Page 46 of Mister Artist

The things she’d been doing lately made me even more excited to take her on this trip. Mal had always been doing little things to make me feel served—running errands for me, giving me massages, packing my lunch, doing my laundry. The little shit I needed done but didn’t want to do for myself. She made me coffee or stopped to get me some if we didn’t sleep together the night before. She made me feel thought of and considered, made my days a little lighter, and that made me love her more.

That made me spoil her more.

Since she cooked dinner, I offered to wash the dishes, but she sent me out of the kitchen. That seemed like the perfect time to get the gift I’d gotten her. Mal was still rocking the Cuban link chain I’d gotten her for her eighteenth birthday, but it was time for an upgrade. I’d gotten her two—a silver and gold one with white diamonds. Both were just under half a million, but she was worth it. The way she valued the smaller two hundred dollar one I’d gotten her years ago proved that.

I waited until I heard her shuffling around in the living room to tell her to come to my bedroom. As she walked in with a smile, I bobbed my head in the direction of the necklaces.

“They’re both yours, but pick one to put on now. I want you in nothing but that.”

With a gasp, she walked over to the dresser. “Babe, these are—oh my God. Neko! These are absolutelybeautiful.”

“I’m glad you like them. I know you favor gold jewelry, but you’re bad enough to rock that silver too and mix your metals.”

Piece by piece, she began to take off her clothing, leaving me under her spell.

“Thank you so much. I love them. I love you.”

“I know you do. I love you too.”

As she slowly sauntered over to me, I couldn’t help but thank God for her. She was truly perfect for me, and I hoped I showed her every day just how much I loved her and loved having her in my life.

33

Malorie

The Trip

I knewNeko was up to something when he wanted to drive an SUV to New York instead of flying. Not only did we spend a week at one of my favorite hotels in Times Square, but we also were able to catch three shows on Broadway. After that, we got an Airbnb and enjoyed a weekend in The Hamptons.

We spent time on a yacht, had a beach bonfire picnic, did a wine tasting, and shopped until I literally dropped. I wasn’t expecting him to have the same mentality as he did at the bookstore, but he did. Neko told me that I could shop until I was tired with no limit. And I did. Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Louis Vuitton—I bought it all, and he didn’t blink or sweat. At one point, I just started picking up things for him because I literally had all I wanted, and all he did was laugh.

I think my favorite part of the trip was when we went down Meadow Lane and looked at the houses that were available where billionaires lived and vacationed. He promised me he’d gift me one of those homes within the next three years, andthat we’d use it as one of our vacation homes, and I honestly believed him. By the time we left, I cried. It wasn’t just because he scratched that itch of gifts and provision that made me feel loved, but it was simply the fact that I was spending time with my man making plans for our future.

What was crazier was we didn’t have sex. We’d been fucking like rabbits lately to make up for lost time. At one point I asked him if there was a chance he’d ever get tired of me and my body. He assured me he never would. That he’d never get tired of having me and me alone. That put me in my feelings even more. I was truly in love with this man and a tad bit obsessed with him, but that was okay because there was no doubt in my mind that I was safe with him… always in all ways.

Back Home

As I waited for Trent,I was conflicted. I’d already told Neko that I wanted to meet with him about my findings immediately after this, and I was surprised he even let me handle this myself. It had to be because he was prepping for his final meeting with Saveth. Apparently, they were in agreement about Neko sending a different artist to her gallery for consignment and a showcase every quarter. I was sure if he wasn’t getting ready for that, he would have come with me.

It was fine that I had to handle this on my own, but I was still a little on edge. It didn’t feel like my place, even though I was the one that found the discrepancies. When I first found them, I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing. I’d never truly doubted myself when it came to my work, but to me, I wouldhave preferred to be wrong than to find hundreds of thousands of dollars being stolen from Neko and Elias.

My pacing in Trent’s office stopped when he entered. He eyed me skeptically and took a sip of his coffee before closing the door.

“Is this the moment you confess your love for me?” he teased, making me chuckle.

“No, not quite. You remember when I approached you about the discrepancies in the accounts?”

“Yeah.”

“Were you able to have a look at them like you said?”

“No, unfortunately, but I’ll get around to it.”

I sighed as he sat down. “You don’t have to. I had a friend from school go behind me to confirm. There is, in fact, a total of three hundred and sixty eight thousand dollars missing from several accounts from this year alone.”

He choked on his coffee, and I rushed over to pat his back.

“Jesus, Malorie. Are you fucking serious?”

---