by Pinki Parks
Ava tilted her head back and took in the concave ceiling of the dome shaped gallery. Tristan had finally revealed where he worked when he wasn’t in class, and her jaw about fell to the floor when she found out it was one of the more successful galleries in town. It was the kind of gallery that didn’t make her feel as if she had to whip out her checkbook and take something home for appearance’s sake.
She felt more at ease in the younger crowd than she cared to admit. Tristan leaned against the wall, a few feet away from a bust that sat on top of a stone pedestal. Ava spread her lips into a smile, a burst of confidence shot through her upon seeing Tristan. Tristan wasn’t the kind of man to roll out of bed and go out into the world to begin with, but there was something about seeing him a bit more polished that lit her belly on fire.
A sweater clung to his body, his eyes were low, and focused on the girl in front of him. His thick, dark hair had been trimmed recently, and looked nice and full. A light stubble peppered his cheeks, a newer development, when Ava pointed out that a little scruff on his cheeks gave him a rugged, savage look that she didn’t mind, he’d seen to it to add it to his look. The muscles in his thighs and calves stretched parts of his dark jeans. Ava’s mind had already run away with thoughts of how they’d look halfway around his ankles as he eased himself on top of him.
Tristan caught her eye as she approached and gestured to the girl in front of him. The petite brunette whipped her head around and plastered a phony smile on her face. Ava’s eyes fell to the exposed skin that sat on display on the younger girl’s chest. Her eyes were dark and beady, and Ava thought that the color looked better on most rats in the subway.
The younger tossed her thick sheet of hair behind her and said, “It’s so cool to meet you! Tristan told me that he was waiting for his date!” Her perfect, white teeth had a wolfish quality about them that made Ava want to push her fist into her mouth and scream.
“I’m Emily, I have the same class as Tristan this semester,” she extended her hand towards Ava, unprepared for the strong business grip that Ava had spent the last decade perfecting.
Emily disguised her discomfort and said, “It’s so nice to see you again.”
“Again?” Ava repeated, she glanced at Tristan, who busied himself with the finer details of a painting that hung from the wall. Ava put on her best business smile and said, “Have we met?”
Emily giggled but it reminded Ava of the high-pitched sound that tires make when they stop against the asphalt. “I was in your lecture. I loved it. I thought that I could lean so much from you.” She glanced at Tristan and turned her gaze back to Ava, “How lucky is Tristan that he can have your expertise all the time?”
Ava grinned and said, “I don’t know, I don’t think my business advice is necessarily useful in the field that he’s going into, Emma.”
“Emily.”
“Yeah, do you know anything about the pieces here?” Ava asked, she moved towards one of the larger paintings that hung on the wall, a long stretch of land was pictured in front of them. A girl’s blue and yellow dress twirled in the breeze while her back was turned to the viewer.
Emily blinked, and cleared her throat. The jazz that flowed through the speakers threatened to drown out her next attempt at conversation. “Yes, Tristan and I were just discussing it,” she reached over and swatted Tristan across the arm.
Tristan offered her a polite smile and said, “Huh?”
Emily wrapped her arms around herself in a way that highlighted the perkiness of her breasts. She pointed at the painting in front of them and said, “Remember? You were saying that you might buy it, but it’ll cost a month’s rent?”
Tristan waved his hand in her direction and said, “I was just talking shit. I don’t think I’ll actually leave with it.”
Emily giggled and said, “Get it, or I’ll buy it for you.”
Ava frowned and averted her gaze to another painting. What exactly is she expecting in return for this painting? Ava shook her head. You’re being ridiculous. Of course, girls his age are going to flirt with him. Shamelessly. I was a monster when I was her age.
She relaxed her hands which had begun to curl themselves into fists. A small group on the other side of the room caught her eye, and she seized the opportunity to pretend to be interested in the painting on that was attracting so much attention. Ava didn’t miss the way that the young men that Tristan probably went to school with kept their eyes glued to her ass and tits as she walked through the room. She’d never been the kind of person to rely solely on money to keep her looks up, she ate well, tried to work out when she felt she could tolerate it, but she couldn’t help how good she felt knowing that she could still draw every man’s attention towards her.
