Blossom in Winter (Blossom in Winter #1)(37)

“Hi, Cate. How are you? Is Van Dieren available?”

“Hi, Andrew. Let me check.” She calls and speaks over the phone in a low, discreet voice. “You can enter. You’ve got ten minutes.”

Andrew swallows hard. “Perfect. Thank you, Cate.” He looks at me standing behind him. “Let’s go.” He then takes a deep breath and, after knocking out of courtesy, opens the door. “Mr. Van Dieren, how are you doing?”

Alex stands leaning against the edge of his office desk, reading some report. He doesn’t pay attention to Andrew’s greeting. I notice he’s wearing glasses to read. Damn, even with glasses he looks hot. Today he’s formal but somehow looks effortless—fit navy-striped waistcoat and pants; white shirt with a tie and sleeves rolled up to his elbows; hair unbrushed, wild, and loose, touching each side of his forehead... Petra, focus! I decide to move toward him and introduce myself. “Good afternoon, Mr. Van Dieren.” I extend a hand. “I’m Petra Williams, an intern on Andrew’s team.”

“Petra,” he smiles, staring at me straight in the eyes, probably proud to see me here in his office. “Very nice to meet you.” He holds my hand a fraction longer than necessary.

“Mr. Van Dieren, many thanks for your time. Petra is a new but very motivated intern, and she gave me some great ideas to open a new fund—a small one—in the field of emerging artists.”

“I see… So, who had the idea for this fund?”

“I did,” reply both Andrew and I at the same time.

What a liar! I can’t believe it! “I’m sorry, Andrew, I think you misunderstood. I did talk to you about my idea over lunch, but I am the one who did all the legwork,” I protest. Alex tries hard to suppress a smile. “Mr. Van Dieren, I’d like to discuss the opportunity to have a fund to invest in emerging artists that could generate real value for the firm,” I start. “I know this is not a field you’ve supported previously at Gatt-Dieren Capital, but art is just like—”

“Andrew?”

“Yes, Mr. Van Dieren?”

“You may go back to your desk. I’m sure your interns are looking for you.”

“Sure.” Andrew can’t hide his disappointment at being dismissed, but he leaves the office anyway.

Alex keeps quiet until Andrew shuts the door behind him. He looks back at me with a corner smile. “I’m impressed. That’s a great start. Roy will be very proud of you.”

I try to keep a serious, professional face, but I also let a quick smile escape. “Being stubborn has its benefits.”

“Here.” He hands me his file. “You’ve got all the details of your new fund inside.”

I open it and read the first page attentively. “I don’t see Andrew Sullivan as the fund supervisor…”

“Correct, he is not. I am the supervisor. You report directly to me.”

“They’ll find it suspicious. It’s a small fund of…” I blink many times before I can read the capital properly without gagging. “One-point-five million dollars?”

“I did some research about the artists you talked about. Quite impressive. For instance, that Mel Bochner you like so much—his artwork has been sold in auctions for one hundred thousand dollars apiece. I’m no art dealer, but you’re on the right path to become one. As you’ll read in the conditions, this is a long-term fund, so you can’t spend it all during your internship—you also have to leave two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in capital for emergency and growth.”

I feel light-headed. Beyond excited. I want so much to hug him tight. But instead, I smile respectfully and say, “I won’t disappoint you. Thank you so much, Alex.”

“You should thank your father too. After all, he’s the one who suggested giving you a seven-figure fund.”





What I considered to be work doesn’t feel like work at all anymore. With such an amazing opportunity to finally build up a substantial art collection, I’m keeping myself as focused as an eagle on its prey, except the prey is my investment plan— a requirement before spending a dime.

“I didn’t start the right way with you. I’m sorry.” But I keep staring at my screen, ignoring Andrew exactly like our CEO just did.

“That’s alright,” I mumble, since he’s not leaving. And I know why. I’m laughing hard inside. Andrew is not getting a single dime of my new fund, and I love it! “Just in case you didn’t know, you’re not supervising this fund.” My eyes remain on the screen, but I can feel his mind churning in confusion.

“What? What do you mean I’m not supervising your fund?” He grabs the file from my desk and impatiently reads the fund’s details. “Very well, Williams. That’s a move I wasn’t expecting. You like to play tough. We’ll see how you perform.”

“Oh, c’mon, Andrew. Stop crying.” I find myself saying as I shift my eyes to him. “It would have been an insignificant bonus anyway. You should focus on where the big money is.” I finish with a friendly smile, though I know Andrew isn’t pissed because of the commission, but rather because he’s been outsmarted, and his ego is now taking a hammering.

“Look, you might have charmed Van Dieren with your pathetic idea, but I’m still your supervisor. And I am the one writing the reports about your behavior, your ethical approach, and your professionalism…” He steps slightly closer to me. “You know if I give you poor ratings in terms of your behavior toward your superiors, no firm in New York will hire you, right?”