Besides, for all of Nicolette’s faults, shehad some good traits too. She allowed Aida to show her photographson occasion, and Aida had been here pretty much since the day shearrived in Boston. It had started as an unpaid internship while incollege, but after she graduated, Nicolette offered her a paidposition.
What she made barely covered her share of therent, and it didn’t feed her, but she had a job most people onlydreamed about, and she showed her work sometimes. She was livingthe dream. She may not have known it was the dream in her teens,but she’d figured it out in her twenties, and no matter how crazyNicolette made her and how much she struggled to pay her bills, shewasn’t going to let it go.
Thankfully, she supplemented her pay byselling some of her photos and doing some photoshoots forlesser-known magazines. She also booked headshots for aspiringmodels and actors a few times a month. Hopefully, in a few years,she could support herself by selling her photographs and workingthe art gallery, but until then, the magazines kept her fed andclothed.
“It looks amazing,” Owen said as he emergedfrom the left hall.
From the main room, two hallways split off.The main room was always white, but sometimes the halls would bedifferent colors or splashed with paint. For the past few months,and for this showing, the halls matched the pristine white of themain gallery.
Owen stopped and smiled at his paintings onthe walls. He was the hottest new artist in the city; every gallerywas vying to show his work, and he was extremely conceited aboutit. Nicolette scored this opportunity because he interned here whenAida started at the gallery. Even with all his arrogance, he didn’tforget those who helped him get where he was, and Nicolette was hisbiggest supporter when no one knew his name.
His good looks only added to his arrogance.With his shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes, he was very awaremany women found him intriguing. Once they learned he was an artisttoo, they practically threw themselves at him.
Aida had no idea what she was thinking whenshe agreed to go out on her first date with him, never mind herthird. She must have been a glutton for punishment, but by the endof the third date, she realized she wasn’t enough of a masochist toagree to a fourth date.
Unfortunately, he didn’t takenowelland still asked about date number four.
“Don’t get used to it,” she said. “Nicolettewill have me change it in the morning.”
He stopped in front of her. “I don’tunderstand why you stay here.”
Aida returned her attention to the paintingshe’d been inspecting. Stepping forward, she adjusted it so the redrowboat in the center was more directly beneath the light focusedon it. When she shifted it, the colors of the storm-tossed sea cameinto more vivid detail.
She blinked when she spotted the tiny threadsinterwoven throughout the waves. Instead of paint, they’d been usedto make the waves stand out more and brought out the colors of thesea.
He really was talented; it was too bad he wasalso a giant asshole.
“It’s truly beautiful,” she said as shestepped back to stand beside him.
“I know.”
Of course, he did.
“You should quit this place,” he said. “Anygallery would jump at the opportunity to hire you.”
That was a lie, and they both knew it. Shewould never say she wasn’t talented or didn’t know her stuff, andshe definitely had an eye for organizing the showings in the bestpossible way, but no one was jumping for her when they hadboatloads of applicants.
“Nicolette isn’t so bad,” she said.
He ran a hand through his hair and gave her alopsided grin that flashed his perfect teeth and made his eyestwinkle. She swore he practiced it in the mirror.
“She’s a bitch, but I love her,” he said.
She smiled at him, but turned away when herstomach rumbled. She wanted to get this finished so she could go tothe bar and eat. Images of biting into one of their thick, juicycheeseburgers filled her head.
She didn’t make it more than two steps beforehe rested his hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him. Aidastiffened beneath his touch. Before her captivity, she hadn’texactly welcomed the unexpected touch of another. After herimprisonment, her first instinct was to punch, kick, and scream herhead off. She could always ask questions later.
Grinding her teeth together, she forcedherself to smile. It felt more like a grimace, but it didn’t deterhim as he brushed a strand of hair over her shoulder. She tried toshrug off his hand, but he kept a firm hold on her.
I will not hit him even if he is asking forit.
“You’re extremely talented, Aida,” he said.“The two of us would make a spectacular team. Not only do you havean amazing eye for displaying shows, but your photographs arespectacular.”
I will not roll my eyes. I will not rollmy eyes.“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
He grinned at her, and before he couldrespond, she tugged her shoulder free from his grasp and strolledacross the pale wood floor. The sound of her boots clicking againstthe floor rebounded throughout the room and off the thick woodbeams stretching across the white ceiling.
It was all so elegant and matched Nicolette’smodern yet simple style. Her boss was a pain in the ass, but shehad fantastic taste and a passion for discovering and promoting newartists that made her the big hope for every starving artist in thecity.
