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“I’m sorry all these reviews are saying the same recycled things. Seems like you have a target on your back.”
“You think?”
She folds her arms against her chest as I peer at the heavily artistic walls.
“This place looks like a museum itself,” I note.
“Tell me about it. They’re good, right?” She bites down on her lip almost as hard as I want to bite on it.
“Incredible. Wouldn’t expect anything less when you’re their teacher.”
“Well, that was sweet, but I can’t take all the credit. In some ways, Teresa and my other teachers deserve more credit. I’m just the bones, creating necessary space so they all can flourish.”
I smile at her words as they are as honest as she’s always been.
“I was around the corner with Arturo.”
I watch as a grimace comes and goes across her face.
“Okay?”
“I have some news that may be disappointing to hear.”
“What?” Her face nearly shatters.
I slide my hands into my shorts pockets and sigh.
“Simon Bell is working with your brothers.”
“Do you have proof?”
“Not concrete, but Arturo told me so.”
“You want me to believe a Matani?”
“You sound like your brothers.”
“Yes, well…what makes you say this?”
“When was the last you spoke to him?”
“He’s in town. For what, I don’t know, but it has nothing to do with art.”
“You seen him?”
“He stopped by here yesterday. Tried to come onto me. Really threw me through a loop, and, um…he knows we aren’t really dating, and he claims mostly everyone knows that. Including Panther Duke, who told me himself at the dinner party after the opening. I assumed it was his genuine intuition, but after talking with Simon…it seems like everyone may know.”
Her face tightens up before I spot tears. Without overthinking, I pull her into an embrace. Her body is light and tender in my arms as she releases her pain onto my chest.
“I… don’t know anymore, Alex. I don’t know who to trust or what to do or anything. It’s like, why do I have anything to complain about, but at the same time, there is so much to complain about. I guess I’m trying to find the space to be upset and hurt without thinking I’m too privileged to be able to feel this way.”
Those words hit home. Anyone looking at my bank account or the status of my name, or the size of my museum would cut their eyes at my own personal problems. Interesting how much people think when money is plenty, a tear shouldn’t be present. Little do they know, too many of us with money have the biggest problems.
“You can let go with me. I won’t judge a single thing you do.”
“Alex…I can’t help but believe you’re telling the truth. You don’t need proof. Simon literally came in a couple hours before my brothers did yesterday. Of course, this is all a setup, but the biggest thing is how much breaking my deal with Simon is going to impact my students. He has big promises for them. So big that I haven’t had enough faith in his promises to tell them the plan.”
“You should be rejoicing at how smart of a choice you made.”
