Kira gave me a half-assed grin before doing me the honor of giving her version of a grand tour. “Well, if you want me to get into the specifics: in the middle, we have three lovely sculptures of a woman, each with one-word titles that spell out the sentence: ’You. Are. Loved.’ Against the wall, we can see multiple paintings of a naked woman surrounded by rose petals, a knit blanket, and her back facing the audience, each with its own color scheme and theme. Spoiler: The tattoo on her back also includes the sentence ’You are loved.’” She began, and my eyes followed her hand as it gestured to the wall.
“On one wall, we can see multiple photographs of the woman alone as well as being caressed by a man. I’m sure the monochrome theme was achieved with each of these. Suspended from the ceiling are hundreds of hanging white roses that really tie in with the different colors of the painting by making them pop and giving a more mystical feeling overall.”
She beamed as she gazed back at me. “And my favorite piece? My absolute favorite is the floor canvas painting currently under our feet covered by a glass layer entitled ’Our Masterpiece,’ which depicts the tentative, passionate lovemaking of a forbidden couple using their bodies, paint, and nothing else.”
I could only look at the display in absolute horror. Beckham wasn’t just exposing our affair. He was putting his love, hisobsession, on display for the world to see. Formeto see.
“Kira, tell me you’re joking,” I whispered.
She shook her head. “Well, I can’t because that’s exactly what the description of the art is. See, it says it right here.” She pointed to the description of the ground art by the entrance.
I shook my head in disbelief. “This is not happening.”
“Oh, it certainly is, and unfortunately, we cannot close off this part of the exhibit because he will cancel the event… I’m sure you can see why I was a bit freaked out in the beginning. You’re definitely feeling it a bit more, I suppose.”
I covered my face with my hands. “I’m doomed.”
Kira scoffed before her hands found mine and pulled them from my face.
“Today is the big day, and you are not doomed. Do you understand me? So what if he depicted his obsession for you in art and displayed it for the world to see? The good thing about this is no one will ever know it’s you. Your face is nowhere to be seen.”
I nodded weakly. Turning eyes back onto Beckham’s display, I found the titles of the three sculptures Kira had gestured at first. My face paled.
“You are loved…” I read.
But that wasn’t all I was focused on.
Kira’s eyes went wide as we both looked over to the large painting that depicted my tattooperfectly.
“If Gavin sees this, he’ll know it’s me!”
Kira gave me a look. “You haven’t had sex with Gavin in, what, like three years? He’s got to have forgotten that by now!”
“Kira, we sleep in the same fucking bed, share the same bathroom, and let’s not forget he’s my husband!” I seethed angrily.
She stared dumbfoundedly at me. “Oh shit, you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right! Gavin can not see this!”
“Did he say he was coming, or when?” Kira asked.
I shook my head. “I can only assume he’ll be here after his lunch. The event is only for a few hours.”
“Then when he comes, I’ll stall him.”
Rubbing my temples, I shook my head. “Kira, let’s be serious about this.”
“Rose, I am totally serious. While I make the rounds, I’ll have security keep an eye out for his car. When he comes, I’ll make sure he never even makes it to the second floor. You, on the other hand, focus on selling this place as if your life depends on it. And maybe stay far away from this room so no comparisons can be drawn between you and the woman in the paintings.”
“This will never work, Kira…” I whispered. But it was our only plan, so I had to accept it, madly hopeless though it felt.
Kira said, “Unless you want me to go slash his tires before the event starts, this is what we’re working with.”
I sighed, knowing better than to protest or contradict Kira on a mission.This was going to be an absolute shitshow.
“Welcome, welcome, thank you for coming. Please enjoy.” I smiled at a few guests as they began migrating up the stairs and migrated to the showrooms. Servers roamed with glasses of champagne and hors d’oeuvres.
We’d made three sales in the first hour. Despite everything else weighing on me, I felt good.
