I’m finally revisiting the characters from The River City Chronicles nine years after their original timeline. I’ll be running the series weekly here on my blog, and then will release it in book form at the end of the run. Hope you enjoy catching up with all your faves and all their new secrets!
Today, Ainsley has an unexpected encounter at the Red Roof Gallery on Jun Seo’s opening night…
< Read Chapter 31
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Chapter Thirty-Two
Under the Red Roof
The Red Roof Gallery was buzzing.
Ainsley stood halfway up the staircase at the back of the open ground floor, ten feet above the crowd, watching the action. She was proud of the work she’d done to help Jun Seo and Mr. O’Malley get everything set up.
Her phone vibrated.
Fifteen minutes. Text from Marissa.
See you soon.
The place was already packed. Some folks were elegantly decked out in tuxedoes or fancy dresses that sparkled with gold and silver threads that practically breathed luxe. Others were casual in jeans and hoodies and everything in between, as if both uptown and downtown had decided to crash the midtown art house at the same time.
Cater waiters in sleek white tees wove throughout the assembly carrying white platters topped with champagne and little banchan, Korean appetizers repurposed as hors d’oeuvres.
And more people kept pouring in. Jun’s show was a triumph.
Sure, most of the art was giclée, and even those prints were going for multiple thousands of dollars, especially with the artist on-hand to sign them. From her vantage point, she could see that at least half of them were sold.
Then there was the Seo’s latest piece. Most of the others showcased beautiful scenes in their home country, Korea. But this one was different… they’d chosen a vantage point along the Sacramento River that captured downtown, the Tower Bridge, and the ziggurat, the curious pyramid-shaped building on the western shore. Done in Jun Seo’s signature style, the painting practically vibrated with energy and light. It was electric.
The artist stood in the middle of the chaos like a lightning bolt in the midst of a hurricane, their face alight, engaging with the crowd enthusiastically.
“They’re amazing, aren’t they?” A man with cropped blond hair in a sleek gray suit and silver tie ascended the stairs to meet her.
“The artist or their art?”
“Both, I would say.” He stopped a step below her to survey the scene. “Though I would say the newest one blows away all the rest. I told him he needed a change of scenery.” He gestured toward the Sacramento piece. “Being here this last month, it really shook him up.”
“Them.”
“What’s that?” The man looked up at her, one eyebrow raised.
“Really shook them up. Jun is non-binary.”
He nodded. “Oh, of course. I always screw that up.” He laughed.
“Then you should keep practicing.” She went to slip by him to rejoin the crowd. She didn’t know who he was, and didn’t really care to find out.
“You’re Ainsley, right?”
She stopped a step below his, and spun around to look up at him. “Yes… and who are you, exactly?”
He pulled out a card—what was with older white men and business cards?—and handed it to her. “Jake Myers, at your service. I’m Jun’s American agent. He… they told me about you.”
“What did they say?” Now she was intrigued, despite her annoyance. Jun Seo is talking about me?
“That they’d like you to work with them at their studio while they’re here in residency.” He waited while that sentence penetrated Ainsley’s head, a grin on his face.
“They what?” She must have shouted it, because the whole room went quiet for a second. “Sorry, it’s just… something good. Keep talking.” She waved at the crowd and turned away, her face burning hot. “It… that sounds amazing.”
Jake grinned. “Perfect. Do you have a second? We can go over some of the details.”
How was she going to have time to study molecular biology and be a full-time student? Her throat went dry. She glanced at the front door—Marissa wasn’t there yet. She’d text when she arrived if she didn’t see Ainsley. “Um, sure.”
“Then come on up. I’m using Kelton’s office this evening.” He turned and led the way up the stairs.
She scanned the crowd and caught Jun Seo’s eye. They grinned and nodded. Mollified, she turned to follow Jake up the stairs.
“Jun Seo’s going to be in residence here?” A second floor hallway led to a tiny office, where every available wall space was covered in art. There were classics—Van Gogh, Vermeer, da Vinci, prints of course—and more modern artists. She spotted a Doolittle, a Baumgartner, and of course, a Seo. There was also a chair with a tattered cushion, a beat-up wooden desk covered in coffee-ring stains, and a wide, soft purple velvet couch. No accounting for tastes.
“Well, not here.” Jake looked around the room, his lip curled. “Close the door behind you. It’s a bit noisy out there.”
She blinked, but did it anyhow. I’m safe enough here, right? There were at least a hundred people gathered in the gallery below.
Jake leaned back on the edge of the desk. “Have a seat.” He gestured at the purple couch.
It did look comfortable, and she had been on her feet all afternoon. It felt heavenly to sink down into its lavender embrace. “Thank you.” She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of doing nothing for just a moment.
They flew open when she felt his weight descend on the cushion next to her. She stared at him, and then scooted away as far as she was able. “So tell me about this residency. I hadn’t heard anything about it.”
