Her Forever Valentine

10 | a problem

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I already did those orders for you." Nycki admitted, setting the items down on the desk. "I sent them off with a courier this morning."

"Ah. We appreciate you, Nycki." Ace smiled and gave her a head nod, visibly grateful for his girlfriend's overachieving assistant.

"Don't thank me just yet." Nycki replied quickly. "There's a guest downstairs requesting to see you, Zo."

"Who?" Zolina wondered. "I don't have any meetings scheduled for today."

"I know, he's a walk-in." Nycki looked down at her Apple Watch. "His name is Orion. Saw your website and just really wanted to meet the artist behind it."

When Zolina was submitting her work at Indigo's, people were used to seeing the art, but rarely seeing the artist. Now that she had her own space, they couldn't wait to attach a face to all of the beautiful paintings.

"If this is a bad time, I can book him an appointment with you for later this week." Nycki offered.

"Nah, gon' head, superstar." Ace encouraged, giving Zolina a smile as he got comfortable in the chair. "I can wait."

Zolina gave Ace a big kiss, before trailing behind her assistant out of the office and down the metal industrial staircase.

Nycki pointed out where the guest was waiting, and then she was off to help a couple who wanted to purchase a dark, brooding, 36" x 48"pumpkin patch painting.

"Excuse me?" Zolina called out to the man that was seated on one of her vintage, fuchsia, cabriole sofas. "Hi, you must be Orion? I'm—"

"Zolina Smith." Orion finished, immediately standing to his feet when he saw her.

"Right." Zolina chuckled, forgetting that he already knew her name. "It's nice to meet you."

Orion was a lean built man that was dressed in a fitted grey turtle neck and faded distressed jeans, with a black toque on his head. A few wooden beaded necklaces circled around his neck, and some oversized gold rings sat on his fingers.

"Nah. The pleasure is definitely all mine." He pulled his small backpack up on his shoulder and stuck a tattooed hand out. "I'm a really big fan. You're so talented."

Zolina smiled and shook it, "That's really sweet, thank you."

"Thank you for seeing me." He glanced at the people around them, running a hand through his goatee. "I know you must be super busy."

"It's no problem at all." Zolina told him. "Really."

A few seconds of silence transpired between them, and Zolina watched as Orion's warm and inviting eyes studied her. It almost seemed like he was checking her out, which felt weird up close.

Zolina was used to being eyed, but this felt too intimate within the space that they shared. It was a bit uncomfortable for her, especially since Ace never let any man outside of their group get this close.

"Um." She cleared her throat awkwardly and waved a finger in the air. "Have you had a chance to look around? Would you like a tour?"

"Forreal?" He grinned widely. "Yeah. That would be cool."

Zolina spent the next 20 minutes guiding Orion around the space; explaining her layout and showing him the works on display. He surprised her with his vast knowledge of the different artwork styles and types of paints, making her wonder what his profession was.

"I think this whole Halloween theme you got going on in here is dope." He commented.

The two of them stood in front of a painting that paid homage to old slasher films. Michael Myers, Candyman, and other legendary villains were all seated together holding their weapons of choice. Textured, crimson acrylic paint, dried as drips of blood at the canvas' edges.