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“Hello,” he laughed, and her heart swelled, because she loved the sound of his laugh, almost as much as she loved him. “It’s more of a favour, really.”
That had her pausing. “A favour?” She opened the door wider, but didn’t move.
“The art in the vault,” he nodded.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and you were right. It shouldn’t be hidden away in storage. Those are priceless, very old pieces, many of which have been in private collections for centuries.”
She shook her head, bemused that she was so lucky as to have seen them.
“I’ve spoken to the family. We would like to open a gallery.”
“Oh!” She clasped her hands together. “That’s such a wonderful idea. You already have several galleries’ worth of masterpieces.”
“I have spent many very pleasurable hours listening to you talk about art, about colour and pigmentation and preserving and canvas stretching, framing and oils. Your passion is obvious. I cannot think of anyone better to help curate the selection.”
Her stomach swooshed and her lips parted. “What exactly do you mean?”
“You’d be a coordinator,” he said. “Reporting directly to the main gallery curator.”
She stared at him as if he’d just sprouted three heads, but reality—and pride—quickly came back into focus. “That’s very kind of you, Anastasios, but surely you know me well enough to know I could never accept that kind of offer.”
“Hear me out. This would be a one-year contract. If you don’t like it, you can resign, no hard feelings.”
“Yeah, but it’s still nepotism, or whatever,” she said with a shake of her head. “You’re giving me this job because you feel bad about what happened between us, or because you feel sorry for me because of my mountain of debt, and I don’t want charity.”
“This isn’t charity, and it’s not because I love you, it’s because you’re brilliant at this, and I want you to be a part of it. It was your idea.”
His words might have warmed her if she’d been at all capable of focusing on them, but her heart was doing the most ridiculous, fast beating and her lungs were expelling every bit of air so she felt hot and woozy.
“What did you say?”
“You know how I feel about you,” he brushed that aside. “That’s not why I’m offering you this. In fact, you’d have to meet with the curator and interview formally for the position. Once you start, you’ll have nothing to do with me. My family would own the gallery—my brothers, and my mother. My own part in it would be insignificant. If it would make you accept the role, I would step back from any involvement whatsoever”
Her heart was growing, bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger and she felt the truth of his words and the beauty of his offer all at once. More than that, she felt the future shimmering right before her, a future she’d almost lost because of fear, that she was in danger of destroying altogether.
“Where would the gallery be?”
“We’re still scouting locations. Greece is the sentimental favourite.” He leaned closer. “I know that’s hardly convenient, given that you live in London, but our corporation has excellent relocation packages available. You’d have accommodation organised for the first three months, while you settled in.”
“I see,” she nodded, pretending to think about it. “And would you be based in Greece as well?”
He eyed her warily, as if assessing what she might want. “I can be anywhere,” he said after a beat. “If you were to turn down the offer, I’d probably spend more time in London.”
“Ah. Why?”
“I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that.”
Her heart thundered. “I like hearing you say it though.”
“Are you enjoying my torment?” He queried, with the ghost of a smile. With a smile that spoke not of happiness but of ruination, of doubt, and she understand that for all the power he wielded to hurt her, she held that same power within her hands. She couldn’t exercise it though. Not any longer.
“Sort of,” she lifted a hand to his chest and felt his own heart rushing to pump blood through his body. “Just a little.” Their eyes connected and a jolt of surety passed between them. “Do you promise this is based on merit?”
“Do you really need to ask that? You’re a walking art encyclopaedia and if you’d ever had the opportunity to pursue it, you’d be running your own gallery by now. I want you to have your dreams, but not because I don’t think you’ll find your own way to them, just because you deserve them now.” He hesitated. “I know that’s what he wanted too. He wanted to make up for the cards you’d been dealt, because he understood what you were up against.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I know that.” She forced her gaze to Anastasios’, needing him to understand. “But he also knew why it was important to me to succeed on my own, just as he had.”