Jake smiled again. Was it just her imagination, or was it more of a leer? “He’s… sorry, they’ve painted just about everything in South Korea. They were feeling uninspired, and while they were here scouting for a Sacramento gallery, they said they were sparked by all the art in the city, from the giant red rabbit at the airport to the murals all over downtown and midtown. Jun rented a ranch up in the foothills for six months, and the painting you saw downstairs was the first in a new series. They’re calling it goldeunhilseu deuliming..”
Jake’s Korean pronunciation was excellent. “Golden Hills Dreaming. I like that.” And if the new work below was any example, this next phase of their career was going to be stunning. “And what would I be doing?”
He edged closer to her, setting off alarm bells in her head. “You’d be working in his studio, helping him with whatever he needed. You and I would work… closely, as well.”
She stood up, banging into the back wall of the office and almost knocking an Escher print to the ground. “I’m… I don’t think I’m comfortable with this.”
He stood too, looking far more menacing than a five-foot-six man in a business suit should be able to. “You’re new, so I’ll cut you a little slack. In this business, you get ahead by paying your dues. It’s a sweet deal. You help me out, you get to work for Jun Seo, and he helps you with his connections in the art world.” He reached out and brushed a hand through her black hair. “I’m doing you a favor, Ainsley. Don’t be a fool.”
His overly minty breath assaulted her nose, and her name sounded dirty in his mouth. She slammed her knee hard into his groin. He screamed like a little boy and fell over sideways on the couch.
She pushed past him. “I don’t need your kind of favors.” Shaking, she rushed out of the office and stumbled down the stairs into the crowd, her legs threatening to betray her.
“Ainsley!” Marissa appeared before her and hugged her. “This place looks amazing! I can’t wait to—”
“Let’s get out of here.” Her face was flushed.
Marissa blinked. “What? But I just got here! Are you okay?”
Ainsley glanced over her shoulder, up the stairs, expecting that man to appear at any second. “Not even a little bit. Please, can we just go?”
Marissa’s eyes narrowed. “Of course. Come on.” She took Ainsley by the hand and plowed her way through the crowd toward the front door.
“Ms. Kim… where are you going?” Jun Seo stared after her, mouth agape. “I was hoping to talk with you…”
“Sorry, I… have to go. Emergency.” She hated lying to them, but then again, did they know how their manager treated women like her? God, I hope not.
She and Marissa cleared the front door, the Delta Breeze bringing a welcome lungful of cool air.
Marissa touched her cheek. “How did you get here? You don’t have a car, right?”
Ainsley blinked. “Light rail.”
“Come on, then.” Marissa led her down the alley to 18th street, and then another block south.
Cars passed by on the street, but Ainsley was all but oblivious to them. She felt numb.
“This is me.” Marissa opened the door to a red Mini, and beckoned her inside, then got into the driver’s side, shutting the rest of the world outside. “Okay, talk.”
Ainsley shook her head. “It’s… nothing. Let’s just go.” She just wanted to forget about what had just happened. The offer, the assault… was it even an assault? He didn’t touch me…
“Ainsley.” The way Marissa said it made her look into Marissa’s eyes. “Tell me.”
She bit her lip. “It’s… he… he wanted me to have sex with him.”
Marissa growled. “Who? Jun Seo? I should go back in there and give them a piece of—”
“No. Not them. Their… he said he was Jun’s US agent. Jake… something.” His card was still in her pocket. “He… he said he wanted me to work with Jun while they were in residence here. Then we went up to this office, and he kept getting closer and closer…”
“Did he hurt you?” Marissa’s voice hovered between concern and thunderous anger.
“No. He touched my hair. Then I kneed him in the nuts and ran out.”
Marissa stared at her. Then she laughed out loud. “Oh my God, you didn’t.”
“It was the only way to get past him.” Despite herself, Ainsley laughed too. Not because it was funny. Not really. But because it released all the tension in her gut.
They laughed together for a full minute—Ainsley even snorted unattractively once—and then trailed off into silence. She closed her eyes again, wishing she could just rewind the whole night and not go upstairs with him.
“You have to tell someone,” Marissa said at last.
“Maybe.” How many times had he done this before? “Not tonight, though. I’m feeling all twisted up. I just want to go home.”
Marissa nodded. “How about… my place?”
Ainsley looked up into Marissa’s eyes again. All she saw there was compassion. “I’d like that. I just want someone to hold me tonight.”
Marissa leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I can do that. Then we’ll deal with this tomorrow.”
Ainsley nodded. “Tomorrow.” She closed her eyes as Marissa started up the car. How had everything fallen apart so quickly? She’d been living her dream for a night, and then this… And why did she let a man make her feel like crap?
She’d skipped her Chemistry test for this—her parents would be furious if they knew.
Maybe she wasn’t meant to be an artist.
She reached out and squeezed Marissa’s thigh as her… friend? Girlfriend?… started up the car.
Tomorrow. I’ll deal with it all tomorrow.
< Read Chapter 31
Like what you read? if you haven’t tried it yet, check out book one, The River City Chronicles, here.