’ve obviously got real tenacity. I admire that in a person.’
    ‘ What about you? Do you speak any Italian? You’ve obviously got a place there.’
    He gave her a rueful smile. ‘I’ve been trying to learn it, but I don’t seem to be making much headway. I could blame it on lack of time, but I think it’s more about a lack of flair for languages. I’m a businessman, not a linguist, and I’m afraid that my attempts to speak Italian are rather on a par with my attempts at painting.’
    He laughed, and she quickly laughed, too.
    He leaned forward and topped up their coffees.
    From the expression on his face, she guessed that he was about to say something more serious, and she held her breath in anticipation. If only she’d done enough to get the job. She’d never have another chance like this.
    ‘ Look, I don’t want to play games, Miss O’Connor,’ he said, putting the cafetière back on the table. ‘You were streaks ahead of the other applicants in the quality of your work, and your references are excellent. What’s more, you speak the language.’
    Her heart was in her mouth.
    ‘Today was about seeing if we’d get on with each other. My house on the estate is only a stone’s throw from the one where the classes are going to be held, so I’ll be regularly bumping into whoever’s teaching them, and that makes it important that we rub along well.’
    ‘ Of course,’ she said, nodding. She desperately hoped that he couldn’t hear the loud thudding of her heart. ‘That makes sense.’
    ‘ I’m pretty sure that you and I could get on, and the job is yours if you want it,’ he said with a smile. A powerful wave of relief surged through her, and she felt weak. ‘But don’t worry,’ he added. ‘I’m not expecting an answer this moment. I’m sure you’ll want to go away and think about it, talk it over with your family perhaps.’
    ‘ I don’t need to think about it,’ she said quickly. ‘From the moment I saw your advert, I’ve not been able to think about anything other than what a marvellous opportunity it would be. Thank you very much, Mr Castanien. I’d love to run the classes for you.’
    His face broke into a broad smile and he reached across the table, his hand outstretched. As she leaned over to shake his hand, all she could see was the two broad shoulders in front of her.
    He sat back. ‘Now that that’s agreed, I can tell you what I’ve decided. I know I said in the advert that the job was to run art classes throughout the summer, but I’ve been giving that some thought. My feeling is that it’s probably too late now to get a full summer of classes off the ground, especially as I’m short of material that I can use to advertise the courses. I suggest that we treat this as a practice year and run one class only.’
    ‘ One class only?’ she echoed, her heart sinking.
    ‘ Don’t look so downcast,’ he laughed. ‘I still want you there for the whole of the summer. I need you there well ahead of the class so that you can organise everything and order what you need. Then you’ll run the course for the week, and when it’s over, we’ll have a better idea of what to offer in the future, and how to plan it and price it.’
    ‘ I suppose that makes sense.’
    ‘ I really think it’s the best thing to do. I’ve worked out what to charge for the week this year, but much of it is based on guesswork. When the students have gone home, I’d like you