“Where can I find you online?”
“Gregory Dickerson. I’m on the Google.”
I yell my thanks as I take off down the sidewalk, H.Y. the furthest thing from my mind.
Fifteen minutes and two phone calls later, I burst into Amantha’s office with a side cramp and slap my phone onto her desk. She looks up from her wedding magazine. Her gray eyes widen as I buckle over with my hands on my knees. I point at the picture I took.
“Gregory,” I pant, “Dickerson.”
She tucks back her chin and frowns. “Gregory who?”
I collapse into the chair and wriggle out of my cream overcoat. “He’s a street artist, Amantha.Street art.” I flip each long french braid over my shoulder. “There are countless murals all over the cityrightnow.”
“Okay?”
“Building managers commission them, and most own the reproduction rights. I made a few calls on my way here and asked what they would charge for a reproduction of their murals.Amantha. It would cost pennies compared to what you would need to pay to ship theAmsterdam pieces. One even offered to donate his reproduction for free.”
Lines crease her forehead. “You want to transport murals for my exhibition?”
“Not transport.Photograph. We could print reproductions of the murals all over the city, almost like a contemporary street art tour of Chicago in one place. As long as we contact whoever owns the rights and settle on a price, the exhibition costs would really come down to materials and marketing.”
Amantha’s eyes grow big. “Kate. Kaaaaaate.” She stands and paces the tiny office in two steps. Her gray sweater is rumpled, her ponytail messy like she overslept her alarm. “This could be Stirling 2.0! Fresh and trendy. Do you think Kendra will go for it?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I say.
We beeline to Kendra, who is wrapping up a call at her desk. Her face-lift bun is especially tight today, and the crisp, jeweled collar of her white shirt looks every bit as stiff.
“Amantha, Kate. What can I do for you?”
Amantha bites her lip and twists tiny pinches of her skirt between her fingers. “Kate had an idea for my exhibition. It’s cost effective and may just fit within the budget cuts. It would also attract the same younger demographic we networked with Stirling last year.”
She tells Kendra the gist of the plan, and it’s like Kendra’s dark eyes glaze over with dollar signs.
“Do you think you can have a rough sketch of what you’ll need in a week? We are on a tight deadline as it is, and if you overhaul your previous plans…” Kendra tsks. “The latest I could push the exhibition date would be April.”
Amantha shoots me a worried look but nods. “It’s close to the wedding, but I can make that work. Hopefully we can get materials to marketing sooner than?—”
“About that.” Kendra looks miffed. “We’ve had to pinch pennies in marketing as well, so we’re going to need a more cost-effective way to spread word about your exhibition.”
Amantha’s shoulders fall. “Marketing too?”
“I…” My mind scrambles almost as fast as my fingers for my phone. “I may have an idea.”
Amantha gawks while I pull up Autumn & June’s social media feedthat Julia showed me at the gym a few days ago. I turn over my phone to Kendra, who flicks through the video posts.
“A girl I know owns a boutique and does killer social media marketing for it. I’ve never seen anything like it. Maybe I could price out some options for her to help by making some promo videos?” I say.
Kendra’s impassive face gives nothing away, but she says, “I’m more than impressed, Kate. This may just work.”
Amantha pipes up. “And I happen to know of a great photographer that will be able to take the mural photos for free.” Amantha pokes me in the stomach. “It’s Kate. I’ve seen her college portfolio and what she can do with a camera. She’s more than capable.”
Kendra looks dubious, but Amantha tilts her head close to mine and mutters out the side of her mouth, “Give me your phone.”
I turn it over. Amantha fails to unlock the device, huffs, then holds it up to me until the facial recognition software lets her in.
Amantha says, “Granted, this is on her phone, but you should see what Kate can do with a real camera.”
Kendra studies the technicolor lion photo.
