Possessing Eve (Book Two)

Chapter Six

            It has been a week since I last spoke to Joel. I’m not sure what his problem was, but he hasn’t once bothered to message or call. I don’t know if it was a guy thing, but he was irritating the hell out of me. Was I about to text him? Hell no! He was the guy, so he could man the hell up and reach out to me first.

            A few times through the week, I caught myself wondering what he was doing. Part of me thought that maybe he was hooking up with someone else, but why should I care? If I were a thing of the past, then I’d happily move on. Why was it that when I wanted him to leave me alone, I couldn’t get that? Now that I actually wanted to hear from him, he was MIA.

            I did have some good news. Yesterday I had an interview at this local gallery. No, I wasn’t exactly showcasing my art, but I was the assistant to the owner, who was a fabulous artist. I figured that as long as I was working here, I might be able to get some tips from her. However, during my interview, she didn’t seem as interested in hiring me, but she called me late last night and told me to be in first thing this morning at nine. 

            Since I didn’t have a car, I had to rely on the bus to get me to the gallery. It was right in the middle of downtown, on one of the most prominent streets. The gallery was a two-story building filled with luxury pieces. If you were one that didn’t understand art, then it probably wasn’t the place for you. Though this place didn’t have my art style, I still appreciated all the time it took to create such a rare piece.

            A girl at the front desk greeted me that wasn’t here yesterday when I came in for my interview. “Hello and welcome to Gigi’s. What can I do for you?”

            I pressed my eyebrows at her, leaning over the counter. The longer she stared at me, the more uncomfortable she got. I swear she was about one second away from pressing the emergency button under the counter she was sitting behind. It was true. At first glance, I didn’t look like a girl that belonged in such a high-class art gallery, but I had to have done something right for Gigi to give me the job.

            “Actually, I start today.” I extended my hand out to her, watching her face of horror turn sour. “My name is….”

            “Eve!” I could hear Gigi call my name, clapping her hands the closer she stepped toward me. When I turned around, there was this tall, nice-looking man standing beside her, smiling like he had won the damn lottery. “Thank you for being on time. It is more than I can say for some people,” Gigi said, eyeing the girl behind the counter. “Richard, I will get with you tomorrow on those expense reports. Send me an invoice for last month’s expenses by tonight, along with an attachment of the gallery’s profits.” 

            The man nodded and walked out the door, glancing back at me one more time before he walked out the doors. I could do worse, I thought. 

            “Follow me, Eve,” Gigi commanded, beginning to already drag me along beside her. We walked up the stairs to the second level, where two desks were openly sitting. Gigi’s had her own office, which was the only closed-off office in the entire building. “This is your desk. Since you are my direct assistant, I have placed you right across from my office. Rebecca’s job is to welcome any guest walking into the gallery, but I would never put that girl on the phone. She doesn’t have your verbal skills. When it rings, please pick it up. There is a script already lying out on your desk. The computer is ready for you to use and has all the necessary equipment downloaded to make your job as easy as I can make it. Once you get a call, place it on the log. Every three hours, send me the log. You got all that?”

            I nodded my head, rocking back and forth on my heels. “Yup, sounds great.”

            Gigi grinned from ear to ear. “Good. I hope you are good at following directions. If so, you will do great here. If you need me for anything, I will be in my office, but do not bother me unless it’s necessary. Any calls about orders will need to be emailed immediately to Richard. He handles all expenses. His email should already be automatically programmed into your computer.” She turned around, heading toward her office. Without turning around, she said, “oh, and Eve, just as a first warning. I can be a b***h when it comes to my art, but as long as you listen and show a good work ethic, we will get along just fine.” 

            I slumped down in this tiny uncomfortable chair, wondering if I had made the right decision in coming here. I’m not sure that Gigi was the answer I was looking for as far as getting my art noticed. She seemed to be consumed with her own art to help make anyone else’s dreams come true, but I guess we would have to wait and find out.

            Just as I was getting my email pulled up, the phone rang. Now, I wasn’t a nervous person. I was pretty much as open as any one person could be, but when you had a perfectionist for a boss, it made the situation a little complicated.

            “Thank you for calling Gigi’s gallery. My name is Eve. How can I help you?”

            A laugh echoed through the phone, filled by a long pause. “Eve?”

            “Joel?”

