Velvet Reckoning

d studied from every online angle-the Sinclair Gallery. Modernist, asymmetrical, all hard edges and clean hunger. Three floors of glass and brutalist concr

mezzanine. The brutal spire of the side stairwell. She pressed harder, thickening the arch o

voice to her left. "Like

e kept her charcoal movi

Mar

neck like a necklace of good intentions. His paint-splattered hoodie had seen better decades. A chewed-u

ng," Marina sa

Intense. That's the S

dn't a

t is. Concrete monster.

ectural study,"

one else is sketching fruit bowls and café chairs. You

r hand and leaned back. "I'm inter

e something you say when you've been d

idn't

fingers

augh

lair", he sa

pression di

howcase. You two were the only thing people talked about-wel

her sketchbook with a definitive snap. "The

ous. Because if you're drawing that place for more than '

ms. "What's that

half confession. "The guy runs the gallery like a cult and a chessboard. He

awa

lst? Supposed to be the next Basquiat. She made the mistake of saying no when he got interested. Next thing anyone knew, she was

"So your warning is:

e's not just rich or powerful-he's curated. Everything about him is deliberate. Charm, inter

lassmates this much?" M

t most of them aren't talente

al precision, slipping the folded sketch

ression. "Good to know you keep ta

I don't want to be cru

inclair Gallery into her portfolio li

ing to buy m

e with her charcoal stick. "Nobody thinks th

t cold as steel. "I'm no

t are you

wide open," she said cal

preciative whistle.

first time, not nice

Good luck, Cortez. Hope your armor

thing in his hoodie pocket and held

t's

won't go. But collectors sniff around. If you're aiming for Alexander's radar, you mig

n skulls. A title: SPILL. Below it: N

e said. She

t become a cautionary tale, Cortez

ach step measured, heels echoing on the linoleum like punctuation

fingers still stained with charcoal, she

the blueprint was

r's gallery wasn'

as a

it-with her name sharp on his lips