My assistant tried to hand me the sheet of paper of what she’d written so far. I motioned for her to keep it. Reece had been efficient since the first day I hired her ten years ago. There was no need to check her work anymore. She was about the only person who listened to me and followed every order accordingly.

“As to not cause any concern, I had the chefs create a big five course meal and prepare a sort of goodbye party for tomorrow night. Hex heard about what I planned and decided to go bigger with the celebration. Melody has the staff decorating the dining area and main living room. Musicians were invited as well as magicians.”

Musicians and Magicians?

I gritted my teeth. “So he’s excited?”

“Yes. You wouldn’t believe half of the things he wants me to get on this list.”

Good. I couldn’t deal with him breaking down anymore.

“Did he go alone?”

“No. His new model left with him. Elle, I think.”

My brother roams Miami in a limo with a beautiful woman while I rush around this gaudy property, trying to keep all of our heads above water.

“Is security following them both?”

“Yes. There are four guys. One is in the limo in front with the driver. The other three are following them in cars and were told to blend in and not scare Hex.”

“Good. Let me know when they return. Maybe I can sit down and have a dinner with him or something. Do I have time in my schedule?”

“Actually, you and Hex are supposed to be at the opening for X-Lab tonight.”

I hit my forehead. “Oh God. How could I forget that?”

“Well, you did see a dead body today.”

“True, but Hex has been obsessed with this gallery for years.”

It must’ve taken Hex two to three years to get the investors interested in the idea. Many of the people who helped with the production were edgy art enthusiasts like himself. We found an old shoe factory in North Miami, had the construction workers gut it, build on it more, and construct a massive building that provided two levels with lots of space.

Hex dreamed that X-Lab would be the first art gallery in the United States focused solely on performance, video, and installation art exhibits. There would be no paintings, drawings, sculptures or any of the other traditional works many anticipated in a typical gallery or museum. X-Lab would present experimental works as well, things that were too controversial or graphic for other curators. That fact pushed me on edge. Once an artist became obsessed with a particular idea, social norms, concepts of humanity, and ethics fell to the side.

We held an application approval process for the new artists who longed for their works to be in the opening. The installation art deemed the easiest to pick through. The artists submitted mini models of their work, which tended to be small enough to put on my desk and analyze. The installation genre consisted of three-dimensional works that were usually designed to transform the perception of a space. Most of the applicants sought to use natural elements to speak about global warming and recycling. Others longed to create interactive installations where the audience acted on the piece and/or the work responded to the audience’s activities. Picking the installations served as the easiest part of the task.

Unlike the other artistic genres, which gave me a headache as I read them. More than fifty percent of the video and performance ideas shocked the crap out of me. The other fifty put me at unease. One female artist sought to have a corner in the gallery where she could sit in a lawn chair naked, hold a holy cross made of two dildos, and masturbate to it. She claimed the performance would trigger the viewers to think about sex and religion. Hex considered her a genius. I kept my words to myself and ripped up the application. Some of the video artists involved a lot of shock in their works—most did awkward things with razors and knives, some explored sexuality in the most profane ways, and then the truly morbid studied the notion of death by dissecting corpses with children’s toys. Hex and I battled those days and compromised on allowing some of the less offensive to trickle through.

“I should get down to X-Lab and make sure everything is on schedule.” And not liable to get us locked up for presenting it.

Reece shook her head. “You already delegated a pretty efficient team for that project. I’ve gone down there and confirmed that ninety-five percent of the installations are set up. The video art works with no problem and all people doing performances know what they are doing and where.”

“Thank you. What time is the opening again?”

“Eight.”

I checked my watch and realized I had a few hours. I’m not sure why but I sniffed my hand again. “Is there such thing as an orange blossom? I’ve heard of cherry ones.”

Tags: Kenya Wright Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net