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‘And it’s working,’ came a voice from behind them. Olivia turned to see a tall, elegant woman in a neat navy uniform and crisp white shirt, her blond hair pulled back in a sleek chignon. ‘Mr Hunter-Williams? Miss Campbell? I’m Elisabet, the cruise director for the MSVigil. I can’t tell you how excited we are to have you on board.’
Aaron took her hand, shaking it firmly. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘Has the ship changed a lot then?’ Olivia asked.
‘A complete overhaul. New interiors, new safety features – we even had a helipad installed. It is astate-of-the-art expedition ship now, and one I am very proud to work on. Can I give you the tour?’
Aaron shook his head. ‘I’ve been on board for the past couple of days. But I do have a few questions about the itinerary. I know the showcase is set for day six – will that definitely coincide with the Antarctic Circle crossing?’
‘The captain understands how important this is, but he also has to keep the itinerary flexible. An Antarctic voyage is never predictable – weather, sea conditions, ice thickness – all those could affect our timings …’ The two continued talking as they walked down the stairs towards the main reception desk. Olivia trailed behind, staring up at the installation. There was a small plaque at the bottom of the stairs naming the piece.Ice Stormby Perla Weinberg.
Olivia shivered, despite herself.
The lobby began to fill with people. The all-aboard time was set for four p.m. – still a couple of hours away – but many of the passengers boarded early to get settled in their cabins and take advantage of the lunch buffet. Olivia joined Aaron and Elisabet at the reception desk.
‘Can I see the cabin list again?’ Aaron asked Elisabet.
‘Yes, of course.’ She searched her desk for a sheet of paper listing all the guest names and their assigned cabins, before placing it in front of Aaron.
Their cabin was the one place Olivia hadn’t been yet. They had boarded in the morning so Aaron could do his final checks in the onboard gallery, and they’d had an early lunch with Stefan. Aaron and Stefan had had an argument over what should be available for sale in theshowcase. After Yennin’s death, the Hunt Advisory owned the copyright to all his paintings, and in turn licensed the auction rights at sea to Stefan’s company Art Aboard. Aaron had given them an original Yennin as the primary draw, but there were also a few limited-edition signed prints and sketches that would be extremely valuable, especially since getting his signature wouldn’t be possible again. Art Aboard had also requested a slew of cheaper options – mass-produced prints, postcards, even a souvenir T-shirt – with Yennin’s artwork on it. But Aaron didn’t want to make the lower-priced items available. He was in charge of protecting Yennin’s legacy, and it was a job he took seriously.
She admired his passion, and that he somehow never seemed to run out of energy. It was one of the things she loved most about him. But she soon learned it was something he expected of everyone in his life: artists, gallery owners and even girlfriends.
The months following their meeting in front ofnemigahad been a whirlwind.
‘Tell me everything,’ Tricia had demanded, after Olivia had returned to their apartment from being whisked away on a European adventure straight after work on Friday. Trish had always wanted the details of Olivia and Aaron’s dates, especially in those first few months. She’d curled her legs up on their Ikea sofa, glass of Pinot in hand, and looked at Olivia expectantly.
For her part, Olivia was willing to indulge; her relationship with Aaron was so different to any she’d been in before. She was exhausted from the travel, but she slumped into the shabby armchair opposite and told Trish as much as she could remember. Aaron had takenher to visit the Hunt Gallery’s second location in the Swiss city. He needed to drum up interest in his next auction, exclusively of Yennin’s work. Despite being reviewed well,nemigahadn’t sold at theINTO THE UNKNOWNexhibition, so he was giving it another chance.
It would be make-or-break for the artist, before Aaron would be forced to move on to promote someone else.
They’d then flown from Geneva to Vilnius, where Yennin was from. The artist had run away from his main studio in London, disappearing to his sister’s home for a while. Their visit was for Aaron’s benefit: to make sure Yennin’s next pieces were progressing, and Aaron wanted to meet with Yennin’s new social media manager, who was going to create new video content in the lead-up to the auction. Generate buzz a different way.
While Aaron had his meetings, Olivia had wandered the streets, taking in the medieval parts of the city, tryingcepelinai– little potato meat dumplings – and admiring its grand cathedral. When they’d met up again in a small boutique art hotel, Aaron had no longer seemed so worried. ‘You know these artist types. You can’t rush them, so it’s my job to tell their story while we await the next great masterpiece.’
Back in their small Brixton flat, she gratefully took the second glass of wine Tricia poured. ‘It was amazing. I brought you home some chocolates, before you get worried I forgot about you.’ She took a box out of her suitcase and laid it out on the coffee table between them.
‘Oh, I see how it is. I get airport chocolate while you’re living it up in fancy hotels. I havesevereInstagram envy. Speaking of – what’s your artist’s profile? You said he’dset it up, right?’ She had her phone out and was primed to follow him.
‘His new social media person is launching it this week. I had no idea how important Instagram could be to building artists’ profiles. But Aaron showed me what prices these new “red chip” artists are achieving at auction.’
‘Wow, look at you using all the lingo. Aaron’s really rubbing off on you. Does he have a friend for me?’
Olivia laughed. ‘I’ll ask.’
‘Good, because I think I completed Tinder last week.’ She unwrapped a chocolate and popped it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned in exaggerated ecstasy – despite her protests, Olivia knew basic milk chocolate was Tricia’s weakness. ‘I don’t know, I hang around Langan’s and Hakkasan every weekend and can’t score a date, but you go to one gallery opening and you end up with Aaron Hunter-Williams.’
Olivia picked at the edge of her fingernail. ‘It’s not all glamour, you know. He’s under a lot of stress. I don’t know all the details, but I have a feeling that if this Yennin auction doesn’t go well, he’ll be so disappointed.’
‘Is he mad that you advised that billionaire guy against buying that painting?’
Olivia tutted. ‘I didn’t advise against it; I just stated the facts as I saw them. Besides, Aaron asked me to invite him to the auction, so I’ve done that.’ From out of her laptop bag she pulled a stack of spreadsheets she’d printed out to look over. She preferred looking at hard copies; it helped her see things clearer.
Tricia raised an eyebrow. ‘Whoa, what’s all that? More work?’
‘As always.’
‘Which client? I can talk to Lisa if you want. She shouldn’t be running you into the ground like this.’