Page 9

E merson

The Malhoy Gallery is beautiful. Now that my interview is over, I have more time and brainpower to appreciate it all.

The walls are decorated with artwork hanging on every wall. Dark hardwood floors gleam and gives the place a glamourous feel. There are a few sculptures in the center of the bigger rooms and I’m paused studying one when my phone vibrates in my purse.

I pull it out and smile when I see Anthony’s name on the screen.

ANTHONY: How did it go?

EMERSON: Good. I just got done. Now I’m looking around the gallery.

ANTHONY: I was going to suggest dinner but I’m guessing that I won’t be able to drag you away from the art.

EMERSON: I could be tempted… want to grab a slice of pizza?

ANTHONY: Hell no! You could potentially be getting your dream job soon. Let’s go somewhere nice to celebrate.

I look down, studying my outfit. I guess I could do that. I am dressed up more than usual so I wouldn’t look out of place at a nicer restaurant.

Eden was nice enough to let me use their iron so that all of the wrinkles are out of my rose pink silk blouse and black cigarette pants. My black heels finish the look and give me a boost in confidence.

EMERSON: Want me to meet you somewhere?

ANTHONY: No, come back to the penthouse and we can head out together in a bit. I’m headed back there now too.

EMERSON: See you soon!

I walked to the gallery since I was nervous about traffic being horrendous. The gallery is only a few blocks from Alexander’s penthouse anyway.

It doesn’t take me long to get back to Alexander’s building and I type in the code that Anthony sent me, riding up by myself in the private elevator.

Nerves hit me as the elevator rises higher and higher.

Anthony was gone when I woke up this morning. He went with Alexander somewhere and Eden was just leaving as I got up to head to work so I haven’t seen him all day. That means that we haven’t seen each other since we slept together last night.

How am I supposed to act? Are we together now? Was it a one-night stand?

The elevator doors open before I can decide and I’m face to face with Anthony.

“Hey! How did it go?” he asks as soon as I step off of the elevator.

He wraps me up in a hug right away and I relax. I guess this isn’t going to be as awkward as I thought.

“It was good. I think I might have gotten it. Although there were quite a few other applicants waiting when I left, so who knows.”

“Of course you’re going to get it! Did they tell you when they would make a decision?”

“Today was the last day of the interviews so they said hopefully tomorrow afternoon. They want to fill the position as soon as possible.”

“At least they won’t keep you waiting that long,” Anthony says as he leads me into the living room.

“Are Alexander and Eden here?” I ask, looking around.

“No, they’re both still at work. Eden said they might try to join us for dinner. She wants to hear more about you, and I found an open mic tonight that they might come to. It’s been a while since they’ve seen me perform.”

“Is the open mic practice for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, it can’t hurt. Maybe I’ll see some insights with the New York crowds that will help with my audition.”

“When did you want to leave?” I ask, checking the time on my phone. It’s almost six o’clock and I know by the time we get to a restaurant it will probably be closer to seven.

“Alexander should be letting us know any minute if they’re coming or ––”

The elevator doors open and Eden hurries off. Alexander trails after her, walking a lot slower.

“We’ll be ready to go in ten minutes!” Eden says as she hurries down to their room at the end of the hallway.

“We made a reservation for seven,” Alexander says as he follows after her.

“That means that they’re paying,” Anthony says with a grin and I roll my eyes.

I’m distracted by my thoughts. Anthony is acting like last night never happened.

Is that how he wants to play this? Does he think that last night was a mistake? Does he want to pretend like it never happened? I don’t think that I can go all night pretending that we didn’t sleep together last night. I need to know where we stand.

Anthony heads over to the couch and takes a seat and I follow after him.

“Are we going to talk about last night?” I whisper, my eyes darting to see if Eden and Alexander are headed our way yet.

Anthony seems surprised by my question, his eyes widening.

“What about it?”

“Are we just going to pretend that it never happened? Was it just a one-night stand? Do you want something more?”

Anthony swallows hard and I feel like that’s my answer. He doesn’t say anything, the silence stretching between us until it’s like there’s a canyon separating us.

“We’re ready!” Eden calls, walking briskly down the hallway with her husband hot on her heels.

Anthony shoots to his feet, his smile slightly strained around the edges. I climb to my feet, my appetite long gone and I wonder if I should say that I’m not feeling well and sit out dinner, but before I can force the words out, Eden is lacing her arm through mine and dragging me along with her.

“How did your interview go?” she asks me and I latch on to the conversation, happy for the distraction.

I tell her all about it and the gallery. Turns out that she was just there a few weeks ago for an exhibit and I hang on her every word as she tells me all about it.

They have their own driver and Alexander, Eden, and I slide into the back of the town car while Anthony rides up front with the driver.

They take us out to eat at some ritzy place and I’m nervous at first, wondering if I’ll mess up which fork to use and embarrass myself, but then Alexander orders Eden a bacon cheeseburger and I start to relax.

I ignore Anthony all throughout dinner.

It feels too raw, like I’m an exposed nerve and I don’t want to break down in front of Anthony’s brother and sister-in-law. That would be too humiliating.

The comedy club that Anthony is doing his open mic at is only a block and a half away, so we decide to walk.

Eden is telling me all about New York and some of the sites that I just have to check out.

We’ve already discussed the best places to live in case I do get the job at the gallery and end up moving here.

Anthony and Alexander are talking about something but as we get closer to the club, I can feel Anthony’s nerves. He’s tapping his fingers against his leg as we wait outside the club and I know that he’s nervous about bombing again. Especially with his brother and sister-in-law in the crowd.

Especially with his audition tomorrow.

We’re let in and I move closer to Anthony, reaching out and giving his hand a squeeze. He looks down at me and I try to give him a reassuring smile.

We find a table squeezed into the back of the room. It’s one of the only ones left and I look around, taking in the crowd, stage, and the bar on the opposite side of the room. I’m stuck sitting next to Anthony and I try to avoid his gaze.

Maybe him rejecting me is for the best. Neither one of us is sure of our futures and if I don’t get the job, then I’ll be heading back to Los Angeles and he could be moving here.

He did you a favor. This was just a road trip romance. A strange one night stand that just happened to stretch over a few days. It’s about to end. You need to start letting him go now. It will be easier that way.

I keep repeating that to myself as Anthony’s name is called and he stands from our table and heads up to the stage. The closer he gets, the more his stage persona starts to show and by the time he’s climbed the stairs, he’s in full-on cocky comedian mode.

As he starts his set, I can’t help but wonder if he was just putting on a show with me too.