Chapter 16 - Passion Of Love

He texted me first.

After my mama sent the message we spent the rest of the day catching up and avoiding checking my phone. I didn't want to feel like I was waiting for paint to dry. It would be a while before he saw it so to keep my anxiety down my phone was put out of sight so then it would be out of mind.

However when I went to bed and checked my phone for messages and my schedule for tomorrow since I would be returning to work I saw a message from an Italian number.

'Ciao Celeste. It's me Dante. I read your file and it would be a great pleasure for me to meet you. However, timing is not on my side. By the time I received your message I had landed in Switzerland. I am on a business trip and won't be able to reach your county until a few months from now assuming everything runs smoothly. I will text you when I can and formally meet you when I can. I will uphold my end and come to meet you.'

My face flushed and I felt my ears hot. Besides Dean, very few people were forward with me. Even Felix was never forward with me over text, he always danced around what he really meant or was just flat out was dry.

I wasn't sure if I was happy or disappointed that he would not be meeting me very soon. And the fact that he didn't state an exact timeline worried me a bit. But a deal was a deal, I also commended him texting first.

I took a second to formulate my words and responded.

'Dante, it's lovely to see your text. I appreciate the honestly and look forward to meeting you. Whenever you come down let me know. Until then.'

I kept it simple. My heart hammered in my chest as I felt giddy. This was a new start so I was excited to see where it went.

The next morning was hectic like my evening. I woke up early and prepared to head over to the shipment dock.

Our jewels had safely arrived that we had mined specifically for the art exhibition. From the mine the jewels are taken to my processing plant where they are cleaned but not cut. Only unnecessary rock was removed and debris.

I was going to inspect the shipment and ensure all pieces are cataloged and inventoried into our studio where it will be cut and processed further.

Because today was going to be primarily on site inspections I wore comfortable clothes that I didn't mind getting dirty. And since after we were moving to the artist studio to workshop the drafts I had started it would be finalized and then the work would begin.

When Dean told me of the artist exhibition of passion I had a few ideas of what I could do. I glanced over at the two tubes which held my drafts. One of them was making a headpiece which would be modeled after a chain mail piece soldiers often wore back in medieval times.

The story was about glory, gold, and god. Passion for one's ruler, passion for luxury, and with intricate religious renaissance patterns the passion for faith.

I felt it told a compelling story so I drafted which stones I would use and references to which art and pattern styles I wanted. Though it wasn't finalized.

The other idea I was tossing around was also good but not exactly something I felt I could pull off.

It was the passion of love.

I liked the idea because love was a strong motivator. But how I got the idea was embarrassing.

Promise rings or engagement rings were a vow between lovers and east to make.

But, I didn't want to go super traditional. So just earrings or rings or necklaces wasn't going to cut it.

I toyed around with the idea for a few nights and in another tube I drafted a sketch and some jewels I wanted to use. But I still felt nervous presenting it.

My driver soon pulled into the shipping dock where my staff was waiting so we could start the inspection.

If you have ever dreaded something and wish time slowed down, you know time would run like an Olympian. Inspections ended quicker than I hoped.

Soon we arrived to the studio where my designers were waiting to vote on which design they wanted to attempt.

I walked in front of my peers who had tablets and notebooks out ready to take notes and corrections.

I cleared my throat. "Thank you for coming to this meeting. As you may be aware we have been invited to present an art piece for an exhibition hosted by the Cortez Family."

A round of applause followed.

"The theme is 'To Live in Passion' so these are two themes I felt we could do."

I proceeded to share the first one which received positive feedback. It lessened my worry a bit but the next one I wasn't sure about.

"This one is different. It's passion in love. To me the passion lovers have between one another is an intimate experience which I wanted to materialize."

So I pulled the draft from the tube and presented it to the team.

It was a silhouette of two people holding hands which was bound by a thread. More specifically a red string of fate. The clothes they wore were wedding attire which was made entirely out of specialized jewels.

My plan for the wedding dress was very small mid of white opals, diamonds, pearls and other softer stones, as if it were fabric dusted with it. The dress a princess cut with a cathedral veil which itself was thin threads of gold.

The grooms suit was made from darker stones which I hoped to be a mix of black and dark green.

The thread made from red diamonds. Which wrapped their hands and pooled at their feet. This was the intimacy I wanted to present. The thread wrapped their palms which is typically invisible to others.

I saw the designers eyes light up at the second idea. I felt my ears turn hot from the flush of blood running to it.

Truthfully I dreamt of it. I was holding hands with a faceless man at my wedding in a grand church. Our hands tied with the string between each finger and around the palms.

The man squeezed my hand and leaned down by my ear. I could not see his face as my eyes were glued ahead, but I felt his breath as he whispered "My love, my angel, my princess." And he kissed my ear. I woke up in a fright because the voice felt very real and though I wanted to forget it, I could not.