Chapter Four

Daniel

I arrived at the gallery with Ariana, my secretary, who had a smile on her face, in contrast to my frown. My long-time friend and client, Mary Wilfred, had invited me to attend her first exhibition in LA for publicity purposes, and now, here I was, ready to become the center of attention. I typically disliked such events as they invited unwanted conversations, but I felt compelled to attend to support her since I knew she would do the same for me.

Ariana nudged me to change my expression, but I ignored her, wanting to just get this over with and return home. Granted, I appreciated Ari's friendship and seriousness with work, but sometimes, I found her nagging very irritating.

"Aren't we a bit gloomy today, Daniel dear? Try to look approachable, will you? We are at a happy occasion, not a funeral, boss," Ariana whispered, giving me the stink eye.

"I'm already making an effort by just staying here, Ari, and if you don't stop nagging me, I might run away," I replied.

"I already see people approaching us. Remember why we're here and be attentive. I'll greet them and leave, and you have to continue the conversation. They might be potential business partners so be kind enough to act accordingly and remember that they are reporters watching your every move," Ariana reminded and I mentally rolled my eyes.

"I know how to handle myself, Ariana. I can tell who's a leech, and I don't have the time for them. You don't have to nag me," I retorted, even though I appreciated her concern.

"Keep in mind that I’ll have my eyes on you all through, Daniel," she reminded me, and I chuckled at how adorable she was being.

"Okay, Mom," I teased, and we looked around while waiting for the exhibition to start and for the leeches to arrive.

***

As I walked through the crowd, a voice called out my name and I turned around to see an unwelcome face - Francisco Mendez, a former partner of mine and one of the industry’s most famous leeches.

"It's so good to see you again, Daniel. How long has it been?" he said, approaching me and I greeted him briefly, trying to hide my lack of enthusiasm.

"How's everything going?" Francisco continued. "I heard about the Martell incident and I would've called you, but La Diosa was going through some financial troubles and I had to focus on avoiding bankruptcy," he commented.

And I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I knew exactly where this conversation was going, but decided to humor him anyway. "There was no need to call; the Martell incident was blown out of proportion by the media. But I'm glad to hear that your business is doing better," I responded.

He took a deep breath and began to defend himself. "I'm doing everything I can to save my family business. It was already on the verge of collapsing before I inherited it,"

I didn't bother listening to his excuses and cut in. "I appreciate you telling me what's going on, but I'm not interested in working with you again."

He frowned, as I expected. "I understand that we've had our differences, but we have a new collection coming up and I would love to have your support. We used to make a great team," he mentioned.

I shook my head to disagree. "I respectfully decline your offer, Francisco. Our business ethics are not on the same level, and I prefer to uphold my reputation by involving myself with honorable businessmen. I wish you good luck with your collection," I said, before walking away and disappearing back into the crowd.

Having to deal with leeches like Francisco was one of the reasons why I preferred to work alone and I wasn’t even surprised cause I knew Fran was only the first of many that I would have to deal with.

The event began and the art pieces were showcased to the delight of the attendees - everyone except me. I never cared for art and found it boring, despite being a fashion designer. To me, it just wasn’t something I found exciting and I had no interest in trying to decipher the meaning behind complicated paintings.

I walked away from the art display towards Ariana but was intercepted by some old friends who I could no longer stand. They used to be close to me, but now they only cared about using my fame and wealth to advance their careers, which I detested.

"Daniel, you don't hang out with us anymore. It's pretty selfish of you to forget your friends now that you're successful," Matthew said, in a cocky tone. I couldn't stand their hypocrisy and had no desire to tolerate their company, so I made up my mind to keep our conversation very short.

"I've been making something of myself and not wasting my parents' fortune like some of us, Matt" I retorted. "As you can see, I'm getting too old to be fooling around like a kid. I hope you have a good time tonight, and as for why I don’t hang out with you guys, well, let’s just say I don't need to be around people who drag me down and taint my reputation,"

With that, I left them fuming and walked away quickly. I almost groaned when I heard my name being called out again - another supposed "friend" about to try their luck, I thought. But it turned out to be Mary, someone I actually wanted to see.

I greeted Mary with a sarcastic remark about finally remembering that she invited me to the event. She asked if I was bored and wanted to leave, to which I admitted that I was bored but promised to stay. She then took me to meet someone she thought I would be interested in.

"Who are we meeting, Mary? I don't like meeting just anyone," I questioned, but she didn't give any details. As we reached a large painting, she stopped in front of it and called what I couldn't appreciate art.

"What am I looking at?" I asked, expecting the answer to be yet another bland, contemporary painting, as I often found it hard to decipher the meaning behind them. "It looks like someone splashed paint on a canvas and called it art," I couldn't help but admit, staring at the painting boredly.

Mary nodded her head in admiration. "Well, Daniel, this is one of Bella's masterpieces. She's one of my best students, and I want you to meet her. I'm sure you'll like her," she said, and I frowned. I was hesitant, protesting that I didn't like meeting just anyone. But Mary was determined, and I knew it would be futile to argue with her, so I watched her pace off to find the artist while leaving me waiting.

A few minutes later, she emerged with a young lady, her head bowed down, and as they approached, I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Well, Daniel dear, meet my student and the artist behind this painting, Bella Cruz," Mary introduced.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Russo," she greeted me and I could not believe I was meeting the woman who hadn’t stopped being on my mind for months.