Distorted Pieces-2

They each took a seat in the living room with Rosalie next to Evan (and Evan next to the gun) on the couch and this mysterious man named Draven sat on the old worn recliner.

"I have a business proposition for you, Rosalie. I am sure you are unaware of my position and my clients whom are very interested in your work." He spoke to break the silence that seemed to have enveloped the room.

"Why couldn't you have called to set up a meeting?" Rosalie asked trying to not sound as rude as that question was.

"Fantastic question and I have a fantastic answer for you: discretion. You see, my client list whom I have said are very interested in your work,  are very unique and wealthy. If you would like, I could work with you in selling some of your work to them. They would probably each have to be custom make, but I don't think you will mind that." He explained patiently.

"Why couldn't they have come directly to me? It seems rather other to have a middle man for art work that is not on the black market. I don't mean to disrespect you or your profession when I say that, I just want to fully understand what is going on here." Again she tried to be polite, but something about this was just not right and she was determined to figure it out.

"My first answer can be used to solve that for you: discretion. Yes, I have an odd job, but it works to both my advantages and my clients. You see I find what they are looking for in the most discreet manner possible. As it turns out, they want your work in their homes and I was looking to provide that for them. They are willing to triple your current rates as well." Draven let that last sentence hang in the air as the temptation that he knew it would be.

That offer left both Evan (whom had stayed quiet to observe) and Rosalie stunned at the prospect of such money.

"How about this, I'll give you a few days to think it over and you can call me when you have your answer. I want to give you some time to think everything over." He said pulling a business card almost out of thin air and handed it over to Rosalie.

"Okay," was all she could reply from her still stunned mouth.

"I hope to hear from you in the next few days then." He said with a polite grin. When he stood up, it broke the spell that it seemed Draven had cast over them both and they stood up to walk him to the door.

Once it was locked with the mysterious man and his too good to be true offer on the outside, they both stared at each other for a moment more.

"What do you think?" She finally broke the silence.

"I think that he is shady and that something is off with him." Evan spilled out in a rush as if he had been holding that back for some time.

"Yeah, but that is some serious money though, lovely. We could start saving for a baby, help pay of the house, and get my car fixed." She argued gently with a concerned look on her face. "I am not really established enough yet as an artist to be able to refuse such an offer. If it gets too weird, I can tell him that enough is enough. For now though, that would be amazing. I usually charge about $1000 for larger customs which these probably are. If I got one done a week, that is 3 grand a week. We could live off of that alone. Since you make enough to mostly support us, all of the money from commissions could go towards saving for my gallery." Rosalie had slowly talked herself into wanting to work with this strange man that had just appeared on their doorstep with no warning and Evan saw there wasn't going to be any talking her out of it.

"I always said that I would be an adviser to you so here is my advice: Don't do it. I'll be here to support you if things go wrong, but I will totally say 'I told you so'." He explained to her calmly as he watched her relax. As long as he was backing her up, Rosalie felt as if nothing could really go wrong.

"Thank you, lovely." You are amazing and I love you so much." She said as she wrapped her arms around him and tilted her chin up for a kiss.

"I love you more. He replied with a smile and pressed his lips to hers."



The next day around noon, Rosalie delivered the painting she had finished the previous morning and collected her cash payment. While stopping by the bank to deposit her income, she could not help but wonder what it would feel like to deposit $3000 versus the $1000 she was doing right now.

When she got home, Rosalie walked into the shared office that had tape running down the middle to separate it into separate parts (Evan knew that they would not like sharing space when it came to their work stuff, so they agreed to have a line dividing the room). She plopped down in a comfy, black leather chair on the messy side and set the business card Draven had given her on the desk. With nerves in her stomach, Rosalie dialed the number written in silver on the black card under his name. The phone rang for just a moment and was answered by the slick voice that lingered in her mind from yesterday.

"This is Draven, how may I help you?" Rosalie panicked for a moment, but put her worries aside and pushed herself forward.

"Hello, this is Rosalie, we spoke yesterday and I wanted you to know that I decided to accept your offer. When can we next meet to go over the details?" She asked trying to keep control over the conversation.

"That is great news, my clients will be very happy to know this. I could come back over tomorrow evening, if you like." His voice sounded genuinely delighted at the promise of her business.

"We could have dinner at my place, that way it might be a little bit more relaxed than yesterday morning." Rosalie offered, this had been thought through and discussed between Evan and her. They wanted to have enough time to ask everything they needed about this deal and to make sure everything was clear.

"Perfect, so I can dress down for this then?" Draven asked.

"Yes, jeans and a T-shirt should be fine, we will be dressed the same. As I said, I want it to be a relaxing experience." Rosalie reiterated.

"Then I will see the both of you with all of the business information tomorrow at what time."

"7pm should be just fine. See you then." Rosalie said to imply the conversation was over.

"Indeed you shall." Then there was a click and her phone said 'conversation ended'. Tomorrow would be an interesting adventure for everyone it seemed.