Xander Smith. An art broker he used in San Francisco.
“What’s up, Xander?” Sebastian wandered to the far end of the deck, away from the chatter.
“The dragon in Chinatown?” Xander spoke fast, his voice high with excitement. He obviously smelled a finder’s fee. “I found the artist.”
Will had discovered the metal dragon outside a Chinatown church. It had been formed from an odd assortment of parts that blended into a fierce sculpture of brute strength, with circular saw blades as scales, the tines of a pitchfork for its tail, a barbecue fork as its tongue, its coils spray-painted red, and yellow and orange flaming out of its mouth. The individual components had probably come straight out of a scrapyard, but when welded together, its lines achieved a flowing symmetry and sinuous beauty. It epitomized the metamorphosis of an ugly duckling into a magnificent creature.
“Is the artist local?”
“Yes,” Xander said. “A local. I can set up a meeting.” He wasn’t about to hand over the contact information.
Not that Sebastian would go around him. Xander had an eye, and he appreciated a great deal.
“I’ll be back on Tuesday. Set it up for three and send me the address. What’s his name?”
“Her. Charlie Ballard.”
Her? Sebastian was intrigued. Now, more than ever, he wanted to meet the woman who had created something so fierce. So brilliant. And yet, so beautiful. All at the same time.
“Just make sure the meeting is at her studio. I want to see what else she has.”
“Will do.”
If her other work was anything like the dragon, Sebastian intended to showcase her talent in the lobby fountain of his new San Francisco high-rise.
Charlie Ballard, you’re about to become famous.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Having sold more than 4 million books, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre’s novels have been #1 bestsellers around the world. Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly), her books have been Cosmopolitan magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into ten languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post has called her “One of the top digital writers in America” and she has been featured by Entertainment Weekly, NPR, USA Today, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and, most recently, in Time magazine. She has given keynote speeches at publishing conferences from Copenhagen to Berlin to San Francisco, including a standing-room-only keynote at Book Expo America, on her publishing success.