First test

Feeling in high spirits after her talk with Joan, Lily bounced down the stairs of her apartment. She was determined to not let Asher stand in her way of achieving success. No matter how much he tried, she was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her give up. The more she thought about it, the less she regretted spilling wine over him. He was a jerk that deserved it.

It took her about an hour to get back to the Blackwood mansion. She got there in time to meet the other art students from her university. For some reason, they all stood outside his gate, but she was grateful she wasn't going to enter alone. When she got closer, she spotted a familiar face.

"Neo!" she called out to him, relieved that she saw someone she could speak freely to.

Neo's face lit up when he saw her running towards him, also relieved he found his girl in the midst of all the strangers. They shared a brief hug when Lily got to where he stood.

"Why is everybody outside?" Lily asked in a whisper when she pulled away.

"No idea," Neo shrugged. "He said he'll let us in when he's satisfied."

Lily opened her mouth to speak when the giant steel gates opened. "Well, what do you know?" Neo whispered as he and Lily glanced at each other with a smile.

"All of you," all the students raised their heads when they heard a loud voice coming from in front of the gate. "Form a straight line."

Slowly, but steadily, they all did as they were told, forming a long line that stretched out into the road outside the mansion. Thankfully, to the left of the road was a dead end and to the right was the way out of the Blackwood mansion. It was only in use if cars needed to go in or out of the mansion.

Neo stayed behind Lily as the line started to slowly move. From the side, Lily noticed Asher stood at the front of the line. He was handing the students what seemed to be plastic ID cards. "ID cards." she whispered to Neo behind her, who nodded in response. Regardless of her earlier boost of confidence, Lily began to get nervous as the line reduced, inching towards her turn. She knew there was no escaping. Painstakingly, she counted until just one person stood in between her and Asher.

From the corner of his eyes, Asher noticed Lily behind the pretty looking girl he was giving an ID card. She had changed her dress, but she was late. He wanted to make sure he saw that she returned and so he made everyone stand outside. When he saw her from the camera's, running up to the same male friend that spoke to him at the university, he directed for the gates to be opened.

Finally, it was Lily's turn to walk up to Asher. She quietly took a deep breath as she moved her legs towards him. Asher saw the hesitation in her eyes as she approached him. He took her ID card from the bulky man beside him, dangling it in front of her. Lily took the card Asher before her, attempting to walk away when she noticed he held on to it.

"You're late," Asher hissed, staring at her with piercing eyes.

Lily shot him an equally fierce gaze, gripping the rope hanging from the ID. "I wouldn't have been if you didn't ruin my first outfit." her low tone of disdain took Asher by surprise.

What shocked him further was when she dragged the ID out of his hold, walking away without uttering another word. As anger boiled inside him, happiness bubbled inside Lily. She was proud of herself for not cowering in his face while he was furious at himself for allowing her to disrespect him on his own property. Either way, both of them carried on with their activities.

Asher finished handing out IDs to all the students. There were thirty of them. He directed that the gates be closed before walking into his home. Neo reconnected with Lily, excitedly holding her hand as all thirty of them were led in. Followed by bodyguards on each side, the students were welcomed by a big empty hall. Lily immediately recognized the space from nights ago, when she was trying to convince Joan to leave after she had poured wine on Asher.

Just like that night, Asher made his way up the stairs. When he was significantly high up the cases, he turned to address the murmuring crowd. He noticed Lily chattering with her friend and it made his blood boil.

"Excuse me,"

He didn't make an effort to be loud but he was sure they heard him. As expected, everywhere became silent. When Lily noticed the silence that was sweeping through the small crowd, she also fell silent. Her eyes looked at everything, but Asher who was at the top of the stairs.

"Thirty of you have been selected for my art opportunity," Asher continued when he was satisfied he had their attention.

"Not because I'm convinced you have significant art skills or anything, but because you're slightly more interesting than the others," Lily rolled her eyes at how condescending Asher's tone was.

"Consider this a test, a training, one that will last for a year. If at any time during this period, I decide that I don't want to see your face anymore, you're gone and it'll be like you were never even here."

Asher paused to let his message sink in. Small gasps circled through the crowd. People took her hands to cover their gaping mouths. Lily and Neo share a quick glance before turning their attention back to Asher. Lily knew he meant every word he said, but that wasn't going to stop her from standing up to him when she needed to.

When Asher was satisfied the small crowd had gotten the message, he cleared his throat to begin again. "Your first test begins today," he announced, making his way down the staircases.

"Follow me," he instructed when he arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

With dead silence hanging in the air, punctuated by the sound of shoes slamming softly against the glass tiles of the Blackwood mansion, all thirty students walked behind Asher. He led them to two big doors that gave way into a large room. Lily's eyes widened at the sight of what the room contained. Hundreds of painting materials, from paint brushes, to easels, to canvases, to palettes and colors of all kinds. It was an artist's heaven.

The excitement of the students replaced the nervous silence that hung in the air. They awed as their eyes scanned the large room. Asher cared less, to not at all, about how they felt. They were here to work and he was going to make sure they did just that. When he was more than halfway into the room, he turned to address them again. The first thing he noticed was the broad grin on Lily's cheerful face. A smile that bothered him.

"Your first test is to paint, anything of your choosing," Asher announced, calling back the attention of the excited crowd.

"Make sure your work has all the qualities of a good painting, and make it your best work yet." he paused to glance at his watch. "Everyone pick up an easel," he instructed in a casual tone.

Just when the crowd was about to get moving he turned to Lily. "Everyone except Lily," he muttered coldly.

Lily and Asher instantly shared glances. He looked at her with unfazed eyes, while she gave him a puzzling stare. It didn't matter at all to Asher how she felt about him, whatever she felt for him has been felt before.

"Excuse me?" Lily blurted, breaking the deafening silence that had swept across the entire crowd.

Her deep tone suggested she was not at all amused by Asher's instruction. "You heard me," Asher replied in a flat tone.

He walked through the small path created by everyone in the room giving way, making his way towards Lily. Not once did her eyes leave his, glaring at him with disdain. "Your first test is to clean up after your mates." he whispered without emotion.

Lily stared at him blankly. She was too stunned to speak. She watched him give her a satisfactory smile, looking intensely at her. For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of them in the room. A stunned Lily and a satisfied Asher.

"Everybody else carry on."

His commanding voice restored noise to the room as everyone scrambled for painting materials. Asher took one last look at Lily's displeased face. Just as Lily opened her mouth to speak, he turned to walk away.

"F*ck!ng bastard!" Lily cursed under her breath as Asher walked out the doors with a smile on his face.