It's Veronica's last day in New York.

She woke up for the millionth time to fuss with the display on her art stand. No one’s bought any of her paintings yet, but the day is still young.

Veronica:- (Come on, Big Break! I need you now!)

Otherwise, She has nowhere to go except Florida, and get a “real” job, and listen to everyone say "I told you so."

Veronica:- (But I've worked too hard to give up!)

Veronica:- "Hm?"

She startled as something brushes her ankle. It's a Russian Blue cat, with a torn ear and dignified streaks of grey.

Veronica:- "Where did you come from, little lady?"

Veronica leans over to pet the cat but the cat slinks away, tail high, glancing imperiously over Veronica's shoulder.

Veronica:- (Wouldn't it be nice if she belonged to a famous art critic, about to cross my path?)

Veronica:- (Or a gorgeous millionaire who'll buy all my pieces because they speak to her soul.)

Veronica:- (Or a gallant prince from a foreign country, who'll discover me today and want to be my patron.)

Veronica:- (We'll be rich, and travel the world...and then they'll fall in love with me!)

Veronica:- (Why to limit a good daydream, right?)

She glances up when a shadow falls across her table.

The man who approached is stunning, with dark, artfully tousled hair and sharp grey eyes.

She almost falls right back into another fantasy about the Gilded Poppy and that is the guild of world-famous thieves.

Veronica:- (The news kept calling their leader the "Thief Lord" when I tuned in yesterday.)

Veronica:- (The name's kind of cheesy, but when I imagined who might fit it, it was someone like this guy.)

He's dressed like he's off to the opera, and scans her table with a regal, disinterested gaze.

Veronica:- "Hello!"

She gives him a big smile and dismisses the rest of the daydream.

Veronica:- (Maybe he can only be Nixon something or other, Thief Lord, in my head...)

Veronica:- (But he could be a paying customer in real life!)

Veronica:- "See anything you like? If you have any questions, just let me know!"

Couldn't Possibly be Nixon Something or Other:- "Oh, this already tells me everything."

He gestures at her table with a flick of his wrist, flashing the shape of a high-end glove.

Not Nixon:- "You're a recent art school graduate."

Not Nixon:- "These oil paintings are early works? There's a hesitation in your brushstrokes."

Not Nixon:- "I can only surmise your family disapproved."

Not Nixon:- "But look how you've flourished."

Not Nixon:- "You'd be quite prodigious if you didn't lack focus."

Veronica:- "Focus? Excuse me?"

Not Nixon:- "You're a jack of all trades and master of none if you'll pardon an abysmal clinch."

Veronica:- (At least I'm not the one who showed up to the park looking like a heist movie antagonist.)

Veronica:- (Isn't it a little early for a tuxedo?)

His eyes sweep over the assortment on her table again: paintings, sculptures, needlework.

Not Nixon:- "You're the sort of person who can't settle on any one thing."

Not Nixon:- "And with the softness to all your lines and bold use of colour!"

Veronica:- "It's called impressionist influence!"

Not Nixon:- "You're an idealist. A romantic."

His lip curls as he moves to touch a watercolour and then decides against it

Veronica:- "You don't have to say that like it's a bad thing."

And then he's moving on, purposefully, as though he's looking for something specific.

Not Nixon:- "These works here, with the bold black lines..."

Not Nixon:- "Not copies, per se, but a skilful homage to Amelia Pelaez, if I'm not mistaken."

The way he says it makes it sounds as though he’s never mistaken.

Veronica:- (But in this case, I'm too excited to be annoyed by it.)

Veronica:- "Yes! Are you familiar with avant-garde Cuban art? This piece is part of a study I did recently."

Veronica:- "I wanted to try melding my style with something more connected to my heritage, and..."

But he's already moved on, continuing his thought from earlier.

Not Nixon:- "Your idealist streak has given you trouble regarding employment, hasn't it?"

Not Nixon:- "No job, so far, fits your idea of what an artist's life should be."

Not Nixon:- "And now you'll have to return to a small, boring hometown and admit defeat."

Not Nixon:- "Tomorrow, judging by the crowded desperation of your setup."

Veronica:- "Hang on, Buddy."

Veronica:- (Who does he think he is?)

Veronica:- "I'm good at what I do."

Veronica:- "There's nothing wrong with holding out for the right opportunity."

That makes him smile.

Not Nixon:- "Perhaps."

The cat meows at us.

Not Nixon:- "May I ask about your art, Miss...?"

