Page 168 of Double or Nothing

“I’m impressed. But anyway, they aren’t being considered for private acquisition.”

“They are now.”

“By who?”

“The Gilded Table.”

I narrow my eyes. “What the hell is the Gilded Table?”

Jack presses the toastie maker back down for another round.

“As of this afternoon, me.”

Bryce laughs. “You created a fake buyer? Honestly, Jack. How do you even manage it?”

“It’s not fake,” he says. “The Gilded Table is a highly discerning private collective, I’ll have you know.”

“Sure, yeah. How many members?” I ask.

“One.”

“So, you.”

“Currently.”

“Who else is joining?”

Jack gestures between us with his toastie. “Membership pending. Anyone else want in? I’m open to offers.”

I start laughing. Again.

“You’re insane.”

“I’m effective. There’s a difference.”

He reaches for my phone and scrolls through Camilla’s email.

“So, yes, she wants all three together. That’s good.”

“Is it? Why? We could have had three rounds of the hammer instead of one, couldn’t we?”

“Because she understands the story is in the trio,” he says. “If you split them up, they’re three paintings. Keep them together, they’re a phenomenon.”

The word settles beautifully.

A phenomenon.

Our phenomenon.

Something created from the three of us, and transformed by my hands into a collective so vivid that buyers might stand before it and admire. People who will never know what’s hidden underneath the layers. Never understand why the red is so fierce, why the purple seems to hold its breath, or why the yellow is so determined to break through.

They won’t know that the black line bends because my life has. Beyond recognition.

“What kind of reserve should I give her?” I ask, taking back my phone.

Jack’s eyes brighten. “Now you’re talking. What are you thinking?”

“I have no idea.”