Chapter 21 Daniel
Daniel
A couple days later, Cassandra calls me while I’m working at the supermarket.
“We have a dropout. Would you like to take their spot at the upcoming exhibition?”
My nerves flare with both excitement and dread. It’s going to be crowded with people like the opening, and there will probably be cameras too, but a chance like this… “Yes! I’d love to! But, uh, I’ve never done an in-person exhibition before.”
She chuckles. “I didn’t expect you would have.
It’s not that scary—all you have to do is come and chat with a few of the guests.
You tell them a bit about yourself, answer any questions they might have about your art, that sort of thing.
There will be a cocktail party afterwards for our most important patrons, but that’s not mandatory for you to attend. ”
It doesn’t sound so bad, I guess. I think I can do it. Probably. “Okay, sounds good. When is it?”
“In two weeks. Hmm, I’ll need you to stop by the gallery.
Can you come this afternoon? Or tomorrow morning?
We are doing a small feature on each participating artist, nothing too fancy, just a quick video.
I know you aren’t a fan of talking about yourself, but I have a template and a list of set questions, so it’s like following a script.
It shouldn’t take more than ten minutes.
” I hear a keyboard tapping. “I’ve sent over the questions via email. ”
Since there won’t be a live audience, I think I’ll be fine. But I really appreciate her making this as easy and painless as possible. She’s great. “I can do today.”
“That’s great. See you in a bit then.”
The rest of my shift goes quickly as the excitement prevails over the nerves.
The bus I catch is crowded, but I don’t mind it too much and even find an empty seat at the back.
Will Derek be at the gallery? I pinch my cheeks.
Of course not! He’s been busy working out some deal with a German company, so we haven’t really seen each other much since the day he came to watch me paint.
I bite the inside of my cheek and watch the traffic go by.
I really hope I didn’t push him too hard.
But I’ve had my suspicions for a while now that he had some artistic inclinations.
It’s just… no one knows color theory or proportions and structure unless they’ve done art in some way or form. I hope he doesn’t hate me for it.
Anxious, I shoot him a message asking him about his day so far.
He replies within two minutes, and I let out a big sigh of relief.
Derek: It’s been nothing but meetings so far. Going away on stupid business trips is always like this. Are you going to miss me, little artist ; )?
He seems like himself, though we haven’t really talked about art again. I want to, but I think I should give him a bit more time.
Me: I’ll think about it. After all, I’ll be busy getting ready for the exhibition at your gallery.
Derek: I see Cassandra told you. I’m so very proud of you.
With a smile on my face, I get off the bus at my stop and enter the gallery.
Cassandra greets me and hands me the script she’s prepared based on the replies I texted her back.
The questions were nothing unusual, just a bit about myself, my other interests, how long I’ve been painting and what I like to focus on.
“Stand over there by the orchids for me,” Cassandra instructs me when the guy with the camera arrives. “Is the light good, Simon?”
“Yep, all good.”
She gives me the thumbs up and turns her laptop towards me so I can see the words in case I need them. It takes us three takes because I fumble twice.
“Great!” she deems after watching the last video. “I’ll send it over to you as soon as Simon has edited it. If you don’t like it, we can shoot it again.”
I’d prefer not to, plus it looked okay enough, so I’m sure that once it’s edited, it will be perfectly fine. “Sure. And thank you so much for the opportunity to be part of the exhibition.”
She claps her hands. “You are most welcome. I think this will be a great chance for you to network some more. A bunch of bigshots will be here. They love pet projects and have very deep pockets.” She winks, chuckling.
“Oh, on that note, aside from the three works we’ll be putting up, can you bring over two more?
I’ll let you pick, but something recent would be nice. ”
We chat for a bit more about my latest project—Derek’s samurai version, though I don’t tell her it’s him—but she gets a work call, so I head back.
I linger a little in the gallery’s main hall, looking at the new paintings and photos they’ve put up.
On my way out, I bump into the last person I expected to see here.