Ava stopped just in front of the painting and took in the scene in front of her, the swirly watercolors that had been used looked as if they might leak off of the page and onto the bleached white walls beside her. A girl took a couple of timid steps towards her and asked, “Wine?”
Ava swept her eyes across the room. Drinks didn’t dangle from anyone else’s fingertips, no one had even excused themselves to have a guilty cigarette. Most of these people aren’t legal. A part of her was irritated that the girl had drawn attention to her age but when young, bubbly, busty girls like Emily were her ‘competition’ she figured that appearing a bit more refined couldn’t hurt. She grinned and plucked a glass of wine off of the serving plate, “Thank you.”
The girl lingered as if she had a question on the tip of her tongue, her big, blue eyes that hid behind her glasses reminded Ava of a fishbowl. Ava raised her eyebrows as if to silently ask her what was on her mind, but the girl lowered her eyes to the floor and hurried off.
Ava sighed and took a sip of wine, she moved away from the crowd that she’d attached herself to and allowed her feet to carry her away from everything. She wandered down a dimly lit hallway, the smell of oils and acrylics rose up into her nostrils, and that combined with the smell of what could have only been boxed wine resting in her hand, made her stomach churn.
She moved further into the hall until she disappeared into an unused conference space. Ava narrowed her eyes and the boxy shape of the podium became visible. It was a lecture room, the chairs had been neatly tucked away to the right of her, the lights dangled from the ceiling and but a thin layer of dust sat on top of them.
Ava leaned against the wall and took a long sip of wine. She wondered how long it would take for Tristan to notice that she was gone, Emily’s rack could probably hold a conversation for hours.
She jerked her head up at the sound of footsteps, Tristan’s dark sneakers squeaked against the tile floor as he stepped inside. He swung his head to the right, and then to the left of him. “Ava?” His voice bounced off of the walls.
Maybe I should just sit here in the dark until he realizes that he should get back to Emily. Ava exhaled and said, “Hey.”
Tristan moved towards her, his eyes fluttered open-and-shut as he adjusted to the dark. “What are you doing out here? There’s some amazing pieces out there.”
Ava managed a stiff nod and said, “Yeah, but it seemed like you were a little too caught up to enjoy any of the work.” She crossed her arms over her chest and scanned his face for a hint of embarrassment.
His eyebrows rose and he said, “Caught up? Emily wanted to talk my ear off, as usual.”
Ava unfolded her arms and took a sip of wine. “That’s because she likes you. You can’t be that dense.”
A stunned laugh fell between them. Tristan shifted his weight to one side and said, “And I’m guessing that you don’t like that.”
Ava rolled her shoulders and said, “I don’t know. It’s only natural, young, pretty girls like that wanting to mark their territory. Although, Emily was about one step away from hiking up her leg and-”
“This is funny.” Tristan took a step towards her and reached towards her.
Ava wrinkled her nose, and asked, “What’s so funny?”
>
“I got one of the wealthiest women in the city to feel jealous over me. Me halaga, mi amor.”
The feelings of embarrassment that she’d been hoping to avoid by slinking away from Tristan and Emily came racing back to her. Ava looked into the wine glass that she held and said, “Flattered about what?”
Tristan’s laughter went from a low chuckle to a full-blown belly laugh as he wrapped his long arms around her. He pulled her to his chest, the same cologne that she’d smelled when she ran into him on campus rushed to her senses. Ava sighed and said, “Why are you laughing at me?”
“You’re so amazing, and you’re actually jealous over a twenty-year-old airhead.” Tristan smoothed the back of her head and said, “I can’t believe that you think that you have competition.”
Ava pushed against Tristan’s chest and tilted her head back to look at him, “Are you saying that I don’t? She’s beautiful, and young, and the timing is just right-”
“She’s an airhead. Hear that? She’s got nothing between her head, and a trust fund waiting on her after she graduates from college.”
