Page 87 of Silver-Tongued Devil
“I’ll buy that, leave the pus— ah, the other flower for my buddy here, ‘cause I can tell he’s got his heart set on it, and I know why. Gotta help a brother out. I’ll take that pink shell there, too. Now, that is one sexy shell, and I’ve got this new place in Hawaii. Real nice place, great view, but the walls are still bare-naked. Kinda like a beautiful woman late at night, if you know what I mean. Of course, bare’sgood,but sometimes you want to dress her up, you know? How about if I write you a check for six thousand right now, sweetheart?” he asked Dakota.
“How about if you write me a check for seven?” she asked.
Blake shook his head. “Now, see,” he told the man, “this is why I’m not married. Women are just too expensive.”
“John,” the man’s wife said, “I think you should buy me this one. What is this?” she asked Dakota.
“A sego lily,” she said. “It’s a mountain wildflower.”
“Yes,” the woman said. “I thought I recognized it. It would be perfect up at the cabin, John, and it’s not as… explicit.”
“As long as I can get this other thing,” John said stubbornly. “We could put it in that big window in the master bath. Nobody else would see it then.” And Dakota bit her lip and ignored the sardonic gleam in Blake’s eye.
Three minutes later, Dakota somehow had two checks in her purse for eleven thousand dollars. Of course, seven thousand of that she’d have to give back, but still. Blake pulled his phone out of the pocket of his snug-fitting Levi’s, which John’s wife, Dakota couldn’t help but notice, had checked out, and said to Dakota, “I tell you what, darlin’. I’ve got a bunch of guys sitting around a boardroom looking at their watches right now. I’m going to hope that I can leave my bird and those other two things with this lady here and come back for ’em this afternoon. What do you say?” he asked Elizabeth.
She looked a little stiff at being called “this lady,” but she said, “Of course.”
“Good enough. And no offense intended,” he told John, putting out his hand. “When I want something, I can be a little bit ruthless. At least that’s what they say.”
“No offense taken,” John said, shaking hands. “I suppose it comes with the territory. Besides, you left me the one I really wanted. Can’t argue with that.”
Blake nodded and said, “Thanks again, honey,” to Dakota. “And I tell you what—how about leaving your card along with my purchases? I might just need to get hold of you.” And then hewinkedat her. Pushing his luck.
He lurched off and out the door, and Elizabeth asked, “Whowasthat?”
“Blake Orbison,” John said. “Quarterback of the Portland Devils. Super Bowl MVP two years ago. I wouldn’t have taken him for an art collector, but I guess he can afford it.”
“I didn’t get the impression that art was what he was most interested in,” his wife said dryly.
“Well, you know,” her husband said, “young single guy like that, with that much money? He’s going to be cocky. He’s on top of the world. His girlfriend was on the cover of the swimsuit calendar last year. Ah—so I heard.”
His wife looked like she’d have words for him later, but she didn’t say anything.
“Oh,” Elizabeth said. “Football?”
“Yep,” John said. “Super Bowl MVP’s about as ‘football’ as they come.”
He and his wife waited for Dakota to finish boxing up their flowers, and left with John carrying them, refusing Dakota’s offer to ship them, and then it was just Dakota and Elizabeth again, standing in front of three pieces of glass that Dakota had now sold twice.
Elizabeth said, “I’d like ten pieces. I’ll hang them for a month, and we’ll see how it goes. And I’d like that to be exclusive in Portland.”
Dakota resisted the urge to jump up, click her heels, and shout,Yippee!Instead, she said, “If you want an exclusive, you’ll have to do better than that.”
Elizabeth studied her for a long moment, and Dakota tried not to hold her breath. Finally, the older woman said, “Three months’ exclusivity. And you’ll replace pieces as I sell them.”
“I set my prices,” Dakota said. “Whatever you mark up is on top of that.”
Elizabeth inclined her head. And that was it. Dakota had done it.
With a little help from her friends.
It wasn’t easy to stay cool and collected, but Dakota managed it until she was out of the gallery, pulling her hand truck behind her. She headed over to Tenth, then got her phone out once she was safely out of sight and texted Blake.
Are you really headed to a meeting?
She got back,Yep. How’d it go?
I’m in.Was that cheating?
