Sharlotte Gold was stunning in her midnight evening gown. Noah's art agent was a white woman in her almost forties. She had that classy ice beauty of a woman who would always perpetually appear younger than she was. Sharlotte was that type of New York and San Francisco socialite vibe. She knew the right people in the right places and use her knife-edge confidence for her clients. That kind of long-fought I know who I am women sometimes get when they are older. My mother has that presence about herself, but mostly because it was required as a black woman in America. You got to know who you are and know where you want to be, otherwise, they will force you to believe the false story. Believing the false story is a slow death for black women. And everyone knows the women, both white and black, who believe it. They've got that dead look behind their eyes, and Sharlotte's eyes were sharp.

"Run it again please Tari," she smiles back at me as she moves through the crowd of VIPs.

"Cocktail hour. Guests arrive to walk on the red carpet, the tech VIP not near the Hollywood producers." Because the Hollywood producers would try to get money for projects. A major tech CEO has the starting bid on Noah's main piece of artwork. "The final exhibition tour and then bidding. 80% of the art has been pre-sold with another 10% part of the bidding." Sharlotte nods, along with my words and shotgun list of things she has to know. She's slowed down by smooshing a musician and his date and she talks about the upcoming work. Most of the money raised is going directly into one full month of free museum visits. Another portion of the money raised goes to art and music in public schools. A large effort to rehire the arts and music teachers again. Finally, a small portion goes to Lora's art center Children. It's the charity set up by his decease music teacher who is also his best friend's mother.

My eyes flick to a moving tie. I turn my head away from the two people speaking to follow the thing in the corner of my eyes. Like a ghost moving at the edge of my mind's eye with sandy blonde hair. I raced through the pack of people following that feeling. It was like the packed room were waves and the more I shifted and moved through them the deeper the sea got. Until that thing, I saw I couldn't even guess the direction. I'm not sure why, but I felt even more lost. As if in that second I was the poorer for its absents.

***

Later that night...

"When do you think you will have your replacement trained?" Zoey asks me nonchalantly. It wasn't nonchalant at all. The question was loaded. I was well aware that Zoey didn't want this to be my last job with her and her family. Her dyed black hair fell over her evening dress down. In one of those styles where you think she never once cut her hair her whole life. The darkness of it is in contrast to her fair skin. Even in her fancy evening dress, Noah's younger sister has this Rock and Roll star vibes. When I first met her last year, she was nineteen. It was before she won the singing contest that launched her music career. Her best friend, Sabali, also did music and worked as a teacher of music. Because of that and her new career, Zoey and Sabali needed a talent agent. Even though it had been years, Sharlotte started her career in music. Then she quit as a successful music agent due to a conflict with one of her talents. She is currently their stand-in for a music agent. They needed someone they could trust.

It doesn't change the fact that I'm mentally stalling and haven't answered her.

"Two to three weeks after you have hired them, I can have them trained." I smile at her. The mirror in the little dressing room of the museum was a reprieve from the event. It was originally set up for Noah. He has intense responses when there are too many people talking to him at once. Just in case he came, we set up the room, anyway. When he gets upset, he touches his fingertips to his thumbs and counts them. It has a rhythm to the way his hands move until he shuts down and shuts everyone out. This room was to help him decompress from tonight. Normally he doesn't do shows of any sort, he just sells his stuff, but this was a way to raise more money. The event turns into even more than that. If it happens again next to her, it may turn into an event to rival the Met Gala in New York.

"I knew." Her words caught me off guard. She was saying other things I was spacing. This eeriness that has been shadowing me tonight is overwhelming. And I space on her mid-conversation.

"I'm sorry what?" I ask.

"I knew about you and Noah." I felt like a deer caught in headlights. When I told her about us and this whole thing blew up at Christmas in my face, she didn't say that.

"How long?"