Veronica:- (So he doesn't know everything, huh?)

Veronica:- "Just Veronica is fine."

Veronica:- "I'm an open book."

The man starts firing off questions almost faster than she can answer. But he doesn't ask about her originals but he's focused on her replicas.

And the whole time, he doesn't even glance at her art. His eyes are on her, drinking her in like she's in an exhibit all by herself.

Not Nixon:- "I'm satisfied."

She tries not to blush as he halts the conversation and turns to go.

Veronica:- (He didn't even want to buy anything.)

Veronica:- "Aren't you going to take your cat?"

He pauses, fixing her with another piercing stare over his shoulder.

...★★★★★ TO BE CONTINUED★★★★★...

Veronica:- "Aren't you going to take your cat?"

He pauses, fixing me with another piercing stare over his shoulder.

Not Nixon:- "What makes you think she's mine?"

Veronica:- "Well, you know she's female. You just said so."

Veronica:- "And she’s about as snooty as you are."

The man's eyes spark with amusement in a way that makes her breath catch. He turns to go without answering.

The cat sniffs the plastic tablecloth of her display and then trots off after him.

Veronica:- (If he wasn't going to buy my art, why was he so interested?)

She has to pack up when the sunsets.

She promised an old friend from art school that she would go to her gallery opening tonight.

Veronica:- (But I'm not on the plane home yet!)

As she head in that direction, the glittering display window of a jewellery store catches her eye.

Through the glass, an elegant hand reaches for a necklace...

And she follows the sight up a slender wrist, arm, neck, and into an impossibly gorgeous face. For a moment, the woman and Veronica stare at each other.

Then the woman inside the store smiles and curls a finger gesturing for Veronica inside.

Veronica:- (Me?)

Veronica glance around the street, but she's the only person nearby.

The woman in the store laughs through the glass before deliberately mouthing, "Yes, you."

Curious, Veronica head in.

The woman waves Veronica over, and this time Veronica can hear her laugh, light and golden.

Chic & Charming:- "You're not in a hurry, are you?"

Chic & Charming:- "I need a second opinion.”

Veronica:- (I'll be late if I stay but for this woman?)

Veronica:- (Suddenly, being late seems just fine.)

Veronica:- "On what?"

Chic & Charming:- "A matter of fashion."

The woman gestures at the necklace she’s wearing, which drips pink pearls.

Chic & Charming:- "I have an important event tonight."

Chic & Charming:- "Is this piece too much?"

Veronica:- "It's beautiful."

Veronica blurt it before she can think of anything more articulate.

The woman just sighs and studies another necklace that the one she'd reached for when Veronica walked by.

It's a simple, white pearl string.

Chic & Charming:- "Will you put this one on, so I can see the difference?"

The woman turns her back to Veronica, gathering glossy hair over the woman's shoulder.

Veronica's face heats up.

Veronica:- (She asked it like a question, but somehow it feels like an order.)

The ornate necklace is warm from the woman's skin when Veronica takes it off.

When Veronica put the simple one on instead, goosebumps rise on the back of the woman's neck from the coolness.

The woman eyes herself in the mirror, arching a perfect, critical eyebrow.

Chic & Charming:- "Take it back off."

Veronica's fingers undo the clasp before her brain catches up to her.

When Veronica's done, the woman weighs each necklace in her hands.

Chic & Charming:- "Which should I choose?"

Chic & Charming:- "I'm leaning toward the elaborate one."

Veronica:- "They both look good, but for what it's worth, that fancier one’s fake."

Chic & Charming:- "Oh?"

Red lips part in interest.

Veronica:- "Real pearls don't absorb body heat very well."

Veronica:- "If you were just trying necklaces on, one shouldn't feel colder than another,"

Chic & Charming:- "And how did you know that?"

Veronica:- "I'm an artist."

Veronica:- "Sometimes I work with jewellery.”

The woman smiles and leans forward, so close she can whisper in Veronica's ear.

Veronica:- (Her perfume smells wonderful.)

Chic & Charming:- "I'm so glad you got it right.”

There's something dark and thrilling in her voice that sends a tingle over Veronica's skin.

The spell is broken abruptly when Veronica's phone chimes. An automatic calendar reminder.

Veronica:- (The gallery shows!)

Veronica:- "Glad to help, but I have...a thing!"

Flustered, Veronica shoots the woman a smile and hurry out.

Veronica:- (She said I got something right?)

Veronica:- (But what?)

