Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Chloe
“Morning.” Sienna kissed my cheek as she strutted into my apartment. “I brought bagels.”
“Morning. I tried calling you last night, and you didn’t answer.” I frowned.
“Sorry. I was a bit tied up.” She winked.
Rolling my eyes, I poured each of us a cup of coffee. “Who tied you up this time?”
“Billy James.” She grinned.
Shaking my head, I grabbed a plate for the bagels and set it on the table.
“I thought you weren’t seeing him anymore.”
“We aren’t. We ran into each other at Starbucks last night, and we got to talking, reminiscing about the great sex we used to have, and one thing led to another,” she spoke as she took the bagels from the brown bag and walked over to the trashcan. “What the fuck, Chloe?!” she exclaimed as she held up the condom from last night.
“Put that down! You’re nasty.”
“You have five seconds to tell me what happened here last night and with whom. And you better not say it was with Sebastian because you specifically told me that you wouldn’t and couldn’t.”
As I cut into my bagel, I sat there with a smile on my face.
“Five…four…three…two…”
“Okay. Sebastian just happened to show up here right before my parents did, and my mom invited him to stay for dinner. They left. He stayed, and we had sex.”
Her jaw dropped as she took the seat across from me. “But?—”
“I couldn’t help it. He was so charming, sexy, and irresistible. It’s those damn brown eyes.”
She sighed as she bit into her bagel. “So now what?”
“I don’t know. I like him. I know that much.”
“Where is he? Didn’t he stay the night, or was he gone again before you woke up?”
“He left last night. He had to fly to Minneapolis this morning for a meeting.”
“Hmm. So he got what he wanted and left? Sounds like me, and that’s not a good thing.”
I shrugged. “He asked for my phone number, so I’m sure he’ll call me later.”
“Did you get his?”
“He said that I’ll have it when he calls or texts me.”
“And you don’t think that’s strange?”
“Whatever. If he wants to play games, he can. You know how I am about playing games.”
“Good girl. Keep your head held high. I have a strange feeling about Mr. Bennett.”
“What do you mean? You haven’t even met him yet.”
“I know I haven’t, but something tells me he’s a very complicated man.”
“He can be complicated all he wants. This girl won’t get tangled in his web.” I smiled as I finished off my bagel.
Climbing out of bed, I made a cup of coffee and took it into the bathroom to start getting ready for work. Today was the official opening day of the gallery. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I checked it to see if maybe Sebastian had sent me a text message last night. He didn’t, and a small part of me was disappointed. It had been a week since our last encounter. Shrugging it off, I finished getting ready and headed out the door.
It was a busy week and one that I welcomed. New art pieces were delivered, and displays were set up. As I was sitting at my desk researching some new ideas, my assistant, Gregory, stepped inside.
“Chloe, there’s someone here who would like to speak to you. He’s an artist.”
“Send him in.” I smiled.
Looking for new artists was the most exciting part of my job. As much as I loved historic art and artists, I also loved discovering the talents of individuals looking to break into the art world. If I could make that happen for someone, it would make me happy.
As I got up from my desk, a young man, probably early twenties with short, spikey black hair and piercings, walked in with a large black binder.
“This is Caden Rice,” Gregory said before shutting the door.
I extended my hand to Mr. Rice. “It’s nice to meet you, Caden. I’m Chloe Kane. Please have a seat.”
“Thank you, Miss Kane. It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for seeing me.”
“No problem, and please call me Chloe. Now, how can I help you?” I spoke as I took a seat behind my desk.
“I was wondering if you’d be interested in seeing some of my art. I would love to know your thoughts.”
“Of course. Is that your art portfolio there?” I pointed.
“Yes.” He set the black binder down in front of me. “I took a walk through the gallery and looked at all the art you have on display. But I did notice something you don’t have, which I feel would be a great asset to this gallery.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“Open up my portfolio, and you’ll see.” He smiled.
As I opened his portfolio and saw the first piece of art, I grinned at him.
“Contemporary Eroticism.”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“These are beautiful, Caden. Oh my.” I smiled as I turned to the page with the photographs of provocative sculptures. “You sculpt as well?”
“Yes. All the ones you see there have been done in the last six months.”
“Beautiful. I would love to have a display like this in the gallery. The human body and intimacy are a natural and beautiful thing.”
“Exactly. The problem is I can’t seem to find a gallery that will even look at my work.”
“Why’s that?” I cocked my head.
“Because the few galleries around that already have contemporary eroticism displayed aren’t accepting anything new.”
“Well, I think your work is something that should be shown, but because of the nature, I’ll have to talk to the owners first. I don’t want to cross any lines. The other galleries Mr. Black owns don’t have anything like this. If he’s on board, we can set up a showing.”
“Thank you, Chloe. Wow. I can’t believe this.” He placed his hands on his head.
Handing him a piece of paper and a pen, I asked for his phone number.
“I’ll call Mr. Black and set up a meeting, and then we’ll go from there.” I got up from my chair and extended my hand. “I’ll be in touch, Caden.”
“Thank you again, Chloe. Have a great day.”
“You too.” I smiled as I walked him out of my office.
Pulling my phone from my purse, I was stunned when I saw a text message from Sebastian.
“Dinner tonight. I will pick you up at seven o’clock.”
What? He hasn’t contacted me for a week and then says we’re having dinner. As much as I wanted to see him again, I wasn’t going to let him do that to me.
“Nice to hear from you, Sebastian. Unfortunately, I have plans tonight, so I won’t be able to join you for dinner. Maybe another time.”
After replying to his text message, I started to dial Connor when I heard his voice coming up the stairs.
“I was just about to call you.” I smiled as he walked into my office with Gregory.
“Looks like I beat you to it. I had some business to do over here, so I thought I’d drop by and check on things. Did you need something?”
“I would like to talk to you about setting up a new display. I think Ellery should be in on the meeting as well.”
“Okay. What kind of display?”
“Contemporary Eroticism.”
His brow arched as he stared at me. “Oh. Interesting. Are there specific paintings you had in mind?”
“I spoke with an artist just a bit ago, and he showed me his portfolio. His work is beautiful. I was going to go look at some of the galleries around and view their displays to see if there’s any uniqueness.”
“I see. Let’s set up a meeting then.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “How about tomorrow around noon? Call the artist and have him meet us here. I’ll have Ellery drop by, and we’ll discuss it.”
“Noon is good. Thank you, Connor.”