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Miguel’s phone started ringing and he excused himself to take his call outside. I turned to look for the next artwork to move to when my eyes caught Valentina’s face near a painting, talking to a group of women.
When the group left her, I started walking towards her and then she was met by another man who took some time speaking to her. She constantly kept smiling at everything he was saying which made me wonder what their conversation was about. I felt something I did not understand prick my chest as I watched her smile at this man. Immediately he left, I quickly walked to her before someone else came to talk to her.
She had turned and was walking away when I called her name, “Valentina.”
Chapter9
Valentina
The days building up to the exhibition I had been planning were really busy, and my staff and I were working tirelessly to put everything in place. Our hall was fixed and ready. We took out some time to think of the positioning of the artworks. Most of my works were not for sale, so we decided to hang them towards the entrance to pique the viewers' interest.
We curated a list of people we wanted there. The list varied from prominent businessmen and women to popular artists, to our regular customers and potential ones. After that activity was complete, we went shopping for souvenir items and then proceeded to print and send out physical invitations. There were online invitations sent out too. The whole process was tedious but it was worth it as the gallery was quickly packed with people on the exhibition day. My heart was so full with joy because I’d never had an exhibition that was this big.
The previous ones had been successful to me at the time but they had never been this big. The wine we purchased for the event wasn’t going to be enough for the number of people who showed up. James quickly had to run to a nearby store to purchase more wine.
The artworks were selling quickly. Some people were asking and making inquiries on how to purchase my own work. They were being redirected to my website to make their purchases. I had someone tell me he would buy all of my work out of excitement. I was happy.
A group of women approached me and asked if they could commission a painting and some artwork for their wellness center. I told them it would be possible but we would need to sit down later and iron out a few details before work can begin. They accepted and we exchanged contact details before they moved on to enjoy their evening.
Another man approached me. He thanked me for putting this all together and making it an amazing first date for him and the woman he was trying to woo. He went on to tell me how the woman he came with was having so much fun and that made him know that she’d never forget him in such a hurry. I smiled throughout his compliments and when he was done, he joined his date.
The shoe on my leg was beginning to pinch my toes as I’d been standing all day and I wanted to go take them off and get into something a bit more comfortable. I turned and was heading into the hallway that led to my office when I heard my name in that deep baritone voice that was etched in my memory.
“Valentina.”
I turned and was face to face with Leon. He looked handsome in his suit and his dark hair shone in the light of the room. His chin was now covered in a full, healthy-looking beard that was not there three years ago. I had to say something before looking at him became weird.
“This city must not be as big as I thought for us to keep running into each other like this,” I said, sounding and acting annoyed.
“That doesn’t feel like a problem to me. I don’t mind running into this pretty face of yours.” He said, licking his lips and bringing the glass of wine in his hands up to his lips.
I rolled my eyes at his flirtatious actions. This wasn’t the time for this and I definitely wasn’t in the mood for it. Besides, being around him made me feel so self-conscious and worried. I found that I still found him really attractive but I couldn’t give into any of his flirting because I had to think about my child. I couldn’t vouch for his character, and I wouldn’t want a stranger around Ava because she was still in her formative years.
“I didn’t think you were this big of an artist. I mean, look at what you’ve put together here,” he said.
“Thank you,” I responded. There was a hint of surprise on his face. It was quickly masked and he returned to his normal self.
“Are you busy after this? We could go somewhere and have decent wine. Not to sound mean but this is not great.” He chuckled, raising the glass of wine in his hand.
“I’ll be busy and tired,” I said.
“I see.” He responded. “Maybe some other time then.”
“Yes, some other time.”
LEON
From the moment Valentina turned and saw my face, her countenance changed. She wasn’t smiling or looking as polite as she was with the other people I had seen her speak to. Her face had a cold expression on it and it got worse with her responses. They were cold and it surprised me.
I knew that it’d been three years since we last had contact with one another but I was surprised at the passive nature in which she was relating with me. What must have happened within those years to make her so cold towards me? I was expecting her to be a bit more excited to see me after all this time. Or maybe that night wasn’t as good to her as I thought it was to me.
Was she mad because I fell asleep immediately after the sex? I wondered if to explain to her that I was exhausted from all the work I had been doing. It would be awkward to bring that up after all this time but what if she was still mad about it?
Her reaction bothered me, and I wasn’t sure I was doing a good job of hiding it.
Chapter10
Valentina
