Chapter 17
Madison
I stood in the darkness of the bedroom and pulled my shirt over my head, letting a smile wash over my face. My knees were wobbly, and my heart was fluttering, and I couldn’t even begin to sort through the thoughts in my head. I looked over at Zach, who was brushing his teeth and fixing his hair, feeling a sense of comfort I had never felt before. I walked out into the living room and pulled on my boots.
My paintings were still sitting there, and I was extremely proud of the work I had done. What a night this had turned into. First, he surprised me by renting out the Statue of Liberty, then, he gave me art supplies to do paintings, and then, I had given my virginity to him. As I stood there staring at the colors on the canvas, I could feel Zach pull his arms around my waist and kiss me on the head. I leaned back into his chest and closed my eyes, feeling his heart beat against my back. I turned toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist, looking up into his gorgeous blue eyes. He flashed me that charming smile, and I couldn’t stop the giggle that formed in my throat.
“You ready?”
I nodded, and we left for the restaurant. He chose a small, casual café in Manhattan, and we took a table near the back for privacy. As I sat there, I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I had just lost my virginity. I had held onto it for so long and wondered what I would feel like when I finally reached that moment. Now I knew, but in place of excitement, I was now feeling dread. I feared that Zach had gotten what he set out to get, and now, it wouldn’t be long until he tossed me to the side and moved on.
I felt so confused by the feelings in my chest and the thoughts in my mind, and I couldn’t do anything other than sit there quietly, contemplating what I should do next. In all reality, I had never been in this situation before, so I wasn’t sure what I should do. I looked up at him sitting across the table from me, and butterflies erupted from my stomach. Flashes of our bodies tangled together in the sheets moved through my mind, and I knew at that moment, I was falling for him, and hard. I knew it was normal to have these intense emotions for the first person you ever lost your virginity to, but I didn’t feel like it was safe to have them. We hadn’t talked about our relationship, and I didn’t think it was the right time to bring it up. I took a deep breath and told myself that I just needed to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening.
As we sat quietly sipping our waters and eating the bread the waitress brought to the table, I looked down at my purse as it began to buzz loudly. I apologized and grabbed my phone, standing and rushing for the front door. The café was quiet, and I didn’t want to be that person interrupting everyone’s meal by answering my phone at the dinner table. I looked down at the number on the screen and rolled my eyes, realizing it was Lee. I should have just let it go to voicemail, but I was already outside, so I answered it with annoyance in my voice.
“I’m glad you answered,” he said, after hearing my voice. “I have decided that I am going to have my own show this upcoming weekend.”
“Oh,” I said, slightly annoyed. “That’s great Lee.”
“I know,” he replied. “You need to get over here and start working on the advertising campaign. There isn’t a lot of time. I would have planned it out better, but this is the last open weekend for a while, so I want to get my pieces out while they are fresh.”
“I’m in the middle of dinner,” I said with irritation. “Technically, today is my day off.”
“And technically, I could fire you for not doing your job,” he replied with an attitude.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth, trying my best not to call him a fucking asshole. “I’m in Manhattan, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Hurry,” he replied. “I don’t have all day.”
I hung up the phone and slammed it angrily into my purse. Great, this was just what I wanted to happen after having such an amazing day with Zach. Now, I was going to be stuck in the gallery with Lee, wishing I was somewhere else, and letting my thoughts completely take over my mind. I took in a deep breath and made my way back to the table.
“Everything okay?” He looked up at me and smiled as I sat down.
“Lee is having his own show next weekend,” I said grumpily. “I have to go in and start advertising. I tried to get out of it, but he threatened my job so I should probably go in.”
“He sounds like a real piece of work,” he replied, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry,” I pleaded.
“Don’t be sorry,” he said, laughing. “You’ll come to see that my job isn’t as quiet as I’ve made it out to be. I’ve had to leave mid meal more times than I can count.”
We looked up as the waitress approached with our food. “I’m sorry,” he said kindly. “Something has come up. Would you mind boxing up our food and bringing the check? We are going to have to leave.”
“Yes, sir,” the waitress replied, turning with her tray and heading back to the kitchen.
