We ate the treats in silence and finished our cappuccinos. It wasn’t until we were done that I asked the question I should have asked immediately.
“Who bought the gallery? Anyone I’ve met since I’ve been here.”
“An LLC bought me out, but I don’t know the owner’s name. They intend to hire a manager to take my place, but that’s subject to our approval.”
“Our approval?” I asked, frowning. “You and the new owner?”
“No, you and me. If we can’t find anyone, the new owner will come onboard in the meantime and take over the role. Once I’m gone, you’ll have the final say on who they hire.” He paused. “I tried to talk them into making you the manager, which they were interested in doing, but because you haven’t been here long enough…”
I understood. And I was relieved. If I had more experience, I would have been excited by the idea, but I knew that I had a lot more to learn before I was ready for that responsibility.
“The good news is that they would prefer to promote you when you have more experience. It sounds like the company wants to expand the gallery. Maybe even open up some other locations. If that happens, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to grow and learn.”
My heart thumped with excitement for the first time since he made his announcement. I wouldn’t be stuck as an assistant forever. I might even be able to manage more than one gallery at some point. Surely, they would need someone experienced to keep an eye on all their locations if they had more than one? I wouldn’t be qualified…yet. But in a few years? It would definitely be something I could do.
“You don’t look scared anymore,” Davide observed.
“I wasn’t scared,” I retorted.
“Could have fooled me. Your eyes were huge.”
“I was sad you were leaving me and trying not to cry.”
I said it with a teasing tone, even though it was the truth.
“Ha! More like trying not to cry tears of joy that you don’t have to listen to me complain about the artists I deal with.”
I shrugged. “I’m willing to tolerate a few flaws in my bosses.”
He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Well, hopefully you’ll get to pick a good boss the next time.”
I patted his leg. “I already picked a good boss. But I wouldn’t be opposed to a better one.”
Laughter burst out of me, and I flinched back when he smacked my knee.
“Seriously, though. I’m happy for you, Davide. You’re so talented. I’m glad you’re pursuing your passion.”
A flush worked across his cheeks. “It’s terrifying.”
I put my hand over his where it rested on his leg. “I know. But it’ll be worth it.”
“Remind me of that when you come to my show, will you?”
“Oh, I’m invited to New York?”
He turned his hand over and squeezed my fingers. “Of course you are. You’re my voice of reason. I’ll need you to talk me off the ledge.”
“Figuratively or literally?”
“Probably both.”
I could do that.
Chapter Thirteen
The paperwork for the sale of the gallery went through quickly. Davide met with the attorneys and signed the papers a week after he told me he was selling. He would remain the acting manager for the next two months. It would be cutting it close to create enough pieces for his showing, but he said he would manage it.
He reached out to several people he knew in the art world, but no one was willing to leave their current position to run the gallery. After several fruitless weeks of job postings and interviews, Davide reached out to the new owners via email, explaining the issue. They said they would send someone to act as an interim manager and take over his duties in the gallery until I could be trained to run the place. The new position would also come with a raise once my training and probationary periods were over.
