Leona's POV

SEVEN YEARS LATER

My heels clicked noiselessly on the marble floors as I stepped into the exquisite lobby of Moore’s Arts and Gallery. I knew what was coming, and man, I was super excited for it.

Who would believe that I’d be a household name in the art world? And the icing on the cake for me was getting to smear it in the faces of those who never believed in me.

“Good morning, Ms Rivera,” a mid average guy standing at the reception greeted me with a firm smile, bowing slightly.

I returned the greeting with a nod and a bright smile.

Next to the lobby was a young woman whom I presumed to be the CPO waiting for me in a well-tailored cream coloured suit. I could see the admiration and respect in her eyes, and within me my stomach couldn’t help but do a flip.

“Ms Leona Rivera. You’re welcome to our gallery. It’s our pleasure to have you grace us with your presence,” she gushed.

Keeping it simple, I took her hand which she had stretched forward. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Ms Rafael,”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a tour of our gallery before we go to the conference room for the meeting,” she suggested.

Excitement burned in my stomach, but I kept my cool facade up. I didn’t want to appear overly enthusiastic since that could give them a negative impression about me. I hadn’t come this far to mess things up with an act of unprofessionalism.

“I’d be honoured,” I agreed and she began the tour.

The building was a magnificent one, having a state of the art architecture. I couldn't begin to imagine how much money was pumped into this project, and the fact that I was in the process of signing a huge business deal to give this place my touch was mind blowing.

Painting has always been my passion, apart from the fact that it paid my bills, it was something I could do to escape reality.

I was in the process of starting my own art exhibition when Alicia, my best friend who also doubled as my manager got into a conversation with Ms Rafael who wanted me to work with them. Coming here today was just for formalities sake as the deal was already mine.

There were beautiful paintings fixed in strategic areas on the wall. On the floor were antiques: old clocks, wooden bowls coloured with paints, miniature statues of past presidents and altruistic citizens that had contributed positively to the country amongst other items.

We got to an empty section. The wall seemed like it had been freshly painted, bare and ready to be occupied.

“There’s nothing here,” I stated the obvious.

“That’s because this place has been exclusively set aside for you,”

My jaw dropped in genuine shock and elation. “What do you mean?”

She flashed me a warm smile. “We are waiting for you to do your magic with this section,”

I couldn’t hold back my excitement anymore as I snapped my lips shut, covering my mouth to keep myself in check. “It’s unbelievable,”

“We can go to the conference room and finalize the details,”

~~~~~~~

In the big room was the company’s lawyer, Ms Rafael, Alicia, who just arrived a few minutes ago, and myself.

The lawyer, Mr Trayton, passed the file containing the contract to Alicia who was also a lawyer. A sample copy had already been sent a week before I got here so it didn’t take her so long to browse through.

While she was at it, Ms Rafael continued to fill me in with her expectations of me for the company.

“Any artwork supplied to us will be exclusive to us alone,” she pointed out.

“That’s not a problem,” I agreed.

She continued to talk about other things and then Alicia signaled to me that she was done revising the contract.

“It’s all good,” she said.

“Okay then,” I collected the file and signed where I should.

Ms Rafael signed on the document as well as the lawyer.

“Congratulations, Ms Rivera. We’re happy to have you onboard,” she said to me and exchanged a handshake again with me while Alicia did the same with the lawyer.

“I won’t disappoint you,” I assured her.

“I trust you wouldn’t. Have a nice day,” she said and walked out of the room.

Alone with Alicia, I let out the scream I’d been holding in since the beginning of the meeting. I did the belly dance that my body I’d been itching to do with Alicia jumping happily.

“I can’t believe this,” I chirped.

She chuckled, returning to her chair. “You’d better believe it. You’ve worked so hard all these years so trust me when I say that you deserve every good thing that is coming your way,”

Feeling a bit emotional, I leaned against her. “I guess I do. The week after I was transferred was hell for me. You weren’t there and the loneliness coupled with my parents’ disappointment and my heartbreak nearly damaged me. Back then, the only thing that kept me going were my goals, and I’m achieving them already,”

“Every disappointment is a blessing, friend. If Conrad hadn’t broken your heart, you wouldn’t have seen the need to go extra mile with your craft,”

I nodded, ignoring the little void in my heart. My current relationship was great, but the emptiness that lurked within it couldn’t be dismissed.

“Speaking of disappointments, I’m going to give my parents the good news. They’ll be so happy for me,” I yapped.

“You should,” she encouraged me. “And we should also head out,”

I stood up without noticing that my phone was resting on my thighs, and then it dropped to the ground. “Umm, just give me a minute, I’ll be with you shortly,”

The stupid device had slipped under the table, causing me to stoop down so that I could pick it up. The screen was still intact, fortunately.

I was slowly retreating beneath the table when I felt a tap at the small of my back. I flinched, my head colliding against the table.

“What's the problem?” I rasped, nursing the sore spot while turning around.

I blinked once, and then twice. My tongue tasted like copper.

My hand dropped to the side, my poor heart racing faster than a F1 car on a race track as I stared at the man in front of me. Nothing prepared me for this distasteful kind of surprise.

Anger washed over me instantly, my fingers balling into fists.

I spewed out a question. “What are you doing here, Conrad?” My voice was rough. I didn't bother to mask my anger.

His firm lips curved into a cocky smirk. “I own the place, baby.”