Page 62 of For the Love of Art

CHAPTER

TEN

For most, Monday marked the beginning of five days of getting up early and trudging off to a job they didn’t particularly like. For me, it meant going to a place I enjoyed. Well, maybe this Monday, I was nervous.

I strode into the gallery with purpose. It had been a few days since the Han incident, and I needed to clear the air with Nathan. My heart sank when I reached the offices and saw that his door was closed and there was no light from underneath it.

“He’s not here,” Dori said, confirming what I already knew. “He’s helping the curator at his other clinic with an art collection she found. They’re unloading it today into the showroom.”

I felt a tinge of jealousy at the thought of him helping the other curator, which was ridiculous.

“Thanks for letting me know.”

I offered Dori a smile, and she returned it. I walked to my office, and once safely behind the door, I uttered a muffled curse.

I dropped my purse on the ugly yellow couch, then pressed my back and head into the door. A wave of nausea rushed over me as I thought about our meeting with Han. I quickly made my way to my garbage pail, but the feeling subsided.

I sat down at my desk. A pile of papers was waiting for me, mainly things I needed to sign. I decided that taking my mind off everything with work would be my best bet, so I searched for a pen. I opened one of my desk drawers, and my blood ran cold when I saw the manilla envelope containing my divorce papers. I slammed the drawer shut, breathing heavily like I’d just run a marathon.

Jesus.

I kept that drawer closed for the remainder of the day.

When I finally turned my laptop off for the day, my office had grown dark with the sky. I felt around the floor with my feet, looking for the heels I had discarded at some point during the day between neverending e-mails with the artist after Victoria’s show. I finally found them and slid them closer to pick them up and pull them on my feet. As I did, I heard a giggle from outside my office. I bristled. Dori had left almost an hour ago.

“We can borrow a bottle of champagne for my sister’s show.” Nathan.

Another giggle was followed by a muffled woman’s voice.

I slowly walked around my desk to my office door and peered out. The blonde woman I’d seen Nathan with at the grand opening and then the bar after was smiling as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder while Nathan undid the lock for the storage room.

“This is big news! We have to celebrate!” Nathan said, giving her one of the smiles that made my knees weak.

At that moment, my phone dropped from my hands and hit the ground loudly. Both Nathan and the woman looked in my direction.

“Isla.”

Nathan’s eyes were wide, and I was burning with embarrassment.

“S-sorry!” I knelt and quickly picked up my phone. “Carry on!”

I rushed around my office collecting my things.

“What are you doing here?”

I looked to see Nathan in my doorway. His hands were in his pockets, and his face was calm.

“I work here?”

I could see he had left the blonde woman, who was now tucking her hair behind her ears while looking down at her designer shoes.

“I know that. Maybe a better question would be, what are you still doing here?”

“Working.” Nathan blinked a couple of times but didn’t say anything. I cleared my throat and moved past him. As I walked by, I mumbled, “Sorry for interrupting your date.”

I walked quickly to the front door.

“Go into my office, Gloria. I need to talk to my employee.”