The Masterpiecers (Masterful #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Specter.”
    She gives the audience a wave and a smile. She looks nice and bland, like Special K. Ivy will have no trouble taking her out.
    “Maxine has a funny story to share with you tonight,” Dominic says. “The story of how she got here.”
    Maxine touches the brown fuzz growing on her head. “Oh, no…I couldn’t possibly—”
    Dominic cuts her off. “Oh, yes, yes, yes.”
    Blushing, she nibbles on her lower lip, and then gulps in a big breath. “Daisy Dukes.”
    “Ah…Daisy Dukes. I love Daisy Dukes,” Dominic says, which makes a bunch of people in the audience hoot.
    “I mean the shots,” Maxine adds.
    “Of course. Me too.” Big theatrical wink. I can nearly hear his eyelid open and shut.
    “I had twelve of them—” she says.
    “The drinks,” he clarifies. I think everyone got it, but hey , it’s his show.
    “They’re teeny tiny, but really strong. That’s why—”
    “What’s in them?” Dominic interjects.
    “Um…I’m not sure.”
    “Can someone find out and mix some up? I think we could all use a tiny Daisy Duke. Except Chase, Lincoln, and Miss Ivy over there.”
    The camera perches on my sister’s face. I scoot closer to the edge of the couch, hungry for a glimpse of her. The armrest practically pops out one of my ribs. Too soon, they’re back to filming Maxine.
    “So tell us how a drink landed you on my show.”
    She clears her throat. “When I got home, after the bar, I was reading my emails. Among them was one my mother had forwarded me with a link to the application form. My parents are great art enthusiasts—I was raised around art. Some children have musical mobiles hanging over their cribs…I had an authentic Calder.”
    Subtle tittering erupts which relaxes the stiff line of Maxine’s shoulder blades.
    “Anyway, I thought I’d make Mom and Dad proud so I filled in the application and emailed it. I’m not really sure what I wrote in it though.”
    “Whatever you wrote in it got our attention, so assume it was great! Did you celebrate with a haircut?”
    She winces, the corners of her large eyes crinkling. “That was a bet. I told my best friend that if you guys accepted me, I would shave off my hair. I really didn’t think I’d win.”
    He grins. “Can I touch it?” he asks, already running his palm over her scalp. “Ooh…it’s so soft.”
    Maxine hoists up a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.
    “Can I call you Daisy from now on?”
    Her face crinkles with a clumsy smile. “S-sure.”
    “Good luck then, Daisy.”
    He starts walking to the next contestant, but doubles back to stroke her cropped hair. Maxine goes crimson. Dominic winks and scampers off.
    “And in this corner, we have world famous hooligan, J.J.!”
    Ivy told me J.J. became famous after he spray-painted the corridor of his dorm in college. At first, he was fined, but then the principal decided it made the drab cement more attractive, so he dropped his complaint and commissioned him to repaint the rest of the hallways. After he graduated, other colleges called on him to enliven their bland atmospheres.
    “How many schools have you spray-painted to this day?” Dominic asks.
    “Three. I’m working on number four.”
    The screens around them are displaying his work. It’s actually pretty neat, with all the colors and the oddball characters.
    “Promise not to paint over any walls in this place or we’ll get into serious trouble.”
    J.J. smiles. “Promise, dude.”
    “Shall we shake on it?” Dominic suggests, jutting out his hand.
    Chuckling, J.J. shakes it.
    “Josephine, do we have insurance?” Dominic asks, twisting around, still holding J.J.’s palm.
    She smiles complacently.
    “Phew.” He lets go of J.J. and makes a big show of swiping his brow. “Best of luck to you, my friend.”
    “Thanks, man.” J.J. is very West Coast, totally chill and totally tanned.
    “And now…a woman who needs no introduction.”
    I think I’m about to see my sister, and my body goes as rigid