The luncheon was held at The Ribbon Palace art gallery, it was an event to promote the new establishment and get potential investors and customers who would patronize them. The art displayed here could as well have been displayed in the museum as they were rare and many were quite old and some were from various famous artists.
Keith was not at all eager to be here but he had a reputation to uphold, the owner of the establishment was a long-time acquaintance of his, and his presence at the event would be a bonus to them both. If he didn’t show up, the media would be free to interpret it however they would love to just to sell papers;
“The Ribbon Palace art gallery lunches without Preston”.
There would be two ways to read that, one that he had not considered it important enough to attend and that would bring The Ribbon Palace to a loss and his relationship with the founder would be tampered with. Another was that The Ribbon Palace had not deemed Keith worthy enough to be given an invitation, which in the sense of it was absurd, but it might be able to put a dent in Keith’s reputation and cause strife between Ortho Speare and The Ribbon Palace.
Keith was not prepared to face either of the scenarios.
They were greeted by the media outside as they arrived, it was already two in the afternoon when they arrived but the event had been set for one. According to Keith’s logic, they had arrived just in time. He didn’t smile at the cameras clicking away at him, neither did he stop to pose or send a wave, he had never done that, but he did walk slowly and not at his usual fast pace. Donna had noticed that on several occasions and she knew well to keep just a little distance from him when they were in front of the media unless he said otherwise.
The host of the event and founder of The Ribbon Palace was a very chubby and short man, his smile was just as wide as his size when he welcomed them by the entrance. Keith was not a huger so he stretched out a hand for a handshake before the man could get too close.
“Keith Preston! I was worried you would not show up.”
“This is not an event I could miss.” He forced a smile and turned his head towards Donna briefly, and then faced the man again. “Couldn’t come empty-handed too.”
Donna stretched out the package in her hand towards the man and he rounded his mouth like he was surprised to be receiving a gift when just by the corner of the entrance were wrapped boxes and packages, stacked neatly.
“A little something to congratulate for the opening,” Keith spoke, maintaining the forced smile on his face. Donna knew from the sound of his voice that he was only putting up a front here. Agreeing to come to this event had only been for his benefit and reputation. He would hang around for about an hour and leave, this was his plan and she knew it all too well.
She walked behind Keith as he had to stop almost every minute to greet this person and shake hands with another, grateful that none of the men’s attention on her lasted more than it should. She looked around at the artworks when Keith was stopped by a group of men, she decided not to waste the opportunity she had in coming to an exclusive art gallery by standing by idly.
She moved away from them and came to stand in front of a painting and was immersed in the beauty when she felt a hand on her shoulder causing her to turn, expecting to face Keith or maybe one of his acquaintances who also knew her but the person that stood in front of her, wearing a smile of relief was someone she had not expected to be meeting.
He had not really been sure she was the one when he had seen her come in, accompanying Keith Preston so he had followed behind them, waiting for an opportunity to walk up to her. He had gotten his chance when Keith stopped to talk to a group of men and she wandered just a little away from them, coming to stand in front of a painting. He had walked up to her, placed a hand on her shoulder and she had turned at his touch. His face lit up in a smile and he almost grabbed her into a hug when he saw that he had not been mistaken. It was really her.
“Donna?” He called her name with a smile on his face as he had just been reunited with a long-lost lover. “Is that really you?”
Donna frowned and wished more than anything that the ground would open up and swallow him just so he would be out of her sight. She contemplated pushing him away as hard as she could but she dreaded the attention that would fall on her if she created a scene. She decided to play ignorant but she could not stop the frown that formed across her brows.
“Have we met before?” she asked.
Jeremy chuckled nervously and the smile on his face began to fade. His eyes scanned hers desperately as confusion set in, he backed away from her a bit and his hand dropped from her shoulder. He blinked once. “What?”
She straightened herself and maintained the look on her face, her frown deepening every second she stared at him. “I’m sorry but you must have mistaken me for someone who knows you. I cannot recall where we might have met. Do enjoy the event sir.” she said and made to walk away but Jeremy was quick to grab her hand, stopping her from walking away.
“Wait, Donna.” He made sure to maintain his low voice and was grateful that there were not so many people in this part of the gallery. “I know you’re upset and angry, but please don’t…”
“Don’t what?” she faced him and asked him. She was doing a good job of keeping her tears at bay and her anger in check. “Don’t what, Mr. Xiu?” Her confusion and anger were really convincing.
“Donna, it’s me, Jeremy. I know you remember me. It hasn’t been that long.”
She tried not to get upset and yell at him, and she tried not to show but she really just wanted to get out of there and away from him before she would completely lose it and break down. “You must have mistaken me for someone who would know you.”
“Donna…”
“Jay! There you are!”
Donna yanked her arm away from his grip when she heard someone call his name but when she turned to walk away, she saw Cheryl happily skipping toward him. She walked up to him with a pout and was about to pull him away when she noticed Donna and a frown came to her face.
“You?!” she said with a voice so loud it drew the attention of those who had been standing close by, luckily they didn’t seem the kind to poke their nose into others' business as they just turned to look at the briefly and continued on their way, admiring the rest of the artworks.
Donna scoffed and her gaze moved from Jeremy to Cheryl then back to Jeremy. Right, he had gotten married to her, she had almost forgotten all about that. She almost laughed but turned away as she felt the tears build up just behind her eyes.
“It’s Donna, isn’t it?” she heard Cheryl ask with a chuckle. “Donna Brooks?” she laughed now. “Right, I was wondering why your face was so familiar back at the boutique. Long time no see, what brings you around?”
Donna fisted her palms in anger. She would choose to ignore them if they wanted to mock her just because she was here representing an important company and it would be damaging to get into an argument with the wife of Jeremy Xiu of The Aviary. She forced the tears back into retreat, fixed up her face with a smile, and gritted her teeth before she turned back to face Cheryl.
“Cheryl Declan, long time no see indeed.”
But Cheryl was not in for pleasantries right now. Without giving Donna much time to anticipate her movement, she took a step towards her and slapped her hard across the face. Donna gasped and so did some of the guests who had been standing around. Cheryl Declan Xiu had just caused a scene.