She waves her hand. “Cubism is overrated if you ask me.”
The door opens, and a few chatting customers walk inside and head toward the café counter.
“Okay,” Brinley says. “I'm going to serve these people, and you're going to reply to that email and say yes, right?”
“I will. I promise.”
Well she gets to work, I open my email and type a response.
Dear Ms. Meyer,
I'm definitely interested. Are you available later today for a phone call to discuss what you're looking for? I have about fifteen paintings which I think would work in a series, but several are quite large, depending on how much space you’d like to give me.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Maura Keller
-
I press send before I can come up with a reason not to. My fingers tremble as I close them around my latte cup. I feel terrified, and I feel alive.
20
JAMES
“That wraps up our subscriber retention strategies for the next quarter,” my vice president of content says. “Let's take a short break, grab some coffee, and we’ll reconvene in ten minutes.”
Quiet chatter fills the conference room as the senior Sequel staff either walks outside to use the restroom or take a call, or sits back to chat with the people next to them. I head back to my office to check my emails. I know my staff won't get to properly relax if the CEO is hanging over their shoulders, and I want the second half of this meeting to be productive.
I take a seat behind my desk, turn off my do not disturb mode, and check my texts. Two messages from Maura pop-up immediately.
Maura
I wanted to let you know, there might be some scheduling changes coming up.
A curator at the Whitmer Gallery asked me to do their solo show for new local artists, and I’ll need time to assemble work and create some new pieces.
A grin spreads across my face. The Whitmer is one of the top galleries in the city. I might not know much about art, but I’ve been dragged to enough fundraisers over the years to know what venues are the most prestigious. The fact that my wife has been invited to show there is incredible.
James
That’s fantastic. Well-deserved.
After a moment, she gives my message a thumbs up, but she doesn't respond. I wonder if I should have been more effusive, but I quickly brush it aside. I'm sure she's busy, preparing everything she'll need for the show. As far as I know, she's never shown her work anywhere larger than the Copper Cup.
There's a rap at my door, and I look up to see my assistant, Taylor. “Excuse me, James. The meeting is about to start up again.”
That's right. I'm scheduled to be in this meeting for another two hours. According to my schedule, Maura shouldn't expect me home until well after dinner. For news this big, though, we should make time to celebrate.
“Have them finish without me,” I tell Taylor. “Take notes and send me a summary by tomorrow morning. I have a few things to wrap up, and then I'm going home for the day.”
His mouth falls open. I suppose shock isn't too surprising. I can count the number of times I've left work early on one hand. Usually, it's because some business emergency has come up that requires me to travel on short notice. As for the last timeI canceled for something recreational…I'm not sure that I ever have.
“Of course, sir,” Taylor says, as his mind catches up with his mouth. “Is there anything else you need from me?”
“No.” I pause. “Thank you.”
