THE ART OF REDEMPTION

OPPOSITES ATTRACT

It was Monday morning. The sun was up. Clara could feel the light piercing through her eyes from the window. She shrugged, not wanting to stand up. She pulled the sheets over her face and tried to go back to sleep. Then she heard her name. It was loud and tough. "Clara! Clara! Are you still in bed? Get down here already!" The voice called. "Clara!!" At this point, every atom of sleep vanished from her eyes. Her eyes sprung open. She sat up immediately, murmuring under her breath. She went to the bathroom to wash her face. Looking in the mirror, one could tell that she was beautifully made. She was a brunette with eyes that had a bit of green and a bit of grey. People admired her everywhere she went because of her gorgeous eyes. She was twenty-five and a struggling artist, still living with her mum in their studio apartment in Lirena. "Clara, wouldn't you go to work today?", the voice called again. Clara rushed out of the bathroom, rolling her hair in a rough bun. She was supposed to submit her collage today to another art house for employment and she hadn't even taken a bath. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" she said running to the dinning area. "Mum, what's for breakfast?" She looked up at the wall clock. It was past 9am. She knew she would be late for the interview. "I really need this job," she said to herself. "If you did, you should have been up before 6 this morning", her mum said. Her mum, Laura was in her fifties. She lived alone with her three children: Clara, Mauris and Jason. Their dad had abandoned them after an issue he had with loan sharks. They hadn't seen him in 15 years. "You knew I had something important planned today and you didn't wake me up, mum. That's not fair", Clara said munching on a piece of bread. "You're 25 for God's sake. I shouldn't be waking you up like your little brothers." Laura replied. "Hey mum, I'm not little. I'm twenty-three for crying out loud", Mauris clapped back. Laura and Clara exchanged glances and let out a mild laugh. "Oh! Is that so?" Clara asked jokingly and went back to take a bath. "Of course", he replied. Mauris was Clara's younger brother. He chose not to go to college since he knew his mum was still struggling and his sister didn't have a steady job. He often stayed home to play games on his computer and earned money from betting online, which recently, wasn't bringing him anything. Soon, Clara came out rushing to put on her shoes that she almost tripped and fell. "I'll be off now, mum. Wish me luck" She said closing the door. "Be careful!" her mum yelled. Clara clutched the collage in the envelope and rushed to catch a bus. But she was already late and missed it. It was already 11am. She was meant to be at Camille's Art House by 10 but she was still on the road looking for a taxi. As she rushed to cross to the other side of the road, she tripped and fell, almost getting hit by a car. She stood up. Seeing she had grazed her knee, she started yelling at the driver of the car. It was an SUV, the BMW XM, the latest model with tinted windows. "Hey! Are you blind? Do you want to kill me?" Clara yelled at the top of her lungs. "What an asshole!" she cursed and dusted herself. The collage had been damaged from the fall. "Could today get any worse?" she asked herself rhetorically and sighed. The man in the SUV parked and approached her. She was trying to call Camille's to let them know she was in an 'accident'. "Hi", a voice said. From the look of things, it sounded like the voice was talking to her. "Are you ok? You're bleeding", the man said. She looked up at the man and hissed. "Thanks to you, big guy", she replied sarcastically. "Woah! Woah! Woah! I didn't hit you, you know." "You almost did", she replied and stood up. "Hey, where are you going?" He held her hand. "And who do you think you are?" she said forcibly removing her hand from his grip. "Pray we never cross paths again asshole. You just made me lose everything", she said pointing at him and walked away. He stood there staring at her. "What kind of a person did I just meet today?" Then he checked his watch. "Ah! I have to leave now." Looking back again, he didn't see her shadow. He hissed, "What a headache!" Then he went into his car and sped off. **************************"You're welcome, sir", Valery said bowing. "The board of directors are already in the hall". She took his coat and led him into the hall. After he had taken his seat, he asked, "I hope there's good news for me?" "Sir," one of the directors spoke up, "We have gone through the documents and the only way La Royale is going to grow more stocks is by acquiring another site for audition of art collections. We all know that we are the top marketing agency for our artists and we ought to make more money this season", he added. Now, La Royale has been the talk of town among artists around the world. They produce high rated art critics and only audition authentic artworks. This is a major factor for the company's growth for the past five years. The CEO and founder of La Royale, the man seated at the head of the table is a very money-minded person....a lover of profit making. He singlehandedly began La Royale at thirty and has grown it to the top through the help of his able secretary and chief adviser, Valery. "So, what you are saying is that we should purchase a non-functional art gallery and make it our new auction house, tell our investors and begin immediately, am I right?" said Alex. Alexander Hamilton, the CEO of La Royale was a huge, very muscular man in his mid-thirties. He had a bold look on his face all the time and barely laughs. He's a man of little words and strategic thinking. He had a very nice beard with perfect eyebrows to match his asymmetrical face. Yes! He was a fine man, 6'2 and obviously, every girl's dream. "Yes, sir. We already have an art gallery in mind, mid town, close to the intersection. We are getting everything ready with the legal documents to be able to buy the place as soon as we can", another director replied bowing. "Since that is all for today, I'd advice you begin immediately. Where is the lawyer? What's his name?" "I'm here, sir. Felix is my name, sir", a short man with glasses replied. "You know what to do, Mr. Felix", said Alexander and he left the hall followed by Valery who was walking closely behind him. "Sir Alex, I think we're making progress", said Valery and she hurried to catch up with his pace. Alex nodded and stopped suddenly. "You do know that you have to get everything sorted out smoothly, right? You know I'm not someone that takes things slowly. We are to beat Ray at his own game and continue to remain at the top. Do you understand?" Alex replied. Valery took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "Yes, yes sir. I understand".