Page 79 of The Amazing Date

I feel my mouth open, and I’m sure my jaw nearly hits the floor. “Is your daughter named Juanita?”

Joy fills his face as his arms uncross, eyes wide. “Do you know my daughter?”

“I was in that crazy competition. It Takes Two.”

“That’s it. You gotta be kidding me.”

“I wish I was. That was my team’s name—the Artist and his Troublesome Muse. We won.” I beam with pride, happy I took the risk and stepped into this art gallery. “Your daughter is remarkable.”

His pride-filled face matches mine. “I know. I’ve been trying to get her to move to New York and help with the gallery. As you can see, I’m a one-man shop. But she loves what she does. These crazy events, always on the road.”

“You can’t stop someone from doing what they love.” I speak to him, but the words ricochet back to me. “I know this is going to sound strange, but can you repeat your earlier question to me?”

His brow raises, but the smile remains on his face. He is used to dealing with the artistic type, their behavior not always within the norms of society. “Ah, okay. Are you an artist or just a collector?”

I pull out my phone. “Artist. My name is Roberto Alvarez. May I steal five minutes of your time and show you some of my work?”

He extends his hand, shaking it once again. “Pleasure meeting you, Roberto. I’m Carlos Moreno. Let’s go back to the office. I have a projector that can connect to your phone. I’m always on the lookout for new talent.”

I follow him down the narrow hallway to the back office. I expected a small, cluttered, cramped space filled with papers and filing cabinets, but it’s the complete opposite. The back office is the same size as the gallery. To one side is a frame station, a custom-designed wooden holder of supplies and tools to the right. A matching adjustable tilting desk houses an easel, paints and supplies to its side. The space has a sense of warmth, love. It’s not just an office; it’s an artist’s studio.

“Mr. Moreno?” I start.

“You can call me Carlos.”

“Before we begin, Carlos, may I ask you a question? Are you still looking for help for the studio?”

Chapter 46

Rylee

I burst through the door and immediately make eye contact with Garrett Richardson, head of accounts. He is sitting in the front of the room by the presentation monitor on the other side of the conference table. Two seats down from him is the stunning Sylvie Claire, the new head of the Claire Ballet company.

She is world-famous with an Instagram following in the millions. You’d never know she has retired. She is barely forty but looks ten years younger. Three members of her team sit at the table as well.

The corners of Garrett’s eyes tighten with my interruption but quickly revert to calm. He’s a seasoned professional, and I fully expected this reaction. He’d never let the client know he wasn’t in control of the room.

Kira, sitting across from Garrett with a laptop in front of her, doesn’t possess this level of professionalism. She turns, shock on her face, and begins to push back from her chair.

I speak before she does. “Apologies for being a few minutes late. Zion and I got caught up with our daily standup review and lost track of time.” I wave Zion to one of the two empty seats at the table and reach across the table to shake Sylvie’s hand. “Rylee Reynolds, account manager, and this is Zion, my creative director. He only goes by one name.”

“Like Madonna,” he adds, beaming a bright smile in Sylvie’s direction.

Sylvie gives me a warm smile. Her dark lipstick provides a striking contrast to her pale white skin. Her black hair is pulled into a tight bun. She nods in Zion’s direction. “Pleasure meeting you.” She tilts her head in the direction of Garrett. “I’m impressed, Garrett. Such a large team for my little ole account. I hope you read the contract. We pay a fixed fee based on deliverables, not by the hour.”

Her shrewd comment unlocks a key for me. Sylvie is a lifelong ballerina, and the industry was shocked when she decided to take over the operations of the dance company so shortly after retiring from dance. Her dad may have formed the company and grown it on the shoulders of Sylvie’s incredible skills onstage, but behind the scenes, they clashed. It’s one of the great mysteries of the industry how she won control of the company, her father now just an advisor on a glorified advisory board.

But I can tell she has a keen business eye and is sharper than anyone expected.

“By now you must know Garrett will do anything to make sure our clients succeed,” I start, not sure where I’m going with the comment.

All eyes are on me, and I shoot a quick glance at Zion. He’ll be my sanity barometer. He’s leaning forward on the tips of his toes, slowly nodding, encouraging me to continue.

So, I do. “One of the things he likes to do for new accounts is setting up a stealth second creative team without the knowledge of the named account leaders. He doesn’t do it often, only in special circumstances, for special clients.”

Sylvie beams with appreciation, placing her elbows on the table, and turns toward Garrett. “I guess we made the right choice in bringing our business to KLC.”

A yelp escapes Kira’s mouth but fades the moment Garrett raises a finger in her direction. “I told you you’d be in good hands with us.”

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