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My eyelids fluttered. She looked genuinely excited and I knew how well connected she was. “Well…I have been worried about no one showing up.”
“Are you kidding me? Your work is sensational. Leave it with me.”
I frowned, unsure of her motive, or if she had one at all. “Thank you, Melanie.”
She waved me off and grinned. “Oh, this is what I do best. I have one condition though…”
“What’s that?” I asked curiously.
“I want to be in it.”
“Huh?”
“I want a photo of me in the exhibition.” A sparkle appeared in her eye. “We could do a photoshoot.”
As much as I didn’t want to spend any more time with this woman, I couldn’t help but be infected by her buzz. She definitely had a way about her that drew you in, and it wasn’t just her beauty. Perhaps I’d been too quick to judge.
“Okay,” I said warily. “Let’s do it.”
Just days later, Melanie called me into her office as I made my way to the lunchroom to meet Amy.
“I want to show you something,” she said, waving me over. “My designer friend in LA put this together for me. What do you think?” She handed over an elegant invitation to an upmarket art exhibition and grinned.
My eyes grew large when I read my name in the heading. “Oh my god, is this for my show?”
Melanie giggled. “Yes, silly. I told you I know all the right people. I’ve also made a spreadsheet of everyone who is anyone in New York, and we’re inviting them all.”
Panic surged through my body. “Oh, I can’t afford that,” I said, grimacing. “Maybe we could just print…like…twenty or something?”
“Don’t worry about the money, I have it sorted.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
Melanie scrunched up her nose. “Of course you can.”
I was about to disagree when Amy popped her head in the door. “You coming to lunch?”
“Um…yeah. I’ll be there in a sec.” I glanced back at Melanie’s falling face, but she disguised her disappointment with a tight smile. “Would you like to join us? I’d like to hear what else you have planned.”
Her face brightened. “I would love that.”
“Awesome,” Amy said, smiling. “But you’ll need to move fast before Simon pollutes the lunch room with his cat food salad.”
From that day on, Melanie joined us at our lunch table. She quietly listened to the banter between our work mates, but rarely joined in. Some may have taken this as snobbery, but the more I observed her, the more I realised she was uncomfortable around them. And when it all got too much, she escaped into her phone.
Once our lunch break ended and the room cleared, Melanie exhaled and turned to us. “So, your invites were delivered this morning.”
“Really?” I squeaked. I never squeak. “Can I see them?”
“Sure, but they’re at the apartment. I was actually wondering if you guys would like to come over tomorrow night and help me stuff envelopes?” Her cell phone pinged and she looked down to read the message.
I glanced at Amy and her eyes widened.
“We can make a night out of it,” Melanie added while she rapidly typed. “Order some take out, watch a movie…” She lifted her gaze. “I have plenty of wine.”
“I…I dunno…” My voice caught in my throat.
Melanie’s smile faltered. “It’s Saturday night, of course you’ve already got plans,” she muttered while her cheeks grew pink.
