“And it’s time for you to focus on your art, D. Your sculptures are too beautiful not to be featured.”
Davide’s mouth shut, pressing in a firm line. His eyes took on the shine of tears as he cleared his throat. “Are you the reason I have a showing in New York?”
Marcus shrugged and tucked his hands in his pockets. “Yes and no. I have the piece you gave me for my birthday last year in my apartment in New York. Talia came by to select some photographs for her gallery up there. When she saw it, she wouldn’t leave me alone about it, pestering me for your name and email. Your phone number. Where she could see more of your work. I thought she was going to tase and hogtie me so she could walk out with the sculpture. She was that in love with it.”
Once again, Davide was silent as he stared at Marcus. Seeing his shocked and hopeful expression, I forgot all about Elijah and the fact that he was less than five feet from me.
Before Davide could compose himself, Marcus continued, “But I knew you wouldn’t leave this place without a damn good incentive. And since I was looking to put down some roots, I decided to kill two birds with one sculpture.”
Davide scoffed at the way Marcus changed the figure of speech. “I don’t know what to say,” he finally stated.
“How about you start by giving my cousin the lay of the land,” Marcus said, nudging Elijah with his elbow. “Since he’s going to be taking over for you until Grier’s ready for the job.”
A high-pitched ringing started in my ears, growing louder and louder with each uneven breath I took.
What?
Marcus turned to me, grinning as though he had no idea about the bomb he’d just dropped on me.
I realized I’d asked the question out loud when he answered me, “Elijah will be the interim manager until you’re fully trained to manage the gallery. He’s worked in galleries before, so he knows a lot already.”
Oblivious to the devastation his words had left behind, Marcus turned back to Davide and guided him away as he asked him questions about his upcoming show in New York.
Holy. Shit. This had to be a nightmare.
I couldn’t help it. I looked up at Elijah and found him staring down at me from the other side of my desk, his hands in his pockets as he rocked back and forth on his heels.
Nope. It was real. The guy I’d all but fallen in love with but who didn’t want anything more serious than a booty call was now going to be my boss. I had no idea what I’d done in my past life to deserve this, but it must have been really, really bad. My chest ached and small starbursts of light appeared at the edges of my vision. This couldn’t be happening.
“Are you okay, Grier?” Elijah asked.
I stared at him blankly, unable to gather my thoughts enough to answer. The paralysis broke when he took a step to the side, as though he intended to come around the desk toward me.
In a panic, I popped up to my feet. “I’m fine,” I answered. My voice was high and thin. “Excuse me, please.”
I fled toward the ladies’ room at the rear of the gallery space, my heels clicking a rapid staccato on stained concrete floor. Once the door was shut and locked behind me, I staggered over to the sink and leaned my palms on the counter, letting my head fall forward as I tried to catch my breath.
I was fucked. So fucked. I couldn’t quit. I didn’t have enough savings to do it. Any extra money I had went toward my student loans. I was finally starting to get the balance paid down. At this rate, I would have them paid off by the time I was thirty-two.
I could look for another job, but it would reflect badly on me. I’d only been working at the gallery for just under three months. They would want to know why I was leaving. I had no idea how I would explain that I couldn’t stay because I was half in love with my new boss because we’d had a month-long fling before he actually became my boss. That would look even worse.
My stomach twisted. What in the hell was I going to do? I couldn’t kid myself. I was going to have to endure this. At least until I’d been here for a year. Maybe if I could stick it out long enough, Elijah would be gone, and I would be in charge. My next inhale was shaky, but I released it in a slow, steady stream. I had no choice. I had to do this.
I grabbed a paper towel and dampened it with cold water, squeezing it out the excess. I placed it on the nape of my neck, allowing the coolness to seep into my skin and calm me. I’d done a lot of things in my life because I’d had no choice. This was just one more thing.
Once my system calmed, I tossed the wet paper towel in the trash and checked my make-up in the mirror. My lip stain was holding strong, and my eyeliner hadn’t budged even though I’d been close to crying earlier.
Other than a tiny bit of redness on the edges of my eyes, I looked absolutely normal. The emotional upheaval wasn’t obvious on my face, thank God.
After another deep breath, I moved to the door and opened it. And immediately stopped again. Elijah leaned against the wall opposite of the door, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes cast down to the floor. He looked up when the door opened, those piercing eyes seeing straight through the calm façade I’d just collected.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “I’m fine. Did you need the room?” I asked, stepping out into the hall.
He shook his head. “You seemed upset.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you today, much less learn that you’re going to be my boss for the foreseeable future. I’m not really upset. Just surprised.”
