Episode 2: Second Opinion.

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★★★★★...

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