A week ago I was ecstatic. I was over the moon, I was...
You can add your own favourite expression of joy, and it would be applicable to how I was feeling then.
But now it had changed, I was in the depths of despair. And I didn't know what to do to make things better. I was beginning to think that I'd bitten off more than I could chew.
That day, just a short while ago, was when I got my commission from Sir Robert Harding.
"It's a big task. Tell me young man, are you up for the challenge?"
He then fixed me with his piercing blue eyes as he waited for my answer. He was a self-made billionaire, a very powerful man. More than capable of knowing when someone is bullshitting him.
With all the confidence that I could muster, I met his gaze, and then, while smiling, I simply said, "Yes I am."
I'm an artist, at the early stages of a career that's going to end with fame and fortune. I'm only twenty five, but I have confidence in my ability. I know that I am talented and that I can do great work. Boastful? No, I'm just telling it as it is, and I don't care if you believe me or not!
Sir Robert heard about me from one of his friends. I'd done a painting of his Daughter. It was a difficult task, not the actual painting, but finding her good side. You'd only call her pretty if you were in a charitable mood, or if your sight was badly impaired. But somehow I managed it, creating a portrait of her that was flattering.
Two days after I'd finished that painting, I got a call from Sir Robert's private secretary.
In a posh voice, I heard him say, "David, Sir Robert Harding would like to see you. He his expecting you at four thirty."
I was then given the address, followed by a stern warning about not being late.
It was a tight schedule, but I managed to get there on time. I was wearing my one and only suit and tie, and I'd even polished my shoes and combed my hair.
I parked my rust bucket next to his vintage Rolls-Royce. I looked at it enviously. One day I was going to have one of those!
The meeting was brief. He quickly explained what it was that he wanted me to do.
"I want an oil painting of a man and a woman in an erotic embrace. Both are to be naked. The man is young, in his twenties, and the woman is older, perhaps fifty. What they look like, and the setting, is up to you. I just want it to be realistic. When anybody sees it for the first time, even if it's your maiden aunt, I want it to excite them."
He then stopped while his butler came to serve us tea and sandwiches. While I ate one of the dainty cucumber sandwiches, that had the crust cut off, he said more.
"It can be as daring as you want. It's not going to be on public display. Only a few special people will ever see it. And before I forget, it has to be life-size."
That last part took me by surprise, and I almost choked on my sandwich. Sir Robert pretended not to notice my discomfort but I could tell that it had amused him.
It now wasn't a simple task, it was a major piece of work. Could I do it? I wasn't sure. But any doubts were banished when he told me what he was willing to pay. This was too good an opportunity to miss, I would have to make it work.
I'd have done it for a tenth of what he was offering me, but I wasn't stupid enough to tell him that. When I got home, and I told Holly the amount, she shrieked, and then she hugged me so tight that I could hardly breathe.
And next, I was going to get my reward for being such a clever boy.
After saying, "Let's go to bed and fuck," she rushed up the stairs without waiting for my answer. She got to the bedroom first, but I wasn't far behind.
We then did, not just once, but twice. And, to make the day perfect, later on she sucked my cock. It ended with her not just letting me come in her mouth, she even swallowed it. Does life ever get any better than that?
So why was I now, only one week later on, depressed?
Because it wasn't going well, and that was an understatement. I'd started enthusiastically, and the first day had ended with me making good progress. The next day was even better. That evening I told Holly. She was pleased, but not pleased enough so that she'd suck my cock again!
But on the third day, when I stepped back from the painting to assess it, it didn't look right. It took me a while to put my finger on it, but when I did, it became obvious. The woman, who was supposed to be fifty, was more like a thirty year old. In fact, she looked a lot like Holly. I gave a deep sigh. I'd have to start again.
Not to worry, it was just a minor blip. However, the next attempt was no better, and the third was even worse. That's why I was now pulling my hair out.
That evening, after a few stiff drinks, I poured my heart out to my beloved Holly.
"I can't do it. Every time I paint her she ends up looking too young, and looking like you."
Holly found that flattering. To her, it indicated that I was so much in love with her, that I wanted every naked woman that I painted, to be her. True or not, it didn't matter which, I just wanted a solution to my problem.
"So what do I do?"
She wasn't just a beauty, with an amazing body, she was also clever, far cleverer than me, so it didn't surprise me that she quickly came up with a solution.
"Find a picture of a woman that is the correct age. Look at it while you paint, it will keep you on track."
I liked that, that might work. Then she said more.
"Better still, find a woman that will pose nude for you."
That would be perfect, but where would I find such a woman?
That night I slept well, and when I woke up I was in a good mood. That changed while I was showering. Where was that woman that was going to be my assistant? Finding her was not going to be easy.
But when I went downstairs for breakfast, and Holly greeted me with, "She will be perfect for you," my good mood returned in an instance.
For her amusement, she made me ask who the woman was, and then she kept me waiting for her answer. Eventually I got it.
"It's Ruth."
I was still none the wiser. I needed more information than just a first name, and she must know that. I was now waiting again, but all she was doing was smiling. Then I understood.
"No way!"
For some reason, that I was struggling to understand, that made her laugh, and it irritated me.
"Was that your idea of a joke?"
She stopped laughing, and then after shaking her head, she said,
"Can you think of anybody else who's better than her?"
I couldn't. She was fifty two years old and she could still be called beautiful. Her body, though past its prime, could still turn a man's head, and more importantly, get the blood rushing into his cock. She was perfect, except for one thing.