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“We were just talking about her ex, I kid you not,” I said. “But is the space nice?”
Blu cackled. “Why don’t you go check it out? I’d like your opinion.”
Leaving Smith and Sumner in my office, I headed for the elevator while still on the phone with Blu. We needed a new space fast, and if it was as nice as he said, it would be perfect.
I flagged a cab to head downtown. Yeah, I wanted to see the gallery, but that wasn’t the only reason I was going. I’d been curious as hell about the beautiful woman everyone had been talking about at the party. What might I learn about her, myself?
Naturally, the gallery was on a fashionable street in the Soho neighborhood, long known for its celebrity sightings and galleries showcasing the city’s up and coming artists. I walked into the sprawling space Blu had given me the address for, and a bell jingled, announcing my arrival.
A tall woman with long black hair came to greet me.
Damn. She’d looked nice from across the lawn, but in person, she was stunning.
“Hello. May I help you with something today?”
So far, so good. “Hi. I’m Ashera Singh. I wanted to visit the gallery. You and I have actually met before.”
She broke into a gorgeous smile that almost brought me to my knees. I knew she must have been going through hell, and yet, she was as poised as anyone I’d ever seen.
“Right. I saw you at that party in the Hamptons.” Something sad flashed across her face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “Would you like to have a look around, then?”
Not pushy. I liked that.
“I would…but I have another reason for being here.”
Her eyebrows raised. “You do?”
Might as well get right to the point. “A friend of yours, Blu Baker, is one of my partners in our party promotion company. He suggested I take a look at your gallery to rent for our events.” I kept it vague. Who knew if he’d told her exactly what kind of parties we threw?
But it quickly became evident that he had, because her face changed from pink to red in about five seconds. And damn if that didn’t get my imagination racing.
“Right! Right, we talked about that. I’m not sure, though—”
“Ms. Crane, did he explain to you that each time we used your location, your cut of the revenues would be somewhere around one hundred thousand dollars?”
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
He had not told her that part, it seemed.
“Ms. Crane, is there somewhere we could sit and talk?”
The poor woman looked faint.
“Oh yes, I’m sorry. Where are my manners? Please come to my office.”
I followed her tight dress and fuck me pumps up some stairs to a loft, where her office was tucked into a corner. She sat at her desk and motioned for me to take the chair opposite.
“Now, what were you saying, um…”
“Ashera. You can call me Ash.”
“Oh, right. And you can call me Avril.”
“Pretty name,” I said.
“It’s French for April,” she said.
I actually already knew that but didn’t say anything. “Cool. So Blu told you about our Kink Lab parties, then?”
