As they ascended upstairs, Jeremy couldn't keep his eyes off the painting which was still within his sight.
"There she is, you got it from here", Jackson waved at Linda who was headed towards them thus directing Jeremy's attention from the painting to the lady in question.
Linda was wearing a half-shoulder purple maxi dress with a mustard color hair band perfectly partitioning her hair in half forcing a handful to cover her forehead. Jeremy couldn't stop looking at her, it was like she was another piece of art. She looked carefree and a smile decorated her face reminding Jeremy of the picture he saw at the reception, also forcing him to compare her to her office persona. He silently admired her beauty, one thing he couldn't deny was her beauty, it was indescribable. Although Linda was rushing towards Jeremy, in his eyes, she was walking in slow motion with the wind blowing softly at her hair. He was soon snapped back to reality by Linda now in front of them.
"Fiance!...to what do I owe this pleasure, you miss me already. Thank you Jackson" she turned to the lady who walking next to her with an iPad taking notes, "That's all for now Nancy, make sure everything is set for the viewing this evening and all the Art Pieces are at their spots like I showed you..." Yes ma'am", Nancy walked away, but before she fully turned she stole a glimpse of the handsome man in front of her who seemed to be completely lost in Linda's eyes. Upon seeing Nancy glancing at Jeremy, Linda felt a sting of jealousy,
"Oh, that's my fiance, now move along...". Nancy embarrassingly rushed away. Although young, Nancy was a very capable curator overseeing everything in Linda's absence, Linda trusted her, but she also knew that Nancy was at an age where a glimpse of a handsome man made her stop and stare.
She sighed and opened the door to her office, "Fellow fiance, it is actually a good thing you are here, I had seen the sculptures you sold online, and I saw them fitting very well with the arts we plan on auctioning at the gala event. So I was wondering if you would like to showcase one of them at the upcoming gala, ofcourse the earnings go to a charity. But we can buy it from you, allowing you to make money...plus, this will be good publicity for you..", Linda said taking a seat on the grey couch in her office,
Jeremy glowed with excitement and took a seat next to Linda, "Oh! That would be awesome", although he had no intention of breaking into the mainstream, he couldn't say no to this opportunity, especially seeing the kind of quality art hung on the wall, most importantly, 'that' painting, he needed to know how Linda got that painting. This also supported his mission of making Linda fall for him, the closer he worked with her and spent time together, the greater the chances of her falling for him, this way, victory was certain.
Linda smiled and excitedly clapped her hands, "Nice! When can I come to see the work you want to display?",
"Anytime, just let me know the time?", Jeremy replied with a smile
"Okay, I will look at my schedule and let you know. Is that for me?", she said pointing at the cappuccino in front of him. Jeremy nodded and gave the cup over to her. Linda took in the smell of the caffeine, before softly taking a sip, "So, why are you here again?", she asked curiously
"Nothing...I just want to say thank you and apologize for my behavior yesterday. I hope I didn't say anything too embarrassing..", Jeremy's face turned red as he recalled his drunk state.
Linda put the cup on the table to open the sandwich package, "No, you didn't say anything, but, Jeremy, why did you go over your limits?",
"I was nervous, I made so many mistakes yesterday, I am sure I made a bad first impression so I would like to apologize to your grandparents and fix my mistakes, is it okay if I take them out for breakfast tomorrow", Now being sure that Linda didn't know anything, his next plan was to make sure Joseph doesn't say anything,
Linda took a bite of the sandwich while reading the look in Jeremy's scheming eyes, 'he's hiding something,' she thought, then took a sip of the coffee and said, "Don't worry about it",
"Why?", Jeremy was surprised by Linda's response,
"Because they invited you for the family dinner next Sunday evening, so clearly they didn't find you to be offensive", she said casually
Jeremy exhaled melting away his tense expression, "Oh, okay,"
Linda stood up, and made her way to her desk, "If that's al-"
"Is there a dress code?", Jeremy's question made her smile, it was the first time Linda genuinely smiled at something Jeremy said, and it gave him goosebumps, She calmly said, "Just formal casual, nothing too hectic or too relaxed either."
"hmmmm", Jeremy nodded,
Linda continued now leaning on her table and looking at Jeremy who was still sitting on the couch in front of her, "You can bring white lilies for my grandmother and vintage wine for grandfather, that would be apology-worthy. Oh you will also meet my uncle and my aunt, but Freddy and Sharon will also be there, you already know them".
Seeing that she was done, Jeremy turned Linda's attention to a different topic," Thank you. On another note, the gallery is beautiful, do you mind if I take a look around...", he had to have a second look at that painting,
"Sure, I will ask Nancy to take you around. in fact, we have an event in the evening, if you don't mind you can come.", she called Nancy to come to her office, meanwhile Jeremy stood up preparing to leave,
"That would be awesome. You know what, I will just come in the evening, thanks for the invite."
Nancy soon walked in, and Linda directed her attention to her" Nancy please give my fiancé a pass, and honey, the dress code is formal." Jeremy was surprised and amused by Linda's sudden change in behavior, but decided to reciprocate it, "Thanks honey, see you later', but took it one step further by laying a soft kiss on Linda's cheek causing her to blush.
She didn't think Jeremy would go that far, she just had her first kiss and Jeremy was unaware. While Linda was left blushing in her office, Jeremy was texting John to meet up with him, then after John, he sent a text to a number he hadn't contacted in a while.
"What is your painting doing in Linda's gallery?"
Meanwhile, Linda had now called Nancy back into her office, "You can take down that painting I asked you to put up earlier, the one by Kim Jin Ae, and put back the original, I think your selection was better", she said nonchalantly while typing away on her laptop.