Unfaithful: Web Of Betrayal

“Brian is so excited about his son’s gallery opening,” Declan said at the breakfast table. “The prodigal son had returned,” he chuckled.

Olivia sipped her hot coffee, “How do you mean?”

“He left home before he was 18 to do his own thing … well, obviously, art and photography is not the kind of thing Brian Murphy would encourage his sons to pursue … he has too many companies for them to run, but then again … not everyone wants to run companies like a workhorse.”

She bites on her croissant, “And now he’s back to work for his dad?”

Declan creased her brows, “No, he came back to prove his dad wrong; I guess he’s opening his own gallery; he’s made a name for himself abroad … he’s been a working artist these past few years, and Brian is actually very proud of him … he put quite an investment on his gallery and artwork which his son insists on paying him back,” he chuckled. “Which reminds me, I think it’s a great idea to collaborate with him for your studio as well … I mean, this is an unexpected opportunity for us if your studio can collaborate with a Murphy, and my deal with him goes well,” he raised both hands in the air, “Two birds with one stone.”

She nodded lightly while retaking her coffee, “I guess you can see it that way.”

“Oh, absolutely; why? You don’t think that’s a good idea? Hey, I don’t want to impose or anything, but Brian was very excited with the idea that his son can work with you; that’s a good sign that this deal is going to go through … I need his network and facilities for my export-import, this is the biggest thing I’ve ever worked on.”

If only he knew, she thought. The fire in his eyes when he talks about his business was inextinguishable. He didn’t want to impose, but in so many words, he was pleading for her to say ‘yes.’

She shrugged, “I think it’s a great idea … yeah, I can take a look at his work, and we’ll take it from there.”

“Great … that’s absolutely great, we’ll do it tonight at his gallery. You can discuss work with him while I talk some more with Brian about logistics and stuff … I’ll slip in a little hint that you’ll be collaborating with Roman, so he’ll be more excited,” Declan was grinning from ear to ear.

“How old is his son, anyway?” the question she never gets an answer from Roman.

Declan thought about it for a moment, “I don’t know if he ever mentions it … oh, 28 … yeah, I remember he said Roman’s going to turn 28 soon… that’s a good age, isn’t it? That’s when I first met you,” he reached out his hand to touch hers.

She smiled, but inside, she was gasping; Roman was only 26 when they met.

—

She watched as the sign was revealed from behind the glass door of her studio.

“LUDUS”

Why did he choose that name? It was written in a classical font in gold with a dark blue background, exactly the way it was printed on the invitation.

There was no sign of him. It’s been three days since her birthday, come Monday morning, and all she worried about was what if she accidentally bumped into him? They were neighbors now. How often does he go to his gallery? What time? And finally, why is she even thinking about it?

She turned to find her assistant standing right behind her. “Gaby … I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s a nice sign, don’t you think? I bet the interior looks awesome,” her freshly graduated assistant commented.

Olivia shrugged, “I’ll be attending the opening tonight. I’ll give you inside information,” she laughed lightly.

“Do you know that Ludus means uncommitted love? I searched it on Google,” Gaby was still looking out the glass door.

She paused before answering, “Really? I didn’t know that … I wondered what it meant; that’s a funny name to name an art gallery.”

Gaby shrugged, “Artists … they probably named it after something that really stuck with them, or … maybe he just enjoys uncommitted loves,” she laughed.

She forced a smile, “Maybe … well, I’ll be in my office sorting out our work for this week. If you need me, can you take all my calls? I don’t want to be bothered today … there’s so much to do … oh, by the way, we’ll be adding Ludus’s catalog to our portfolio, so make sure it all goes in our marketing tools for the clients.”

“Oh? Have you met the owner?”

“Yes, actually … he was at my birthday party; Declan and his dad are doing business together, so … the catalog is definitely going in our portfolio,” she said.

“Is he as handsome as he seemed?”

It took Olivia by surprise; she grimaced, “What makes you say that?”

“Oh, everyone’s talking about him … they’d seen him smoking on the terrace at night, without his shirt on most of the time,” she laughed, “You’ve gone home, obviously, … we think he lives there on the fourth floor.”

That explains why she had never seen him come and go; it also made the hair on her arms stand up, he’d been living across from her for months, and she didn’t even know it. “Wow, words sure travel fast around here,” she chuckled. “He is a looker … bright blue eyes and all that jazz,” she tried to sound as casual as possible.

“Oh, I knew it … do you think he has a girlfriend?”

Olivia laughed, amused by her young assistant who had a crush on Roman, “I wouldn’t know that, Gaby; it didn’t come up in our brief introduction.”

Gaby blushed, “Sorry … I guess you get to see if he has a girlfriend tonight? The guys said they sometimes see a girl on the fourth floor … but never the same girl twice … hence, Ludus.”

Olivia raised her brows, “Hmm … I guess we’ll see.”