37. Rosenna
Chapter thirty-seven
Rosenna
T hursday afternoon had rolled around, and I was feeling antsy for tomorrow’s big day. Beckham was still actively ghosting me, Gavin was still distant, and I hadn’t heard from Brent after our run-in.
I was happy I was being left alone, but secretly, I still wanted to hear from Beckham. Just to know he was doing OK. Toying with the keys he’d left me to his warehouses, I glanced over to Kira, who was walking in with my coffee and notes for the afternoon. If there was anyone who was more excited than ever about this event, it had to be her.
She would be majorly coordinating everything in the back end while I planned to busy myself by greeting guests, keeping them engaged, discussing prices with potential buyers, and keeping track of what sold.
On one of the nights I spent with her during my recent downward spiral, I vented about everything: Gavin and the baby, Beckham and his love confession, my denial, the keys he gave me for all of his warehouses.
She was sympathetic for the most part, though she couldn’t help but comment on the art in the warehouses. If this went well, in her words, we were “sitting on a gold mine.”
God, I love her to death.
“Listen here, boss lady,” Kira’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts as she dropped a stack of notes onto my desk. “We have a lot of shit to get done today, so we best get to it. I’m going to call the caterer, the bartenders, and the photographer to finalize their price. You, meanwhile, need to finalize the guest list, finish up the rest of the consultations for today, and figure out what you’re going to wear.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” I saluted.
“And every single person here needs to be out by seven PM sharp. Daddy Picasso’s orders.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “He called?”
“Not today, but a week or so ago. He has to set up his super secret showroom, remember?”
I nodded silently as my heart rate increased. So he still planned on displaying his secret setup titled “ PRICELESS .”
“By himself?” I asked, crossing my leg over the other as I tried to regulate my breathing.
Kira nodded. “He said it should take him till morning, and he’ll be out before we set up and open the doors for business.”
I pursed my lips in thought.
Kira could tell my mood was shifting. She walked over to me and I gave a sad smile as she rubbed my back. “He is still committing to the setup, which could be good, you know? Maybe he’ll stop during the show after all, and you guys can talk things out.”
I nodded silently. Maybe he would stop by… or maybe he wouldn’t even come tonight. Regardless, I still held a bit of hope that he would.
The following morning, I woke up alone and prepared for the exciting day ahead. My hair was perfectly done in a curly ponytail updo with curled bangs. My makeup was polished, as were my nails, thanks to Kira.
Pulling on my white and cream business party attire, I finished buttoning my pants as I received a call from Kira. Checking the time, I noticed there were still a few hours before the event. Answering, I held it to my ear as I pulled on my heels.
“Kira, is everything okay?” I asked.
She said one word that instantly made me panic.
“Bitch.”
I quickly grabbed my bag. “What happened? Did Beckham not come to finish his setup?” I asked, already feeling crushed at the thought.
She scoffed.
“Oh, he fucking came, all right.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Kira. Sentences I can understand would be helpful,” I urged.
She sighed dejectedly through the phone.
“Rose… There is absolutely nothing I can say that will help you in any way, shape, or form with this. It’s best you see for yourself.”
Standing beside Kira, my jaw practically touched the ground. My purse did touch the ground: I dropped it in shock.
Kira nodded beside me as she crossed her arms, gazing into the showroom along with me. “So this is a bit of a surprise, I’m sure…”
“Kira… what am I looking at?” I whispered.
“It’s not the worst thing since sliced bread, you know. It’s actually kinda growing on me—”
“WHAT AM I EVEN FUCKING LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW!” I yelled, my shout echoing through the gallery.
Kira gave me a half-assed grin before doing me the honor of giving her version of a grand tour. “Well, if you want me to get into the specifics: in the middle, we have three lovely sculptures of a woman, each with one-word titles that spell out the sentence: ’You. Are. Loved.’ Against the wall, we can see multiple paintings of a naked woman surrounded by rose petals, a knit blanket, and her back facing the audience, each with its own color scheme and theme. Spoiler: The tattoo on her back also includes the sentence ’You are loved.’” She began, and my eyes followed her hand as it gestured to the wall.
“On one wall, we can see multiple photographs of the woman alone as well as being caressed by a man. I’m sure the monochrome theme was achieved with each of these. Suspended from the ceiling are hundreds of hanging white roses that really tie in with the different colors of the painting by making them pop and giving a more mystical feeling overall.”
She beamed as she gazed back at me. “And my favorite piece? My absolute favorite is the floor canvas painting currently under our feet covered by a glass layer entitled ’Our Masterpiece,’ which depicts the tentative, passionate lovemaking of a forbidden couple using their bodies, paint, and nothing else.”
I could only look at the display in absolute horror. Beckham wasn’t just exposing our affair. He was putting his love, his obsession , on display for the world to see. For me to see.
“Kira, tell me you’re joking,” I whispered.
She shook her head. “Well, I can’t because that’s exactly what the description of the art is. See, it says it right here.” She pointed to the description of the ground art by the entrance.
I shook my head in disbelief. “This is not happening.”
“Oh, it certainly is, and unfortunately, we cannot close off this part of the exhibit because he will cancel the event… I’m sure you can see why I was a bit freaked out in the beginning. You’re definitely feeling it a bit more, I suppose.”
I covered my face with my hands. “I’m doomed.”
Kira scoffed before her hands found mine and pulled them from my face.