"Do you remember the live stream where Noah took his shirt off?" Of course, I remember that live stream. My best friend Jo-Lee sent me a video clip of her throwing her panties at the screen. The video was in a loop of Noah taking his shirt off. It was very Jo-Lee. I nod at Zoey. "Noah's normally ... shy. He has never taken off his shirt on a live stream. Most of the content he makes his letters to us showing what he's doing. He doesn't interact much. His audience enjoys it anyway, but the Noah you capture in that lens was a Noah I've only seen when he's around you."

"So...." Zoey takes a deep breath with a deadpan look and says. "I knew." I was well beyond surprised. What does she me by a different Noah? "When I offer you the job of staying with me and working with me, even if you plan on finding another person for Noah." She had to know that idea out there. I wasn't opposed to just working for her and Sabali. Plus, it wouldn't be much work even if Noah came back. I only need to drop by the place from time to time to sort out things mail and prep. Then the rest could be virtual. It was one hell of an idea. "Think about it." Zoey takes my hand.

"Tari.. I wanted it to work with you two. I really did. Noah.." She stumbles over her words. "He's not..He's my brother. It's hard for him to connect. I wanted it to work, but even though it doesn't, I know you are great at what you do. You are a professional who made a very hard part of my life and adjusting easier. You organized my world and without you, Sabali and I would have been screwed." She blew out and sighed. "Please, stay on our team." The shock wasn't didn't wear off.

The pause between us wasn't long before I answered carefully.

"Thank you, yes." I didn't want to stop working for Zoey. Her music career was just starting, and she had a wonderful sound. It was an interesting job, and I was learning a lot. Sabali's projects were just as interesting. Accepting seems like the right thing to do, but my gut was fighting off the tears. I couldn't stop thinking he was different around me. She didn't imply a different bad in her tone. It reminded me of the time Noah told me on the boat that I had shined for him. I wasn't sure what he meant by it, but it was the nicest thing anyone said to me before. It was the tone. He had a way of saying it like it was a heartbreaking truth. Noah always had an innate kindness and vulnerability.

My eyes watered, lost in the ghost of our time together without realizing it. The door to the changing room open my client Sabali walked in with her brother Maurice. He smiled at me when he saw me. Maurice had this the way about himself. That all men should exist on the male model island. He was a local firefighter, so he had the body and when he smiled, it was like a Black Kryptonite. Maurice was deadly with it. He was also Noah's best friend, a nice guy, and someone I went on a total of one date with. He came up to me and lean down to kiss me and I turn my cheek into his kiss. I wasn't sure if he was going for the lips or not. We've never kissed on the lips but on our date that was very good, but he was the totally wrong guy for me. The date ended with him kissing me on my cheek instead of my lips. His arm came around my shoulder and he turned us to facing his sister in an evening gown. She looked lovely in the gown, but was also hopeful of seeing me with her brother. I don't think Zoey told them about me and Noah. What a fucking mess. It is and it isn't a secret but it's kind of wildly unprofessional. What the fuck was I thinking.

I sidestep out of Maurice's hold, and he smiles at me. Shit. Sabali, Zoey, and I struck up a conversation. With Zoey telling them the news, I wasn't leaving, and I'd be just working with her and Sabali from now on. Training a new person to work on the #ForNoah YouTube account. They were excited, and I waved the group off as I finished up in the greenroom.

I couldn't help going over it again. She knew, and she wanted it to work between us. And if I was even the tiniest but honest with myself.... so did I.

A/n: So, we getting somewhere now! I can't wait to share more. Thank you for your comments. They really help me edit faster because I hate editing. It freaks me out. Finding Noah is rough and there's going to be some speed added to the start and maybe a funny scene with Jo-lee and Eve in the limo to better reintroduce the crew possibly.  But I just couldn't wait to get it to yall who are hardcore with me. Because I dislike ending on a cliffhanger. The rules of wattpad contest entries though mean it was forcing me to split up the work. Which I DISLIKED. I rather make it one big running book but we didn't win. Not even close LMaoooo . So we gonna do it our own way and get this to you fast. Hopefully fun.