Monday, 8:46 PM
It's been a few days since Natalia showed Alicia the photo, and Hanna has been dealing with the two of them acting strangely ever since.
Alicia would stare at them for too long whenever they were in her office as if she wanted to know all of their deepest darkest secrets, or she would call their name and when Hanna answered, she would take a deep breath and muster all of her courage to say something, but she would always end up saying nevermind or asking how their day was going or something along those lines.
While Natalia, on the other hand, would always have a guilty expression on her face whenever Hanna would about their work and would always ask how Alicia was doing, specifically whether or not she was mad at someone, and would always ask if she could never use FGC's services again because she had disappointed their future owner, which perplexed Hanna. They would constantly reassure their girlfriend by telling her that what she was saying was impossible since they knew Alicia would never keep a grudge against anyone, especially over something so little.
but as days pass Hanna knew that they couldn't keep this up so they started dealing with the problem by talking to their girlfriend first.
"Hey, love"
Hanna said, looking up from their laptop and across the room at their girlfriend, who was sitting on the couch on the other side of the room watching TV.
"Umm, yes?"
Natalia moved her head towards them, but her gaze remained fixed on the show.
"Can we please talk about the thing you showed Alicia the other day and can I also please get more information about it?"
Hanna said this, causing Natalia to shift her gaze from the television to them, a worried expression on her face.
Natalia then sighed and paused the show, focusing all of her attention on Hanna, imagining how difficult it must be for her partner to manage all of the commotions. As Hanna saw this they smiled at how Natalia was willing to help them with this.
Hanna sat down next to Natalia on the couch, a hand on her lower back, and began talking about the photo, where it was, who made it, and what was its purpose. As Natalia continued with the details, Hanna made sure to take down some notes. They also went online at one point to double-check some of the factual data and to look at some of the artist's work.
While doing so, Natalia asked Hanna,
"Do you honestly believe Miss Alicia isn't mad at me? She did look disturbed after seeing the photo, after all."
Hanna stared at Natalia, recalling the events of the scenario and the expression on Alicia's face when she saw the picture.
"To be honest, I think you helped her; sure, she was unhappy, but she also appeared relieved."
As she listened to her, Natalia furrowed her brows, now curious as to how she could be relieved.
"like she was waiting to see that photo for a long time now and seeing how she acts in the office, it seems like she really wants to know more about it, y'know"
"But why? is she interested in arts?"
Natalia asked as they began to delve deeper into the situation.
"No, not really, maybe it's not about the sculpture but the one who made it"
As her partner mentioned the artist, Natalia furrowed her brows and tried to think of anything they might have in common.
"Pablo Ezekiel? To be honest, the only thing I can think of that the two of them might have in common is that they're both in their late 20s, went to a prestigious private school, and are both successful; of course, Alicia is still richer, but that's it; besides, the only people who know what Pablo Ezekiel looks like are the people with whom he works, and because he's so well-known for his work, you'll never know what he looks like if you don't have a huge amount of money."