Page 8 of One Night with the CEO

“I kind of made it up. It comes loosely from Eru Ilúvatar, from Lord of the Rings. The sound of it evokes images of light for me. It was just a silly pen name at first, something I thought I’d test out to see how my early works did. I didn’t want to work under my real name in the beginning. If I didn’t do well under Illuven, I could easily change to another nickname. However, I did well as Illuven and saw no reason to change it.”

“That’s an interesting story. Stuff like that adds depth to your profile as an artist. Have you ever explained it formally?”

“No, but I’ve never really had occasion. I don’t have enough of a fanbase yet to release formal statements.”

“Well, hopefully we can change that.”

Archer asked a few more questions, but mostly, he just appreciated the artwork. Mia could tell that he was impressed, but was he impressed enough to recommend her to his undoubtedly very busy boss?

“Thank you, Mia, this has been most enlightening. I understand that you’re part of Elite Artworks’ exhibition next week?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m going to tell our CEO in no uncertain terms that she needs to be there.”

Mia resisted the urge to whoop and leap into the air. Instead, she smiled at Archer, hoping she didn’t come off as giddy as she felt. “Thank you, Archer. I look forward to meeting your CEO.”

“Thank you, Mia. This has truly been a treat. All the best—I hope to be working with you soon.”

Mia was too excited to settle into anything when she got home. She eventually gave up on work and went for a walk. She snapped a great photo of a puppy playing in the autumn leaves, vaguely thinking of doing a painting replacing the sidewalk around it with a soft forest floor.

When she got home, she was finally able to work.

Mia was working on one more painting for the exhibition, which was almost finished—a vibrant green jungle. As much as she liked the painting, she wasn’t feeling inspired to work on it right now. She was drawn to the painting she had started last night—the one of the strong, capable woman with eyes that seemed to see right through her and the body of a goddess.

She was lying on her side in a field of brightly colored flowers at dawn, completely naked. Her hair was spread out behind her and her face lit by the rising sun.

Usually, it would be difficult to perfect a painting like this in a week, but when Mia felt fired up with inspiration like she did now, she could easily work for fifteen hours a day on it. Of course, she couldn’t maintain that kind of thing for long, but after the exhibition, things should calm down.

It would likely be some time before the investors got back to her—they would need to discuss it with their various committees—and Mia would have time to relax before hopefully diving into her next venture.

She painted late into the night, and for the first time in about three months, she had a night free of nightmares. She instead saw beautiful women among flowers, beckoning for her to join them.

Mia did.

3

Genevieve

Genevieve was excited for the exhibition. Archer had scoped out a number of potential talented artists, though he was most excited about one who went under the name Illuven. Genevieve had seen some samples of her work and was eager to see them in person.

She had even sent a few to Sean, who had confirmed that the artist was very talented—in fact someone he had already heard of and followed.

Genevieve wandered through the gallery, having a look at what was on offer. Waiters were serving wine from trays, and she took a glass, sipping daintily on it as she surveyed the room. She soon came to a small section labeled Illuven.

Genevieve was immediately drawn in by a stunning painting of a city at night, backed by the shadow of a mountain. The lights were so bright and so real that it made her feel like she was really there. She resisted the urge to touch the painting, knowing that artists took a dim view of strangers feeling up their work.

“Is this painting for sale?” Genevieve turned to the woman who she assumed was the artist and choked on her sip of wine.

It was Mia. Genevieve’s most recent one night stand.

Mia’s expression displayed similar shock. “Genevieve?”

“Mia.” Genevieve coughed a few times. “You’re Illuven?”

“That’s right. Did you come to see my work?”

Mia didn’t recognize who she was. Perhaps she thought Genevieve had simply been curious after their discussion that night last week.

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