IMMORTAL LOVE | one

2 - Admired

It was deep in the night and Alana, Jake and Pam were still busy showcasing. Pam and Jake in the selling section downstairs, enticing potential buyers about the underground art pieces, while Alana handled the viewing section upstairs. She saw Pam trying to grab her attention from across the gallery. The floors were separated by glass and wooden stairs, so the three partners could often see each other during the night.

From downstairs she could see Pam secretly and hurriedly pointing toward the viewers walking up the wooden stairs to her section.

"What?" Alana mouthed.

"Yummy-guy-in-Armani." Alana was no lip reader, however judging by Pam's swooning facial expression, Alana realised what she was trying to say.

The person whom she was pointing at was the guy she and Jake had mentioned earlier in their conversation. Alana's eyes browsed through people walking up to her section. There were many people tonight and by their posh-ness and attires, Alana guessed these were middle-class, if not upper class. Their expensive gowns and suits with expensive accessories, told her how very formal this event was. If the prices of the art pieces hadn't been a dead giveaway before, these people were.

It wasn't until her eyes landed on him, that Alana knew this was the person whom Pam was talking about. The first thing Alana noticed was his height. He was the tallest one there, his height looming above everyone else in the room. He walked, exuding a remarkable air of superiority, it made one almost feel like bowing down to him.

He had a set of hazel eyes that seemed to twinkle against the shining chandeliers on the ceiling. Although his eyes were dazzling, his expression was hard and intimidating. A thick set of eyebrows curled, almost as if he was angry. He stared down at everyone as if they were nuisance or just ants blocking his path.

His hair was dark brown almost black, wavy and reached his broad shoulders. His skin was tan, sun-kissed,  almost olive toned and he wore that Armani suit as if it were second skin. The trousers hugged his thighs, as if they couldn't contain the strong muscles. His white dress shirt underneath his blazer was unbuttoned to reveal his toned chest. And an odd looking neckless with silver straps and a dim red vial pendant.

Alana watched him feeling an odd trembling shocking her core. She swallowed out of impulse and felt his presence all around her, as if it filled out the whole room. And it did. It really did. She wasn't the only one in the room noticing and silently appreciating the looks he was serving.

The whole night, she had walked around this section explaining all the pieces being showcased. Whenever she was free, she would stand next to her piece. Although, she wasn't happy with this painting, she felt proud that it was being showcased in one of the biggest galleries events she had ever curated.

Ever since the man in Armani came into her section, she couldn't concentrate on her job anymore. She watched him in her peripheral vision, he was viewing the owner's collection with such rapt attention.

There was something about this man that somehow felt familiar, she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. However, she felt as if she had seen and met him before...somewhere. The fact that her heart was trashing so violently against her chest couldn't just be because she was attracted to him.

"She's very pretty." An old woman broke her reverie. Alana instantly moved to the side—out of the way from her art piece.

"Yes, I suppose she is." Alana spoke distractedly.

The woman's eyes were dazzling blue as they beamed at the painting. "Ah, I love this piece...somehow, looking at it, brings me back to my childhood of discovering fairy tales and falling in love with princesses...she is a princess, right?" The woman asked referring to the subject in the painting.