𝑻𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 | 𝙹𝚘𝚎 𝙹𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚜

CHAPTER 10

I couldn't resist...
Enjoy, y'all. ;)

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As promised the day before, after having taken a much-needed day to recharge her batteries, Riley had driven to New York to be a good sport to her friend Becca and most importantly because she was the primary tenant of Art Beat, her art gallery. Becca was an amazing assistant and mostly handled the website and was physically closer to the art gallery, if there was a meeting with the landlord, she was the first to get there, but when there was a situation, Riley had the responsibility to show up, but she didn't have an issue with that. Art Beat was her baby.

She made the one-hour drive, aware that the forecast was not on the East Coast's side for the next few days. Worse case scenario, if it turned out to be that bad, she would either rent a hotel room for the night or borrow her friend's couch for the night.

''I'm telling you, that landlord is a scumbag. Excuse the language, but it's true.'' Becca told her as they were sitting down with their laptop, going over things.

Riley laughed at one her closest friend's vocabulary; she was accustomed to her not being afraid to voice her opinion. Although sometimes she wishes that Becca would tone it down a little bit – seeing her right now reminded her that they should hang out more often, outside of business hour.

''I don't think we need to worry about the art gallery. It's working well, so is our website, thanks to your many talents. We just need to come up with something to make Mr. Cataneo get off our backs. We should organize an event, make him see that this place is standing strong and not going anywhere.'' Riley told her friend confidently while taking notes.

Becca nodded, agreeing with the redhead. ''Well, it's always better to find ideas with a full stomach. I say we go find something to eat before the rain gets worse.''

Becca being a true local and having spent too many years in Manhattan knew all the places where they could find a good cup of coffee without it being too crowded. Whenever Riley was in the city, she loved to find little gems instead of going for the traditional Starbucks.

''Can we stop talking business for a few minutes? Girl it's a while I need to know what you've been up to! How was your weekend?'' Becca asked as they sat down with their hot drinks.

Riley shrugged her shoulders, trying to find the perfect word to describe the last few days. ''It's been... great? Eventful I would say.''

''I still can't believe that you know 2/3 of the Jonas Brothers. It's a good thing that I've known you for years because girl... Otherwise I'd believe you were making shit up.''

''Uh yeah about that... Guess who else showed up during the weekend?'' Riley asked her friend, hesitantly.

If Becca's eyes could get any bigger, they would have fell to the floor. That woman, like many, or most, Jonas Brothers fan, had a huge crush on the second brother. And that, Riley started to see why after what she'd be able to witness during the weekend.

Of course, she would not admit it to her friend. She would never hear the end of it. But she summarized how amazing her weekend had been and how much she needed it. She even went as far as to admit the awkward face-to-face with Joe.

Becca smirked. ''So... are you going to hit that?''

In the midst of taking a sip of her latte, Riley couldn't help but choke on her drink. She took a few seconds to process what her friend had said and made sure that no one around them had heard. She gave her friend an incredulous look.