“Not all girls you age will be airheads, Tristan.” Ava finally let her guards down and revealed her soft spot. “I can’t fall for you and have you run off with someone half my age.” It was then Tristan felt the love she had for him was serious.
“That’s not going to happen. Or it might, if you keep pushing me away. Besides, I take the same chance at being with you.”
“How so?”
“You could dump me for a handsome billionaire tomorrow.”
Ava allowed herself a smile and moved back to her spot against the counter. “I- can you blame me? One day, you will see me as old and you will find girls your age more appealing and more fitting.”
Tristan moved towards her until his body was pressed against hers. She could feel his warm minty breath on her neck as he stood there holding in his desire for her as though she was the only woman in world. His hand traveled from her hair to her shoulders. Ava gasped and whispered, “What are you doing?”
“Shh. I like this dress.”
Ava yelped as the wine glass fell to the floor, a thin stream of white wine sprayed across the linoleum.
His lips closed onto the spot between her neck and shoulders, and he groaned in her ear, “I want you.”
“I want you too.”
The chatter from the main room in the gallery was drowned out by Ava’s pants, she threw her head back and parted her legs as Tristan pushed her onto the counter. Emily and the crowd were miles away.
Chapter 20
Valeria scooped a bundle of papers off of her desk and into her waiting hand. The familiar click of heels started to echo off of the walls and she shared a glance with an intern that hurried past her desk. It was contract day, and while Ava had never been the kind of boss to take her anger out on her employees, everyone feared what her response might be if they lost one of the biggest accounts in the country. Valeria smoothed the front of her dress, over the weekend, she’d managed to get an appointment in the salon that Ava recommended and she got her hair dyed a simple auburn color. Inoffensive, plain auburn with a dark tint, she refused to even think that she might be the reason that the clients were turned off, she didn’t want to let the old-fashioned men think that Ava couldn’t run a tight ship.
Valeria held her hands out in front of her, her eyes widened upon seeing her red painted fingertips trembling. I can’t wait until this is over and I can go back to thinking that I have 100% job security. She couldn’t afford to lose a job like this, it looked too good on her resume compared to her peers that had to take up jobs at hotels or bars until they found a job in their field. Her friends weren’t able to run out of compliments when they tasted the wine that Ava had gifted her a little over a month ago. She remembered plastering a confident smirk on her face and saying that because of Ava, gifts like this were just going to be her life.
She wasn’t entirely wrong. In the last month, Ava had given her more passes and freebies than she ever thought she would have gotten at this time in her life. Last week, over coffee, she even hinted at sending Valeria to grad school with the help of the company. Valeria stuffed her fears down as far as they would go when Ava appeared at the top of the stairs.
Ava was dressed in a tight-fitting business dress that stopped just before her knees. Valeria found herself wishing that she’d age like Ava more and more each day. Ava’s dress was a checkered red pattern, bright red, glossy heels covered her feet. Her dark tendrils flamed her glowing face and she nodded at Valeria, “Good Morning. Did you get in okay? Get a chance to get yourself a coffee?”
Valeria nodded and followed Ava into her office. She extended the bundle of papers towards her and said, “Here are copies of the meeting briefs. I know that you have them already but I wanted you to have a double set in case you spilled coffee or they spilled coffee-”
Ava held up her hand that way she did when she was ready for the other person to finish talking. “Valeria, I really appreciate that. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Valeria got a whiff of expensive perfume as Ava leaned forward and took the papers out of her hand. Ava walked around to her desk and fell back in her seat. Her eyes searched the space in front of her, running over her meticulously arranged desk. She grinned and said, “Contract day, huh?”
Valeria dumbly nodded and added, “Yeah, this is huge. Right? Like the company could triple its net worth because of this.”
Ava’s eyes were focused on her blackened computer screen and she ran her short nails along the underside of her chin. “I suppose it could, huh?”