“Today is the big day, and you are not doomed. Do you understand me? So what if he depicted his obsession for you in art and displayed it for the world to see? The good thing about this is no one will ever know it’s you. Your face is nowhere to be seen.”
I nodded weakly. Turning eyes back onto Beckham’s display, I found the titles of the three sculptures Kira had gestured at first. My face paled.
“You are loved…” I read.
But that wasn’t all I was focused on.
Kira’s eyes went wide as we both looked over to the large painting that depicted my tattoo perfectly .
“If Gavin sees this, he’ll know it’s me!”
Kira gave me a look. “You haven’t had sex with Gavin in, what, like three years? He’s got to have forgotten that by now!”
“Kira, we sleep in the same fucking bed, share the same bathroom, and let’s not forget he’s my husband!” I seethed angrily.
She stared dumbfoundedly at me. “Oh shit, you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right! Gavin can not see this!”
“Did he say he was coming, or when?” Kira asked.
I shook my head. “I can only assume he’ll be here after his lunch. The event is only for a few hours.”
“Then when he comes, I’ll stall him.”
Rubbing my temples, I shook my head. “Kira, let’s be serious about this.”
“Rose, I am totally serious. While I make the rounds, I’ll have security keep an eye out for his car. When he comes, I’ll make sure he never even makes it to the second floor. You, on the other hand, focus on selling this place as if your life depends on it. And maybe stay far away from this room so no comparisons can be drawn between you and the woman in the paintings.”
“This will never work, Kira…” I whispered. But it was our only plan, so I had to accept it, madly hopeless though it felt.
Kira said, “Unless you want me to go slash his tires before the event starts, this is what we’re working with.”
I sighed, knowing better than to protest or contradict Kira on a mission. This was going to be an absolute shitshow.
“Welcome, welcome, thank you for coming. Please enjoy.” I smiled at a few guests as they began migrating up the stairs and migrated to the showrooms. Servers roamed with glasses of champagne and hors d’oeuvres.
We’d made three sales in the first hour. Despite everything else weighing on me, I felt good.
While I was busy running around like a chicken with its head cut off as I sped back and forth to my office and the buyers, I purposely ignored the room that seemed the most popular as the event went on. Curiosity loomed in the air about the significance of the paintings with the woman who was virtually priceless.
As I watched a few of my employees roam about to give me intel on more purchases, I was stopped when I heard a familiar voice.
“Rosenna.”
I turned to see the man who had started it all. With a smile on my face, I walked over before he pulled me into a warm, fatherly hug.
“Mr. Garcia, it’s so good to see you.” I beamed.
Jessica and Sebastian Howe, from Vincent’s billionaire brunch, were in attendance too. Sebastian seemed rather excited to see me; however, Jessica was impassive, her smile forced.
“Mr. Howe, so glad you could make it.” I grinned.
“I could never miss this. You’ve done well with the place. I best get to looking around to make an offer before Kira finds me.” He chuckled, and I laughed.
Vincent chimed in. “Never thought I’d see my son’s art in any place other than my warehouses.”
I simply smiled as they continued to joke.
However, my focus was on the main entrance, where I could see Gavin checking his phone as he entered casually. My heartrate sped, though it was soon calmed as Kira came into view. We weren’t too far from them, so I tuned out Vincent and Sebastian and listened nonchalantly to Kira and Gavin’s conversation.
“Gav! So good to see you. That tie looks lovely on you.”
“I need to see Rosenna—” he began, but she cut him off as she grabbed his arm.
“Well, as you know, she is a bit busy at the moment. However, I did last see her in the basement looking for some extra supplies… let’s start there.” She smiled before he could protest, and before I knew it, they’d disappeared.
Letting out a silent breath, I turned back to the conversation. Sebastian was just excusing himself, along with his daughter. Vincent and I smiled; then the Howes were gone, and I was alone with Mr. Garcia.
He took a sip of his champagne and motioned for me to walk beside him.
“Great turnout, hmm?” he asked.
I nodded, taking notice of the large number of rather rich investors and elites walking around and examining the art. Regardless of their influential presence, Beckham’s name was on everyone’s lips, his work commanding the room—and yet he was nowhere to be seen.
“It truly is all thanks to you and Beckham, Mr. Garcia.”
He pressed his lips together. “You know, there’s a reason I gave you and Kira a chance with my son’s artwork, Ms. Hart. You both are persistent, hardworking, determined, and very stubborn and headstrong women. Helping you both… it was never a chore. It was almost an obligation. There was no way I could let you not succeed.”
His kind words filled me with warmth.
“Speaking of the man of the hour, it seems he hasn’t arrived yet.”
“I have a strong feeling he won’t,” I whispered. Beckham wasn’t coming… I hated that I wanted him to.
“And why do you suppose that is the case?” Vincent asked.
I shrugged softly, not wanting to go into the details of what happened. “Just have a hunch.”
Vincent hummed, placing his hand on my upper back. “Rosenna, my darling, Beckham doesn’t create without purpose. He never does anything without meaning… This entire exhibit means something to him… to you. ”
Slowly, he turned me, and again, I was faced with the exhibit of my worst nightmares and best dreams. My face flamed in utter embarrassment.
Vincent sighed as he leaned into my ear.
“So… if I had a hunch , I’d say you should be a bit more optimistic about him turning up… I think you’d be among the first to know that my son can often be quite unpredictable .”