“I’m just a nobody now.”
Her annoyed sigh gusted through the speakers. “No matter how much you try, that will never be the case, Dev.”
I rolled my eyes at the nickname. Once upon a time I’d been the Devil of the art world. When the silence of my workroom had gotten too loud, I’d turned to parties and clubs. Making contacts at first, then just getting into trouble. If I was selling myself, I might as well have had the good liquor to go with it. And the available women.
A whole different lifetime ago.
“Dev is buried.”
“He’s just in stasis. Sooner or later, you’ll be back.”
“Don’t bet on it.” I opened my fridge and took out a can of Liquid Death. I needed the water and the vitamins after sweating my ass off for the first half of the day. “Why are you bugging me?”
“I’m just making sure you’re alive.”
“And?” I drained the can.
She let out a long sigh. “Fine. Donovan Lewis bought Disruption from Kim.”
“Fuck.” Kim Tomlinson was one of my many mistakes. A socialite with more money than sense. She’d bought up a bunch of my earlier pieces until I’d been obliged to speak to her. Back them, I’d still been new to the scene in New York City and was trying to get my name out there in the art world. And because Kim got what she wanted, I’d landed in her bed.
Two major mistakes.
I’d tried to buy all my old works from her, but she’d denied me that one piece.
When she sold any, I was supposed to be the first offer.
“Did you send a letter to her lawyer?” I crushed the can and tossed it into my recycler, then I grabbed my phone and stalked to the back half of the trailer.
“Of course I did. Kim just wants to get a rise out of you. And to get you back into New York. I can’t fault her for the second part.”
“I am in New York.”
“Bumfuck Moon Cove isn’t what I mean.” Maeve’s voice was as dry as dust.
“Crescent Cove.” I pulled on a pair of jeans and sweatshirt against the lowering temperatures. Another storm was rolling in.
“Whatever.”
I leaned forward and braced my elbows on my knees as I raked my fingers through my hair and clasped the back of my neck. Disruption was one of the few pieces I cared about.
From before.
Before I’d sold out.
Before I’d fucked up with Macy.
I never should have sold them, but being a starving artist was only exciting in novels. Being hungry sucked.
And Kim knew that sculpture was important to me. It was why she’d held it hostage for so long. Figuring she’d be able to get me to come back to heel again someday. She was wrong.
“It’s your own fault.”
I turned around and picked up the phone off my bed. “How’s that?”
“If you didn’t sell off everything at auction, you wouldn’t be so in demand. Kim made a stupid amount of money on that piece.”
It didn’t matter.
It was the past.
I should just let it go.
“You still there?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s in breach of contract. I can go after her.”
“Contact Donovan. See if I can buy it back from him.”
“I can tell you right now he won’t let you buy it back. He’s been hounding me for one of your pieces for years.”
“Just do it.”
“Dev, he’s not going—”
“Maeve. Just do it. I don’t care how much you have to ask for it.”