“Daniel Marcello?” Adam, Derek’s ex-boyfriend says, blocking the exit. “What are you doing here?”
His tone is clipped and his beautiful face is scrunched. I don’t think he’s happy to see me. I also don’t think he knows Derek and I are together—we haven’t exactly made it public yet, unless Derek told him.
“I was meeting with Cassandra about the exhibition.”
“The exhibition?” he prompts, crossing his arms. He’s wearing a beautiful light blue one-piece with chiffon accents and a pair of bold platform heels that match his black necklace and earrings.
“The one in two weeks. I’m subbing in for someone who pulled out.”
He purses his red lips and narrows his eyes, sizing me up from head to toe. “Really now? How surprising.” Something in his tone makes me shiver.
“I’m very excited,” I reply because I don’t really know what else to say.
He offers a fake smile. “I bet you are. Good luck, sweetheart.”
That last part sounds genuine, and it really makes me feel guilty for the way I came between him and Derek. I don’t really know Adam, but if there is good in Derek, then surely he can’t be that bad either.
“I’m sorry for what happened. I… Derek and I shouldn’t have gone behind your back.”
Confusion floods Adam’s attractive features. He knits his eyebrows at me. “Excuse me?”
“About us. We should’ve come clean about it from the start. I know it probably means nothing coming from me, but for whatever it might be worth, I’m sorry that he cheated on you with me.”
God, this is so awkward. Who apologizes to an ex for stealing the boyfriend? But cheating is not nice, and I do feel bad about it, even if, technically, I wasn’t the one who cheated.
Adam gasps silently. “Oh, I see now.” He smirks and it looks menacing. “I see, I see. Tsk. And here I thought he’d finally grown up.”
It’s my turn to be confused. I expected him to shout at me or at least call me names, but what the hell is this reaction?
“Sorry?”
“Ah, dear kitten. He’s really done it, hasn’t he? So naughty.”
“Uh, what are you talking about?”
Adam inches in, stroking my arm gently like a father would. He’s not even that much older than me. “Derek told you we broke up because of you, yeah? That he was cheating on me with you?”
I flush, feeling embarrassed on top of awkward. I’m such a bad person! “Yes. I’m so sorry we—”
He shushes me with his finger. “No, don’t be. You see, you got this all wrong. Derek and I weren’t really together. We used to fuck, yes, and we let the media think we were an item, but it was all pretend. It’s good PR, and it helps get the cameras off your back.”
What?
“Shocking, I know. But it works. So anyway. He didn’t cheat, because we weren’t in a relationship. You are a good person and did nothing wrong.” He hums, dragging his manicured fingers up my cheek. “I wonder why he’s still lying to you about it.”
He lied. But why? “I don’t know…”
“I imagine it sucks. Oh, well. He’s a bit of an asshole like that, so I wouldn’t blame you if you dumped him. Honestly, you can do way better. Like me. You are rather cute actually, now that I’ve had a chance to see you up close.” Adam reaches for my chin.
I yank back. Holy shit, what’s going on here? “I… Thank you for the offer, but I’m not interested. I like Derek.”
“Ooh? That’s a bold statement, considering what he’s done, no?”
Is Adam trying to provoke me? He has a point, I can’t argue with that, but the thing is I knew what I was getting into. Sure, Derek is not exactly a nice person, he plays dirty and carries darkness inside him, but I’m not as innocent as people tend to think either.
“I was okay with stealing him from you. I’m also not a good person.”
And… I’m sure he had his reasons. Derek is complicated, I think that’s part of what drew me to him. I can’t really judge him, because of how far I myself would go in order to have him.
The smile Adam flashes me is surprisingly genuine. “Maybe you two are perfect for each other then. I wish you best of luck in everything.”
Adam’s words circle in my mind for the rest of the day, but no matter how much I dwell on them, I reach the same conclusion every time—Derek had his reasons to do what he did.
Should I be angry? Maybe, and I plan to confront him.
But I’m also glad that there was nothing between him and Adam, because that means I didn’t break them apart.