I watched as the waitress brought our food back out, all boxed and bagged and handed Zach the check. I offered to pay, but he ignored me and handed her his card. I smiled at him as he reached over and grabbed my hand, trying to calm my nerves. As his fingers ran across mine, I couldn’t help but think that maybe all my fears were for nothing. However, as soon as he let go and we made our way back to the limo, they sprouted into my mind once again. When we pulled up in front of the gallery, Zach insisted on walking up to the door with me, especially since Lee was standing outside smoking a cigarette. I grabbed the paintings I was going to drop off at the apartment and slid out of the limo.
“Finally,” Lee scoffed. “You’re wasting my time, frolicking around the city in a limo, and I’m here doing your job.”
“I’ll say it again, Lee,” I replied through gritted teeth. “Today was my day off.”
“Whatever,” he said, flicking his cigarette and stomping into the gallery. Zach and I watched as he walked through, tripping over his own feet and slamming his office door. I shook my head and took in a deep breath, not wanting to have this kind of ending to my day.
“Is he always like that?” Zach had scrunched his eyebrows and was staring at Lee’s office door.
“Unfortunately, most of the time,” I replied. “Call me later?”
“Of course,” Zach said, leaning down and kissing my head. “Have a good night at work.”
I smiled and watched him climb into his limo, waving as the driver took off back for Manhattan. I then immediately regretted my decision to come in tonight and just wanted to climb back into Zach’s big comfortable bed and fall asleep in his arms. I had wanted to quit this job before, but tonight was the first time I was considering actually doing it.
But, as usual, my common sense kicked in, and I knew I couldn’t just go quitting jobs without something else lined up. I had been spending so much time with Zach in his billionaire world, I had almost forgotten how hard things are on the other side of life. Beyond just searching for the time that Lee would let me have my own showing, I was bound to this place by rent and bills. I knew Charlotte would spot me if I couldn’t afford rent, but no one walked away from their job in this city without having something else at least in the works. I, however, didn’t have anything in the works. I took in a deep breath and lugged my canvases inside the gallery.
I looked down at the paintings and then back up at Lee’s work, realizing that if he saw my stuff, he would be more than pissed. He made it a rule not to judge other artist’s work, but he never missed an opportunity to call me a failure at my craft. I didn’t believe what he said, but it was still hard to hear, so I walked to the back and hid the paintings behind the curtains. I figured I’d take them home later when I actually left this hell hole and went home.
For the rest of the evening, I spent my time on the computer creating fliers, posting to social media, and compiling a list of our top clients to extend a personal invitation to via phone and email. I knew no one was going to like his work, but I also knew Lee’s place had become a hidden gem to the rich people, and they revered him. They would come out just for the sheer popularity of it all, not to mention a morbid curiosity of the work Lee boasted about on a regular basis.
Every once in a while, Lee would come out of the office and look over my shoulder, nodding approvingly at the write ups and press releases I was creating. I asked him for a price list so I could create the master copy ahead of time, but he hadn’t finished making it. I was sure he was overpricing his work, not that I necessarily blamed him, even though his work was crap. It was his, and he was proud of it. If someone asked me to price my work, I wouldn’t even know where to start.
As a professional artist, you desperately want people to buy your work, but at the same time, it’s almost priceless to you. Your blood, sweat, and tears go into every line, every crevice, every single color, and then it’s auctioned off to the richest person so they can hang it in their hallway and forget the name of the artist.
After sending the fliers and invitations off to the printers via email, I sat at my desk, not wanting to go knock on Lee’s door. I often found it easier just to wait for him to tell me to leave. Usually, if he was working hard, he expected everyone else to magically have something to do. I looked out the door at the cars passing by, longing for a good night’s sleep. Immediately, Zach flew into my mind, and I almost got lost in thought, but then, Lee came stomping out of the office and up to the desk. He slapped a piece of paper on the desk and stared at me.
“Those are the prices,” he growled. “When you’re done with that, you can leave.”
Just hearing those words, I grabbed the paper and started plugging the names and cost into the master sheet template. These were the prices we would tell the clients when they were interested in a piece. There were usually two numbers, one being the lowest, the other being a price suited more for major buyers and extremely rich people. They didn’t know we had two, but that’s how the game was played. When I was done, I turned everything off and ran from the gallery, not wanting to get stopped again.
As I walked along, I thought about Zach and wondered if tomorrow would bring the same amazing feeling that today did.