Valeria’s eyes snapped open and she said, “Oh my God, you weren’t even thinking about that, were you? I’ve made you nervous, please don’t be mad-”
Ava grinned and said, “Valeria, shut up. You’re alright. The deal will be alright.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other.
Valeria blinked and said, “R-Really?”
Ava shrugged and half opened her eyes as she said, “It either will or it won’t be, right?”
Valeria’s stare lingered for a moment before she said, “That’s right.” Over the last month, Ava had been playing it cooler than she ever had since Valeria had started working for her. Cancelled meetings and conference calls were met with indifference or mild irritation. A ruined coffee order was met with reassurance and a shrug. Ava still carried the same fire about her when it came to meeting with other executives or handing out new practices they were going to follow, but the short fuse that Valeria had grown accustomed to during some of Lawrence Realty’s weak periods was all but gone.
Until now, Valeria thought that you had to be a tough bitch to get ahead in the business world, but it was becoming more and more likely that Ava wasn’t a bitch at all.
Ava pushed her chair back and jumped to her feet. “I need to make some last-minute phone calls and such. I’ll be in the conference room, feel free to give me a call if you need anything.”
Valeria nodded and her eyes followed Ava to the door. Ava hovered in the doorway and said, “Val?”
“Yes, Ava?”
“On second thought, please run to Kellers and get my coffee order extra strong,” she paused and narrowed her eyes, “Extra.”
Valeria nodded and flew towards the coat rack with lightning speed.
***
Tristan’s feet pelted against the sidewalk. The roar of the subway went on behind him and he shoved his hands in his pockets as he ambled along the sidewalk. Snow mounds were scooped onto either side but snowflakes still clung to his shoes, a thick, navy scarf was wrapped around him and it was going to be just enough to keep him warm until he got to Lawrence Realty.
A goofy smile spread across his face underneath his scarf. He supposed that Ava could keep him warm once he arrived. He knew that she had a long work week ahead of her and that she’d probably be grateful for the distraction. Over the last mon
th, if he had any free time after work or school, he was with Ava or she came to his place. Being with her had become second nature to him, and he knew that she was beginning to grow accustomed to having him in her life as something other than a booty call.
Getting her over to his parent’s house for family dinner still proved to be a challenge. He knew that as wonderful as she was, his mother still might find a flaw with her despite the fact that was three times what Anna would consider to be a “nice Italian girl.” His father would wonder why she wasn’t Mexican. There was never any pleasing both parents when you had a mixed heritage, at least, not for Tristan.
Tristan walked past Kellers and paused for a moment. Warm air blew towards the sidewalk, and momentarily broke up the gust of cold that came towards him. He turned and met eyes with the homeless man that sat slouched in a pile of coats and newspapers.
The homeless man offered him a friendly nod and said, “Cold one, isn’t it?”
“Sure is.” Tristan said, before stepping inside. He moved forward in line, and when it was time for him to order, the barista grinned and whipped out two red cups. “Are you having your usual plus Ms. Lawrence’s order?”
Tristan chuckled and said, “Yeah, except I’ll just take the hot cocoa.”
The barista grinned, she pushed a strand of her blue hair behind her ear. “Hot cocoa, huh? Okay. Hey, what do you have going on with Ava anyway?” She paused and waited for him to answer, her eyes ran up and down him and she pressed her teeth into her bottom lip.
Tristan chuckled and said, “We’re together.”
“That’s a shame,” she said, “I would have thought that you’d go for someone my age.”
“That’s flattering.”
The barista shrugged and slid a pen from behind her ear. She scribbled the drink order on both cups and set them onto the bar. She smiled again, the light bounced off of her glossy lip gloss. “Let me know how that works out.”
Tristan fished in his pocket for a twenty and handed it over to her. He held his hand up when she offered him his change, “Keep it.” Tristan got his drinks and stepped outside, he turned to the right of him and handed the hot cocoa to the homeless man. “Here you go, man. Stay warm.”