Veronica is still flustered when she get to the gallery. So, flustered that she knock into somebody.

...★★★★★ TO BE CONTINUED★★★★★...

Veronica is still flustered when she get to the gallery. So, flustered that she knock into somebody.

Veronica:- "Sorry!"

Veronica:- (And not just anybody, but a woman who might as well have invented the suit.)

She frowns as she adjusts her bow tie.

Veronica:- "Are you okay?"

Invented the Suit:- "Fine."

Her voice is cool and dry.

Veronica:- "Um...are you debuting, tonight?"

She snorts.

Invented the Suit:- "No, I'm just here to look."

Veronica:- (An art buyer, then?).

Invented the Suit:- "Not that there's much to look at."

Invented the Suit:- "Everything here is so simple."

Veronica:- "It's not about how complicated it looks, it's about the commentary it presents."

Veronica:- "Even a black dot in a white canvas uses space and contrast carefully."

Veronica:- "Getting something to feel simple can be the most complicated part!"

Invented the Suit:- "And that super boring vase?"

She nods toward a work of porcelain, spotlit on a white pedestal in the centre of the room.

Veronica:- "A lot is going on there."

Veronica:- "Look at the detail in the painting, and experimental use of the glazing."

Veronica:- "I've seen similar pieces go for five million dollars!"

Invented the Suit:- "Just because something's expensive doesn't mean it's good art."

Invented the Suit:- "Look at this one."

She gestures to left, where a bunch of blank screens are set up.

It’s titled 'Millennials.'

Veronica:- "Oh...a statement on screen addiction..."

Invented the Suit:- "Yeah. Real hot take."

Invented the Suit:- "I can do better."

She pulls out her phone and long, nimble fingers fly over the keyboard.

Instantly, the screens start flashing, pulsing soft colours along with the music playing overhead.

People touring the gallery stop to watch.

Veronica:- "Did you just hack into that person's art?!"

Invented the Suit:- "No, you're dreaming."

She glances at Veronica, calculating.

Invented the Suit:- "You're an artist."

Invented the Suit:- "Can I see your phone?"

Invented the Suit:- "Let's put your stuff up here, instead of these blank screens."

Veronica:- (But I didn't earn a spot in this gallery.)

Veronica:- (...What if this is my chance to get noticed, though?)

Veronica pulls her phone out on instinct, torn, and the woman plucks it out of her fingers.

After a few expert swipes, Veronica's art pops up all over the display.

Veronica:- "What about the original artist?"

Invented the Suit:- "If they didn't want their spot stolen, they should've come up with a better concept."

Even with Veronica's nerves, she's hit with a wave of admiration.

Veronica:- (She's so daring!)

Invented the Suit:- "I'm done."

The woman slips Veronica's phone back into Veronica's hand and studies Veronica's art.

Invented the Suit:- "Yeah, this is much better than what was there before."

It's not gushing praise, but from the woman, it feels hard-won, Veronica can't stop herself from grinning.

Veronica:- "That's amazing! I'm really in a professional gallery!"

Veronica:- (Side by side with pieces worth millions of dollars...)

Veronica:- (This is way more exciting than the student shows in college!)

Veronica:- "Thank you so much."

Veronica turns to the woman, almost breathless.

Veronica:- "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Veronica:- "I've almost missed my chance to make it with my art, so..."

Veronica:- "If this is the last moment I get, at least it's a good one."

The woman smiles, bright and full, warmer than the lights beating down overhead. As soon as she realises she's doing it, she bites her lip to make it disappear.

Veronica:- (But it's such a pretty smile like art all on its own.)

Veronica:- (I wish I could've looked for longer.)

Before Veronica can think of something to say, the woman nods to the vase in the middle of the room.

Invented the Suit:- "What's that guy doing up there?"

Invented the Suit:- "Now that's what I'd call art."

Veronica follows the woman's gaze. A man is pouring black sand out of a brocade bag and onto the floor.

He circles the vase pedestal, connecting curves and swirls into some larger pattern.

Veronica:- (Performance art?)

He's also dressed to the nines: pocket watch and all.

He glances up with a smile keen enough to cut diamonds.

Arresting Artist:- "This part's interactive!"

Arresting Artist:- "I need an assistant from the audience."

His eyes sweep the crowd, pass over the woman in the suit...

And land on Veronica. Veronica feels an electric jolt as his smile widens.

Arresting Artist:- "You! Get over here!"

...★★★★★ TO BE CONTINUED★★★★★...