THE ART OF REDEMPTION

IRST

o me like that", Alex replied and sat up in his seat. He took a deep breath. "I want a mural that reflects the calmness of the sky and the commotion of the sea, relating but not as friends. The sea ends up corrupting the sky and creates a disaster, a tornado if you'd like. You're an artist...you should understand that a mural is meant to tell a story." Alex said taking another sip from the bottle. "And what do you think you are doing? I'm not your servant, Alexander Hamilton. The deal was to make a mural 'to-ge-th-er'" , she replied. "Do I have to spell it out for you?" She added blatantly. "You don't have to lash at me at every second, Clara Lorenzo", Alex replied leaning into his seat. Very few people knew her last name. She was surprised hearing it from Alex. "H-how did you know my last name? You can't even ask about that on the street and get an answer. Or do you have a spy perhaps? Or maybe, just maybe, we could add 'stalker' to your title and not just 'CEO' Mr. Royale." Clara had to act cool, even though she was surprised. Alex was offended because he was no stalker. But he took it, like a tough bone lodged in his throat. "I see", he said clearing his throat. "Well, I'm still sitting here receiving insults when I can have you thrown out of here. I would suggest you stop testing my patience, little girl", Alex added. His tone, a little harsh. Clara knew this must have upset him and she can't risk losing her only hope of regaining her studio, so she kept quiet. "Since we're both brainstorming for ideas, and I'm not your slave..", she said looking up to check his expression. He wasn't looking at her, so she continued. "Let's start with getting the walls ready for paint. I believe you'll call someone for the job. Ok, that's settled", she added and started writing on her notebook. "You mentioned something about the weather and the sea, so you're thinking about making the art about nature which means you're going with a cool color palette," she continued, scribbling on her notebook. She stopped and looked at Alex. He was just rubbing his hands. "And?" Alex asked nonchalantly. "And.. I'm not going with that. I want a mural that's not as common as others that center on nature, love, society or all those common themes. How is that supposed to make you your extra 15%", Clara said laughing. "Oh! Pete. You and your big words have put me in a barrel with this kelp for brains ", Clara said to herself. Alex thought about it and saw she undeniably had a good point. But, he didn't want to agree with her on the first trial. So he asked her, "And what do you want to suggest that you think would appeal to my clients and investors? Don't go searching for ideas in an empty brain, dear", Alex retorted. He smiled to himself. "This must have hit her as hard as what she said to me. Let's see how she handles this one", he said to himself. Clara looked at him, hate welling in her eyes. She could feel her heart racing and she wanted to let go of herself and do whatever her mind chooses to do but she had to control herself. After all, this mural was her only chance. She couldn't risk messing it up. She took a deep breath and left the table. She walked outside and stood in front of her studio and sighed. Alex watched her from the window. He knew what he said must have hurt her. "Maybe I shouldn't have gone that far", he thought to himself. Then he shook his head. "She started it. All I did was to return the favour. She's such an immature little girl", he told himself. Clara returned to her seat and sat down. She left to calm herself down a bit. "As I was saying earlier...", she said calmly. "... We should do something out of central topics. Let's do something abstract. It should reflect a mixture of all those things b