I Married a Billionaire: Lost and Found(26)

"Sure, sure," he said. "But I have no doubt that he appreciates you being around to support him, at any rate."

"Yeah," I said. "I guess. Not that you'd know it." I didn't know why I was being so candid with Curtis, when he was essentially a stranger, but it was a relief to be able to talk about it to someone.

Curtis frowned a little bit. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something painful. Here, sit down." He pulled out a chair.

"You didn't. I did." I sat down, slowly. "It's just been hard on both of us, I guess. This whole thing. But him especially, I mean, it's his reputation. It's his life."

"But it's your life too," said Curtis, gently. And to my utter humiliation, I felt tears threatening to gather in the corners of my eyes. It was just such a relief to hear someone say it, besides me. Before I could stop them, they trickled out and started rolling down my cheeks. "Oh, no, honey - I really am sorry," he said, jumping up and grabbing an industrial-sized roll of paper towels from behind him. "I don't think I have any tissues, sorry, but here - I really didn't mean to upset you."

"It's not your fault," I managed, tearing a piece off the roll and dabbing at my eyes. "It's just been so stressful and I don't get much of an opportunity to talk about it, you know, you're always afraid someone's going to tell the…" I looked up at him, suddenly, realizing that I had absolutely no reason to trust that he wouldn't turn around and tell this exact story to a blog or newspaper for a quick buck. DANIEL THORNE'S MARRIAGE IN TROUBLE? TEARFUL WIFE TELLS SOURCE SHE FEELS IGNORED. "I'm sorry - I really shouldn't -" I stood up suddenly, the chair scraping the floor behind me. "Let's just talk about the installment, okay?" My forced cheerfulness was clearly throwing him off a little bit, but he smiled back and went along with it.

"Okay, well, I'd love to take a look at the drawing in person if you don't mind." He gestured towards the portfolio, which was still clutched to my chest.

"Oh, of course." I handed it over, taking a few deep breaths. Get it together, Maddy.

"I love this," he said, softly, staring down at the drawing. "It almost…it reminds me of being a kid, you know? That feeling of being alone, but not lonely. Having all that time to waste. The days just seemed to go on forever. Somehow it never seems to be like that anymore." He smiled at me. "I want to put this one front and center. Come over here, I'll show you what I have planned."

I followed him out to the one of the freestanding walls in the gallery, right in the middle. It seemed like the focal point of the whole place, which made me feel slightly queasy. He held up the pieces he'd selected, showing me several different arrangements he was thinking of.

"Of course, these won't be here," he said, waving his hand over the current installments. "So we'll have plenty of room to play with. What do you think for a backdrop? If I painted the wall a different color, it would really stand out."

"I think it stands out plenty as it is," I said, looking around the room. "Are you sure they wouldn't look better somewhere a little less…conspicuous?"

"Absolutely not," he said, firmly. "I want these to be the first things people see when they walk in. Do you think you'll be able to make the show? It's, uh, the twenty-sixth - starts at five pm. I'm not sure how late it'll run, but if there's any possible way you can make it, I'd really appreciate having you here."

I swallowed. I hadn't even really thought of that. I when I used to dream of having my art shown in galleries, of course I always pictured myself standing beside it and talking about my inspiration to all the interested parties. But now - if I showed, I'd be inundated by reporters and hassled by everyone who recognized my name...

"I can keep it quiet, if it helps," he said. "Not publish your name in any of the announcements. You can be a surprise guest." He smiled. "I'll give you some time to think about it. I'll understand if you can't, but I really hope that you can."

"Thanks, Curtis." I shook his hand warmly. "I really…I really appreciate everything."

"Of course," he said. "I couldn't be happier to have you." He hesitated. "Oh, and - one other thing - I know you're probably not used to people acting like human beings around you anymore, but I promise everything we talked about here today will stay between us. Okay? So no worries on that front."

I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Thank you," I said. "That's very nice of you to say."

"And I mean it." He was still holding my hand in his, and after a moment, he finally seemed to realize what he was doing. He shook his head and let me go, abruptly. "Hang in there, Maddy. I hope I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, me too."

I walked away, with my drawing tucked under my arm. I was going to have some prints made and have it framed in something simple before I handed it over to him for the actual show. If he wanted to change it that was his prerogative, but I just wanted to feel like it was protected. There weren't many things in my life that I felt I was in complete control of, but my art was one of them, and I wanted it to stay that way.

***



I knew Daniel would still be out when I got home, and the silence of the apartment as I shut the door attested to that. I thumbed through the mail on the hallway table, then suddenly heard faint noise issuing from somewhere nearby.