The taxi dropped Jasmine in front of the gallery. She paid the driver once she got out and walked towards the huge building. She was dressed in a sun flower gown and brown sandals.

The art gallery was a two- storey building with "Ray's Art gallery" designed boldly on the top wall.
Jasmine was greeted by the security guard with a smile as she climbed up and the glass door slided open.
The building had a security system and climate control to maintain optimum art preservation temperature and humidity levels.

Stepping inside, a soft instrumental filled the air as a female computer voice was talking in the background.
"Welcome to Ray's Art gallery. A place of beauty and wounder that eyes are yet to behold."

Jasmine was lost by the astonishing beauty before her eyes as she blocked out the computer's voice.
She had been to several art galleries but she had to admit that the place was really beautiful. She stood there with her jaw dropped and face in awe. The building was painted white, had high ceilings and it had floating walls and LED lighting filled the building. There was a lounge and reception area where people could relax and contemplate about the art works.

"Whoa!"She exhaled, "Who would have thought that such a place was even close to me." She chuckled steadily as she admired the whole place. Walking slowly, her eyes darted towards every corner. The linoleum floors were freshly waxed and she could see her distorted reflection as she walked.
Big vase of beautiful flowers, photographs, sculptures, and all kinds of paintings were seen everywhere. The place was glowing in beauty.

Holding unto her bag and taking small paces as few people passed her by, she savoured the magnificence of the place, looking at each art work she came across. Jasmine was a true lover of art and she always appreciated any beautiful art work she laid her eyes on.

She noticed a large painting of a naked mother and her baby on the wall and stopped in front of it, staring at it deeply with a mixed expression on her face.
Few seconds later, she felt the presence of someone by her side.

"What do you think?" A deep male voice suddenly asked, standing next to her.

"It's a beautiful piece of work," she said softly, still looking at the painting.

The man nodded. "What do you think you see when you look into the woman's eyes." He questioned.

She stared deeply at the mother's face in the painting. "I see pain in her eyes," she answered, eyes still on the painting.

"Why do you think so?" He asked, turning to her.

"She looks emotionless but her grey eyes expresses how she feels. And If you look very closely here," she said, pointing at the woman's hand which was covered slightly by the baby's blanket.
"You'll see she's holding a knife. But to me, i think she wants to kill herself rather than the child," she said.

The man looked at her, so surprised at her words about the painting. "How...how were you able to see that she's holding a knife? No one has ever noticed the knife ." He asked, staring down at her with a confused frown on his face.

"Well it was actually the first thing I noticed in the painting and that's what captivated my attention. This painting has a sad story behind it but not everyone will be able to see the pain in this woman's eyes," she said as she turned and looked at him for the first time.

Her blue eyes instantly locked with his brown eyes. He was tall and strikingly handsome. He was dressed in a navy blue tailored suit that hugged his body perfectly.

'Not again! Another handsome stranger!'

She thought as she gazed at him. In a week she had already been approached by two sexy and handsome strangers. The universe was really playing a trick on her.

Jasmine's response was a surprise to the man as he wasn't expecting that from her. He looked at her with a smile on his face as he asked. "Are you an artist?"

"No I'm not an artist." A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she Chuckled. "I used to work as an art dealer in new York before I moved to here." She explained.

"Really?" He raised a brow as he was impressed by what she said.

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile.

"Hmmm." He was amused as he folded his arms, enjoying the conversation. He always admired women who knew things about art. They always got his full attention and he wouldn't mind stopping whatever he was doing to have a conversation with them.
"So how much do you think this painting is worth?" He asked, looking at her closely, already enjoying their conversation.

"Emm probably $5000 or more but it's definitely not less than that," she said with a shrug.

"And you are certain?" He inquired getting more intrigued by her.

"Well, it depends on the buyer," she told him.

He let out a light chuckle, really impressed by her response. "It's $5000 actually." He said to her.

"See, I was right," she said proudly with a smile playing on her lips and he chuckled.

"Sure you are." He smiled.

"Do you work here?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I do." He nodded.

"So I guess that this is one of your works then, right?" She pointed at the painting of the mother and her child.

"You guessed right." He gave her a warm smile.

'God! His smile is a killer.'

She made an inner sigh as she stared at him.

"So what are you doing here anyways. You came to buy something or what?" He asked, eager to know why she was at the gallery. If she was there to buy an art work, he wouldn't mind giving her a personal tour as he was enjoying her company.

She chuckled. "No, i came to see someone."

"Who?"

"Mrs Smith. She works here."

"Oh, I see." He nodded. "Are you related to Mrs Smith?" He asked, looking at Jasmine closely as he saw no resemblance she had with Mrs Smith. Raymond knew that Mrs Smith rarely had visitors who came to the gallery to see her, other than from her husband.

She laughed lightly. "No I'm not. I'm just a friend."

"Sorry, my bad," he said with a chuckle.

She smiled at him.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Raymond." He smiled as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"I'm Jasmine." She took his hand, smiling. His hold on her was firm as he shook her hand.

"Jasmine." he said softly, staring into her blue eyes as she looked back at him with a smile.
They said first impressions always mattered and Raymond couldn't deny the fact that Jasmine had captivated his interest. He usually found it hard in keeping a steady conversation with most women as they wouldn't be so indulged in having one with him. All their attention would be focused on his body and just couldn't wait to be in bed with him.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Shaking off his thoughts, he let go of her hand as he excused himself and answered the call.

Jasmine turned back to the painting, looking at it again.

"Alright, I'll see you shortly," he said curtly, ending the call.

"I'm sorry but I need to leave right now. I have an important client to meet," he told her, putting his phone in his pocket.
He had a meeting with an art dealer and as much as he was enjoying her company, he couldn't keep his client waiting .

"It's alright. I need to leave now anyways to see Mrs Smith." she said.

"Okay." He nodded and then called an employee that passed by.

"Take her to Mrs Smith's office," he told the young man.

"Yes sir." The young man nodded.

Turning to her, "It was nice meeting you Jasmine. I hope to continue with our conversation later," he said, giving her his handsome smile. Since she came to see Mrs Smith, he didn't think she would be leaving in a hurry. He planned on having a brief meeting with the art dealer so that he could hurry and catch up with Jasmine before she leaves.

"Me too." she smiled, her Cheeks turning pink from her slight blush. They shook hands again and then he turned and walked out.

Finally! Our two main characters have crossed paths. 😁
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