She was in transit. During the day, as a representative of a pharmaceutical company, she visited doctors and pharmacists and introduced them to a new medication. Now in the early evening she ate something small in a little chinese restaurant. Later she would go to her hotelroom to read a crime novel. But first she wanted to have a quick glass of wine in the hotel bar. But when she finally sat on the bar stool, she didn't want to get up straight away, but instead stayed. So the first glass of wine became a second.
She only noticed the man after some time. He must be around fifthy, was sitting in front of a glass of whiskey and was constantly glancing over at her. At first she didn't pay him any attention. When she finally did look at him and met his gaze, he pushed his glass back and forth indecisively, then got up and walked over to her. "Excuse me if I stare at you like that, it's your eyes."
"Yes, what about my eyes?"
"It's a long story."
"Then tell it to me." She smiled. "But please have a seat. I am Katharina."
He grabbed a chair and smiled: "My name is Bob. A good thirty years ago I lived in New York. I had great expectations and wanted to make my way as a painter. But art is a tough business, I sold a picture here and there, it was barely enough to live on. I kept myself somewhat afloat with small jobs. Then a very rich stockbroker noticed me and bought two or three pictures that I had painted in a fairly realistic style. One day he asked me if I had time to paint a large mural based on an old print from a French book. I said: Why not - provided the pay is right.
The book turned out to be a pornographic novel with a sadistic undertone. The old engraving showed Julius Caesar and Marc Antony both using Cleopatra hard. I was supposed to use the engraving to paint a mural about two meters high and five meters long in flashy colors. The picture was intended to decorate a salon at a kind of private sex fair. Artistically it wouldn't be a milestone, but when I heard how much the broker was willing to pay I immediately said yes. However, I had to put my foot down because the sex fair was only three weeks away.
The fair took place in an old warehouse. In addition to the stock market broker's salon, which invited people to Roman orgies, there were various other rooms in which a wide variety of desires could be satisfied. Latex. Leather, silk, masks: the whole thing was also a feast for the eyes."