Amber had ran into Harvey L once again at the hotel the previous night and they decided to grab a drink at the mini bar in the hotel. They talked about random things and she even thanked her for rescuing her the last time at the club.
“I am sorry, I didn’t thank you about the incident at the club sooner. I should buy you a meal soon to make up for it” Amber stated and she waved it. “I only did what I should do so there is no need for that” she told her and they clinked their glasses.
“What are you doing around here? Have you moved to this hotel?” Amber questioned further and Harvey shook her head.
“I have to hide here for a bit. Someone I don’t like is now in Paris and he might soon find out that I am here which he shouldn’t so I should lie low and keep myself off his radar till he’s gone” she replied and that only sparked Amber’s curiosity
“And who might that be? I mean the person that shouldn’t know of your presence?”
“A trash that cannot even be recycled. He is the vilest man I have ever met and a cunning snake. His appearance seems normal but if you get to know him, you will see that he’s nothing but a rotten man with a devilish heart” She responded with so much anger and spite visible in her words to the extent that Amber had no choice but to wonder how wicked and vile the person might be.
She raised her nose up in disgust as Harvey described the unknown entity even though she had created a picture of him in her head. “The person must be really terrible” she commented, nodding her head at the extent of the wickedness lying in whoever Harvey might be describing that way.
“He’s extremely terrible, the lowest of the low” Harvey supported and she quickly slid the “Who is he?” question in.
“He’s none other than the CEO of Holland Chemicals! That piece of shit!” Harvey almost screamed and cursed before downing a full glass of alcohol. At the mention of his name, she gasped in shock because she knew he’s the brother to Tom, her boss.
It didn’t look like anything that happened between them was her concern but the thoughts of him suddenly being in Paris made her uncomfortable.
“But why is he in Paris? Is he here for a meeting?” she asked further and Harvey shrugged.
“I don’t know the real reason why he’s here but my friend working at his office told me he ordered her to purchase the tickets to an art interview show. Is he interested in arts now? He’s always full of surprises” Harvey blabbered away and Amber titled her head to process the information.
Her mind flashed by to the car she had always seen every time they went to the art house but she didn’t pay attention because she thought it was the car of someone in the neighborhood. She also remembered the fact that the car was always at close proximity with them most of the time.
“We have been tailed and we didn’t even know” she muttered and Harvey asked what she was talking about but she only replied with a fake smile.
“If he is in Paris and bought the ticket to the live show then that means he wants to confirm something. The fastest way to confirm and humiliate me is to tell me to draw live which I cannot do perfectly. This is trouble” she mumbled to herself as she thought about what to do.
She thought about talking Lawrence into postponing the interview but it would a disappointment for many since there are fans involved too. She thought about pretending to be sick, hiding away or turning down Joseph’s request if he ask for such but she knew well that he’s someone who will never take a no for an answer.
Even as Harvey was gulping down alcohol and tried to make her drink too, she was not in the mood and only clinked glasses with her each round because she had to come up with a countermeasure for Joseph’s trick.
After thinking all night about what to do, she finally called the reception that she’s in need of bandages because she sprained her wrist a little. The hotel provided one with a doctor who attended to her while she pretended to carry out her plan.
She stopped by at a cloth shop to get herself an oversized arm blouse that covered her arm well so she would hide the bandage from everyone then reveal it if Joseph tries anything funny.
***
Joseph went back to the painting at the sitting room and stared at it for quite some time before his father noticed and questioned why he was so invested in the drawing.
“It’s not like this is the first time you will be seeing the drawing so why are you so invested in it?” Chairman Holland questioned from behind and he turned around to look at him.
“Who is the artist who painted this? I am really interested in this work” he asked with a sly smile and his father just walked by to have his seat before answering “Tom painted it while he was very young then. You may not know but he was a very great artist who painted well and neat. He gave me that as a gift on my birthday”.
Joseph snapped his fingers happily as he had gotten what he wanted but he was surprised and curious as to why Tom gave up on painting if he was that talented.
“Why did he stop painting?” he questioned and his father replied straightaway, “He wanted to be in the business. Was that not why he went to business school and is managing the company now? Painting might have not been passionate enough for him to drop it” and released a deep grunt.
Joseph was not convinced enough with the answer and proceeded to question his father further, “What if he is painting in secret? What will you do about that?” he asked and his father who was tired of the interrogation hit the sofa in anger.
“If you have time to spew nonsense then pour the energy into Holland Chemicals! Why is there no improvement in sales ever since you joined? That is because you spend time poking your nose into unnecessary matters. If you don’t want to get kicked out then you better face the company and do well!” Chairman Holland roared at him and left the sitting room in anger.
“That cranky old man” he mumbled as he watched the chairman head inside.
Joseph proceeded to order for the interview tickets immediately he heard about Amber going and also booked his flight to Paris to attend. He wanted to confirm his hunch and he wanted to ridicule Tom on a very large scale.
“Imagine the reaction if people find out that the CEO of Shellhouse, the great Tom is the one behind the painting but lied about and hired someone for the job. I can’t wait to see you hit rock bottom” he chuckled to himself.
***
He strolled into the gallery naturally like one of those who had come for the interview as a fan and took his seat casually. Thankfully no one knew him so he blended with the crowd and purposely sat at the last row where the crowed would hide him well till he is ready to drop the bomb.
He kept smirking to himself as he watched everyone ask questions and waited patiently for his turn. “Let’s have the last question for today” the host announced and he stood up with so much pride and confidence.
Even though Amber was already expecting him to be there, she was still nervous about what he would ask. She might have had a backup plan but what if he’s there with something different entirely? She will just have to leave it to luck.
She quickly averted her gaze to avoid eyes contact in order to hide her nervousness and waited for him to ask his question.
“I have been a fan of your works ever since you have created the account and upload your works. As you can see, I even came to this fan interview because I want to meet you so bad. Although this is not a question, it’s a request. Can I get a drawing from you? Or even sketch? I don’t want it to be perfect or aesthetic, I just want a symbol of this important moment to stick me for the rest of my life” he stated, trying as much as possible to sound natural and innocent.
As expected, he’s requesting for a live drawing and thank goodness, she had a plan ahead. Joseph was really predictable for her. He watched her eyes wander as she tried to conceal her nervousness and a creepy smirk crawled to his lips because it seemed like he was having the upper hand.
She finally lifted her head bravely and smiled for a bit before responding, “I would have love to carry out this request to make you happy but what do we do? Today is a bad day” she answered and he raised his brows, “What do you mean today is a bad day? Everything you need is well prepared and available here ma’am” he countered and she tried her best not to snort.
“When I said it was not a good day, I meant that I can’t draw because I strained my wrist” she announced and raised her hand that was hidden under the oversized arm of the blouse she was putting on in the air to show him.
The look of shock on his face was so evident that she knew she got him for real, it was a shock to him and a win for her. A smirk appeared at the side of her mouth followed by a mumbled “I got you good”.