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            I wasn’t stalking her. It just so happened to be a coincidence that Eve worked for someone I used to be in close business with. Gigi and I are close friends and have been for years. Gigi has done several art openings for people that I’ve known over the years, which was how we first got introduced to one another. She was great, a little flirtatious, but great. 

            Imagine a woman in her late twenties, curled black hair and always dressed in pencil skirts and tight blouses. That was Gigi. Not only did she make a statement in the art that she created, but she did the same with any outfit that ever touched her body. No, we have never had s*x though that wasn’t for lack of trying on her part.

            Even answering the phone was a complete shock and left me a little speechless. What were the odds that she, out of all people, was working for someone I knew, all without me ever knowing? To make it even more awkward, I haven’t heard a thing from her since the night we went out, which was almost a week ago. Cole talked me into giving her space, and when she was ready, she would text or call, but that never happened.

            “Yeah, it’s me. Since when did you start working for Gigi Harp? You know that she has quite the reputation in this big city, right?”

            “I’m working, so how can I help you?”

            She sounded aggravated, disappointed, and a little surprised. It must have been a shock that the first time she hears from me is me calling her at work instead of texting or calling her cell. I couldn’t imagine what must be going through her head right now.

            “Patch me into Gigi’s office.”

            Eve chuckled. “No can do. I can take your name and number and have her call you back in a few hours, just like everyone else.”

            Without responding to her, I got Soren to throw me his phone. I knew Gigi’s number by heart, though she preferred that I called the office. I sent her a quick text, and that was all it took.

            “Eve!” I heard Gigi scream through the office. “Patch him through.”

            Eve growled over the phone. “Happy that you got me in trouble?”

            “Immensely happy, but disappointed that I haven't heard anything back from you for like a week now. Why is that Eve? You didn’t like the night we had because I thought it pretty incredible.”

            “Me?” She asked, raising her voice. I could tell that she covered her hand over the phone, turning her voice down a little. “You’re the guy, which means that you are supposed to text the girl first. Don’t you dare put that on me.”

            My mouth watered, listening to her vent to me in her upset voice. It was cute, adorable, really. “Noted. We guys don’t have a handbook on how to respond to women, you know? How about I text you right after I get off the phone with Gigi?”

            “Don’t even bother,” she responded, instantly placing me on hold.

            I couldn’t help but smile even though I knew how mad she was at me right now. Somehow, I would find a way to get her to forgive me. Right now, I had to focus on my conversation with Gigi.

            “Hey, Gigi. What you been up to these days?”

            “Joel, how great to hear from you! What did I tell you about only calling in when you needed something? Go ahead,” she said. I knew that right now, she had her feet propped up on her desk, rolling her eyes at me. “Tell me how I can help you today.”

            I grinned because I honestly was just calling in to check up on her. Yesterday, I saw a post about her gallery on social media and thought it was time for my routine call that hasn’t been so routine lately. Now, the purpose of my call had everything to do with impressing Eve. “I know the girl working as your assistant. Treat her well, and I mean really good, Gigi. You will be impressed with how good that girl is. Did you know that she paints?”

            “She may have mentioned it in her interview. I have to tell you, Joel, that I’m not interested in taking some mediocre artist under my wing right now. There are a lot more talented people that I am connected to that I would much rather help. I could care less if you are screwing the girl or not.”

            “Now, Gigi,” I said, gasping like I was surprised. “What makes you think that I would go around cheating on you? You know that you’re the only girl in my life.” That earned me a sweet giggle from her. “Eve is a friend of some friends. Treat her well because you won’t find anyone else like her. I haven’t seen her work, but she is pretty good, according to one of my friends. You might want to check her out. Anyway, I’ve got to run off here. Let me know if you need a donator for the gala in a few months.”

            We ended our conversation with light flirting. That was the only thing Gigi knew how to do with guys. I’m sure that was why she wasn’t married yet because she had too much fun swimming in the pool of men that she met day in and day out.

            When I ended my phone call, I immediately sent Eve a quick text.

            Me: This is me texting you. Never say that I didn’t text you back first. I look forward to our next date.

            Eve: You lost your chance. It was fun, but not that much fun. Have fun playing with yourself again.

            I was smiling like a middle school boy with his first crush. This girl had me twisted in all kinds of different knots. Just from a simple text, I was thinking about last week and the fantastic date we had, before and after. That gave me an idea.

            Me: I already am. Let me know when you are ready to play with it yourself.