Blind Spot by Sakshi C (the reader ebook TXT) 📕

"I want you to paint in my house," he stated. Inessa looked at him confused. 

"What I mean is that I want you to wield your talent on the walls of my house, like a mural. I will pay you whatever you want. Everything will be according to your convenience. Your time, your day," he offered her with calculative eyes. 

Inessa and Sylvia exchanged a silent look. 

"Umm..she has never made a mural before," Sylvia clarified to him. 

"With the kind of talent she has, I am sure she would do an exceptional job at that. I still want her to paint my walls," he said without an ounce of doubt in his voice.  

Sylvia had her mouth wide open. This was a million-dollar opportunity like literally. This was so going to boost Inessa's career. 

Inessa bit her lip, lost in her thought. She had never done it. However, she was a risk-taker so she decided to give it a go. The client himself said, he wouldn't blame her if something went wrong. 

She looked up at Francisco who was already staring at her, intensely and nodded her head. 

Francisco's lips stretched into a wide smile.

"So, it's decided then. I am happy you accepted the deal, Elaine," his gaze had softened on her just like his voice. 

They signed the papers. Francisco took her number and gave her his. 

She started the work in a few days. 

She told Andrei about her new job offer. She didn't tell him the name of her new boss though, deeming it not necessary. Andrei was happy for her and encouraged her to go ahead with it. 

Andrei and Inessa had a low-profile wedding with only close relatives. So not many people knew that Inessa was Lavigne now.

As the days passed by, Francisco started to take more interest in Inessa or Elaine for him. Instead of staying in his office, he was seen more in his house now. No need to say, Inessa and Francisco became friendly over the days. Inessa sometimes had felt that the mean was more than what he let on. He surely had some grey shades to him but she didn't let these thoughts stake root in his mind. She had grown into a suspicious person after that incident. Inessa had a hard time trusting anyone after that incident with Arthur.  

However, Fransisco had managed to break through the barrier with his nice treatment. She even told him her real name as there wsa no harm sharing that piece of information with him but she didn't tell him that she was married to a Lavigne. She had seen people's expressions changing on the mention of her last name. The haughtiest of ones would turn into a bootlicker the moment Lavigne would drop from her mouth. She didn't like it. She wanted appreciation and opportunities with her first name, not the last. 

However, she had told him that she is married. But Francisco wasn't the man who can get deterred by a wedding ring. 

Her new life had granted her the freedom that she had once always craved. The freedom to fly without any shackles. Andrei never questioned her about her whereabouts and late arrivals. He was the coolest person. 

Today was her last day at his house. Her work was almost done just a little touch-up was needed. 

"How about you paint my bathrooms as well?" Francisco approached her with two mugs of coffee as Inessa was busy doing her work.  

Inessa looked at him and rolled her eyes before letting out a chuckle. 

"No seriously, I would love to have you paint every inch of my house," he said meaningfully as he extended a mug of coffee for her.   

Inessa took it and returned to her task whereas Francisco sat in a chair and watched her work.

Inessa exhaled loudly and climbed down the leader with a paintbrush in he hand. She turned to Francisco who was busy doing something on his laptop. She placed the brush in the container and walked up to him. he tapped the table to get his attention. Once she had it, she typed the words on her mobile and showed him. 

"Done? So soon?" he threw an astonished glance at the wall. 

"I think I should leave now," she typed on her notes and showed him. His face fell with disappointment. Almost a month and he still had failed to make any headway. 

"Not before I treat you with a lunch as a thank you," his face lit up as the idea struck him. 

"You've already paid me," she told him. 

Francisco sighed and gave her a pleading look. 

"Please, I am alone and I have no one I can share my meals with. Please, have some mercy and go on a lunch with me?" he said, pulling an innocent face. 

Inessa rolled her eyes before giving him her approval with a nod of the head.  

Francisco was nice to her. She liked him as a friend.

He took her to one of the most expensive French restaurants in the city. They had their meal where he bombarded her with his admiration for her work and for her. 

After the meal, he offered to drop her home but she refused, stating that she had called Sylvia.

Francisco had turned silent when they came out of the restaurant. He wanted to tell her something but didn't know how to say this. This was the first time he was pursuing a married woman. He didn't know how to approach the matter. 

Inessa was walking ahead of him as he was lost thinking about his problem. 

'Inessa," he called her, making her stop in her track. 

She turned around to look at him, not at all prepared for the assault that he unleashed on her lips. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her. Inessa's eyes turned wide with shock and then horror. Her heartbeat quickened and her whole body turned cold as she felt panic setting in.

Tears trickled down her eyes as her head started to spin. With a hard push, she shoved him off her. Inessa was trembling like a leaf, her eyes were wide and bloodshot. Francisco stared at her with a stunned expression. 

She turned and took to her heels, wiping her tears. The images of Arthur kissing her forcefully flashed through her memory, his father's slap and guilt that had birthed from his father's words stabbed her. She sobbed while running to god knows where.