Austin lifts his drink, taking another sip before raising an eyebrow at me. “Oh really? Who is it?”
I swallow roughly. “Ella,” I admit, my voice low. “She’s been painting as a hobby, but her work is breathtaking.” I pause, pulling out my phone to find the pictures I took that night at her house. She saw me take them, but I think she thought they were so I could look at them another time. I hand it over to Austin, watching the way his face transforms as he flips through the different painting pictures.
“Holy shit.” Austin’s eyes flash to mine before looking back at my phone. “These are incredibly realistic, yet still whimsical and artistic. Does she only do landscapes?”
I shake my head. “She has some portraits, but I wasn’t able to get any pictures of them.”
Austin narrows his eyes on mine for a moment. “Does she know you took these pictures?”
“Yes and no.” I let out a soft laugh. “She saw me take a few pictures, but she has no idea I’m talkin’ to you about them.”
“Do you think she would be interested in doing a showcase of some sort? Vera has a slot she needs to fill since someone ghosted her.” He pauses for a moment as he pulls out his phone and taps on the screen a few times. I see Vera’s name on the screen as he puts it on speakerphone and sets it down. “I know she won’t say no to these.”
“People ghost Vera?” I ask him, raising a curious eyebrow. According to Austin, Vera has made a name for herself in the art industry and is very well known. Her gallery draws in a lot of people from all over the country, especially when they have high profile artists or work there.
“Oh, all the time,” he says, shaking his head as he rolls his eyes. “You’d be surprised how many don’t want to be the center of attention or don’t want any public recognition.”
I stare at him for a second, our conversation pausing as our server comes back with our plates. I wait until she leaves again and play his words over in my mind. Ella isn’t the type of person who wants any attention drawn to herself. She’s filled with self doubt and her confidence is only now starting to bloom. I hadn’t considered the possibility of her not wanting to do anything like this.
“Hello?”
Vera’s soft and elegant voice sounds through the speaker.
“Hey V,” Austin says, taking another sip of his drink. “You remember my friend Cole?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“So, he’s seeing this girl who paints and you’re going to want to see this.” Austin looks at me. “I’m gonna have Cole send you some pictures.”
I hand Austin my phone and he selects the photos, typing in Vera’s number before sending them to her. He hands it backto me and I watch on the screen as it changes from message delivered to read.
She’s silent for a moment. My heart thrums away inside my chest, picking up the pace before Vera finally speaks. “I want her.”
“I knew you would,” Austin chuckles.
“I don’t care what you have to do to make it happen, Austin.” She lets out a breath. “I have many clients who would pay top dollar for paintings like this.”
“So, I haven’t told her that I was going to show these to either of you,” I admit, breaking into the conversation. “Let me talk with her,” I tell Austin and Vera. “I don’t want to spring this on her without her being okay with it.”
“I have to get back to work, Austin, but I’ll send you the openings in the schedule for shows. If any of the dates work for her, let me know and we’ll get her in the gallery.”
“Sounds good,” Austin says to her, smiling at me from across the table. “I’ll keep you posted.”
Vera ends the call and Austin’s eyes scan his phone. “Vera has an opening next weekend.” He looks at me. “Do you think she’d want to do that?”
“Let me text her now.” I glance at the time on my watch. “That way if she’s not able to, you can tell Vera now.” I’m not sure what time she goes in today, but hopefully I can catch her before she is working.
Hey you. Are you busy right now? I wanted to ask you about something.
Ella
I just walked into work. Is everything okay?
Everything is great. Remember Austin’s cousin I was telling you about who owns a gallery?
Ella
I do…
