PLAYED

“But I can see now that you haven’t orchestrated this meeting… And… Perhaps I’ve grown rather fond of a few of your pieces during my time here in New Orleans.”

I hung on her every word, and Gloria beamed with pride as she spoke the words I never thought I’d hear in my wildest dreams:

“Riley Ricketts, I would be my pleasure to purchase select pieces to feature in your very own exhibit within the Spinnoc galleries.”

I could barely contain my excitement.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” I exclaimed, resisting every urge to throw my arms around this woman and hug her to death. “This means so much to me… I can’t possibly thank you enough…”

“There is a condition,” she added quickly.

“A condition?” I asked, puzzled at her tone.

“Walk with me,” Gloria told me, and I fell into step beside her as we crossed the museum, passively observing the exhibits.

“The condition is your undivided attention,” she stipulated. “I don’t fancy all of your artwork, but I do appreciate a few choice selections. If you want an exhibit in the Spinnoc, you will have to focus entirely on your craft. You will need to move to San Diego. I can give you room and board with studio access, and I’ll fully expect to see more of your work within several months.”

“Move to San Diego? I….”

Gloria cut me off before I could finish my thought.

“And I want none of these landscapes. They’re good, but not nearly good enough to display in my galleries. Leave them to the professionals, and concentrate on the conceptual pieces and portraits that really demonstrate your talent.”

“You… want me to move across the country?”

“Well, naturally,” she answered, glancing over at me. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

“I’ll… have to think about that,” I answered. “I mean, my whole life is here. For a short while, I thought about going to England with someone, but we had a bit of a… falling out. He left the country a couple of days ago.”

“England, you say?” She commented. “Well. That certainly makes sense. It seems you may know your investor after all…” she eyed me sideways, “…or you only just figured that out. Either way, you should have probably reconciled with him when you had the chance.”

“Why’s that?”

“I thought he perhaps loved you. I could hear it in his voice as we spoke. He must have divested a great deal of resources into finding me, because I make myself scarce on purpose… and I don’t particularly enjoy being found.”

I had no response. I just turned and stared at the painting of the girl.

“Never mind all that,” Gloria continued. “I can see I was mistaken as to the strength of your relationship… If you wish to pursue proper representation in my galleries, you will accompany me back to California. The last thing I need is for you to become distracted with such mundane affairs when I’ve come to recognize your worth.”

“When do you need a decision?” I asked quietly, thinking about Lex. Why had he done this? I’d shut him out of my life. Did he think bribing Gloria would win me over?

Gloria glanced at a modest watch on her arm. “You have approximately fourteen hours before we board my private jet back to California. I trust that you’ll pack light. I can make the arrangements to observe and purchase any of your existing artwork that I see fit to obtain, but I’ll be expecting you to settle yourself quickly and get straight to work. No dilly-dallying.”

I thought to my life here in New Orleans, and how rooted I was in this magnificent city. My soul had flourished here for years, powered by the magic in this place.

And then there were my friends.

Reiko would understand, but she’d hate it. She was such a fantastic companion that I dreaded being separated from her. I knew she hated California and wouldn’t be willing to move out that way for me.

Will would be devastated. Sure, he could be a pain in the ass, but he was a valuable friend and had been a strong component to my support network since we were kids. Over the last few days we’d reconciled, and I think he finally understood the way our relationship needed to be… But leaving on such sudden notice would be hard…

“As I said, you have fourteen hours,” Gloria Van Lark repeated, turning on her heel. “If you wish to accompany me, you will meet me here at the steps to this museum at that time. I eagerly await your answer.”

With that, the mysterious curator of one of the world’s most prestigious and exclusive museums turned on a heel, strolling straight towards the exit.

I felt like I was going to topple to the ground. This was no ordinary offer. I reached out behind myself as my knees began to buckle. My fingertips found a bench, and I collapsed down into it, struggling to process everything that just happened.

I had a choice to make:

My dream, finally come true?

Staying here with my friends and my life?

And what the hell was I going to do about Lex?

I had less than a day to decide… and I didn’t have the faintest idea of what to do.

Chapter 16

Lex

I was standing on the upper floor, staring out over the grounds, when the phone rang in my pocket. I checked the caller ID… and almost dropped it to the floor when I realized who was on the line.

Staring at the name for a moment, I accepted the call and lifted the receiver to my ear. “I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”

“I just met Gloria Van Lark,” Riley blurted breathlessly into the phone.

“Oh, did you?” I responded thoughtfully.

“Yeah.” She sounded on edge.

“Well… how did that go?”

“Turns out that she likes me, and apparently wants to represent me in her museum,” Riley responded. “No thanks to my investor!”

“An investor, huh?” I asked, measuring my words carefully. “Didn’t know that you had yourself one of those.”

“Cut the shit, Lex,” she finally snapped. “You tried to pay her off. She came to the museum to tell me I couldn’t buy her!”

“Well it sounds like you worked through that… I knew you would, Riley.” I replied, smirking into the phone.

“Wait a second… You knew? You knew what?”

“Gloria Van Lark is piece of work Riley. She can’t be bought,” I said.

“Then why did you try to buy her?!? Did you seriously give her museum a million freaking dollars?” Riley shouted over the line.

“I did it because I knew that was the only way she would see you personally. I did my research at great personal expense. Gloria likes to hide behind her staff and she never gives anyone a second chance… But she lives for the opportunity to crush someone’s dreams.”

“You manipulated her?” Riley asked, incredulous. “You knew she’d come to tell me off?”

“It was worth a shot,” I commented. “So, what happens now?”

“Now?” Riley sounded pensive. “Like I said, she wants to represent me… but she expects me to move to California with her.”

“I see,” I remarked. “Are you going to do it.”

“I have no idea,” Riley confided. “It’s a dream come true to be offered representation, and I can barely fathom how much she’s considering paying for my art… but it’s a lot to ask of me.”

“Right.”

“You didn’t have to do this, Lex.”

“I know that. But I wanted to just express some… regret over how things happened. I know that you’re moving on, but I wanted you to understand that I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Riley whispered down the line. “I was being selfish… Thinks were just moving too fast… I should have been there for you. I shouldn’t have… left you. And now you’re gone.”