Chapter 43: More Incoming

Exactly six months later, the plans had been put in motion. Hector had acquired the building in Cristo Rey and had refurbished it completely. The work was hard and gruesome but the results were worth the trouble. The new branch was ready to be opened and Hector decided to show Victoria and Sharon first before the grand opening.

"Are you girls ready to see this?" Hector asked excitedly.

He had taken them into the new shop with blindfolds on them. For these months that had passed, Hector never once brought them to the location of the new shop. The only people who had seen the place were himself, the men he hired to redo the place, and of course, Pedro. 

He wanted the reveal to be a surprise for the girls and the time had finally arrived.

"We are beyond ready, Hector," Victoria said impatiently.

"Yes, man! Show us already. The anticipation is killing me," Sharon added.

Hector finally removed the blindfolds and before they even touched the ground, the mouths of both Victoria and Sharon were wide open in amazement.

Pedro had accompanied them and his expression because of their reaction was one of pent-up excitement. The girls walked around the shop, admiring the decor and the colours of the paint on the walls. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

"Hector.., this is...amazing. It's truly wonderful," Sharon said.

"And what about you, Victoria? What do you think?" Hector asked her.

Victoria was impressed but like always, found something to complain about.

"It's nice, way nicer than the first shop. Why is it nicer than the first shop?" She asked frantically.

"It's new. That's why everything looks so nice. But I get what you're trying to say. We can't have this shop look this good and leave the other the way it is. We're going to have to repaint the shop at home to match the beauty of this one," Hector said.

He showed them the back room and the storage unit and every other part of the new shop, completing the tour and the surprise unveiling.

Later, the girls both went back home and left the guys at the shop to do some inventory. The following week saw the official opening of the new branch of "Imaginación" in the very centre of Cristo Rey. The opening was a big one and the shop was filled with customers, admirers, well-wishers and all sorts of people.

The store was filled with brand-new paintings made by Sharon and also with other paintings purchased by Hector from his new dealer. People all over the community were all there, browsing the beautiful collection and purchasing them.

Hector had already trained Pedro on how to attend to customers and he also taught him about art; how to talk to customers to convince them to purchase it and how to sell it as authentic and rare.

Those lessons weren't wasted on him seeing as he was on fire during the grand opening, attending to customers and stirring their interests and curiosity.

Hector was impressed by his efficiency and alertness. His doubts about Pedro were now all completely gone and he was starting to trust him entirely.

Victoria and Sharon were also in attendance. They spent most of the day outside the shop, sharing fliers to people passing by. The fliers had the details of their business and their shops' locations. It was Victoria's idea to make fliers to spread the word faster and it seemed to be working.

After they finished handing out the fliers, they went back in to join the celebration. It was a very successful opening, bringing in a lot of profit and

advertisement. The party finally came to an unfortunate end and the entire place was cleared out, both in people and in paintings.

The group cleared the shop together and finally closed up and went home.

Everyone took the route leading to Barrio Escalante except for Pedro who took the route to Sabana. Before they split up, Victoria pulled him to the side to ask how moving back in with his parents was going.

"It's still a bit awkward but there's nowhere I'd rather be," Pedro told her with a look of optimism.

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Another month after the opening of the new branch of the business passed. All of the excitement had settled down and things began flowing at a regular pace again.

Pedro was already working as the supervisor of the branch in Cristo Rey and had a subordinate under him. Hector felt that two people were enough to run the shop; one to manage the internal affairs of the business and the other a salesperson.

Every weekend, Hector would go over to the shop and calculate the accounts, making sure everything was valid and accurate. He would collect the sales money and by the end of the month, give Pedro money for his salary and for the worker he supervised.

Everything was going along smoothly; Sharon's painting and her peace of mind, Victoria's friendship with Pedro, though not all she wished to have with him was stronger than ever, Hector's business was doing well and their living conditions had improved enormously.

One day, a man arrived at the shop to pick up a painting that he paid for specifically. Sharon had done many paintings like this and they had a ledger where all of them were recorded and signed for after pickup.

Sharon was the only one in the shop when the man came in. Hector was out and Victoria had gone to Cristo Rey to visit and spend some time with Pedro.

"Buenos Diaz, Señor," Sharon said in Spanish, trying to sound more indigenous and polite.

"Buenos Diaz, my dear. I'm here for a pick-up. I placed my order about a week ago and I'm here to collect," the man said curtly.

"Ok, sir. Let me just take a look at our records and find out. What's your name?" Sharon asked as she opened the ledger.

"Diego! Diego Aguilera. Dealer of the finest quality of furniture, decorative ornaments, and of course, art," he said proudly with a bow.

Sharon could tell that he was a smug fellow. She looked through the records and found his name.

"Oh, here you are. Diego Aguilera," she handed him a document, "Please sign on the dotted lines while I go get your painting."

Sharon went into the studio and carried out quite a large painting. It was concealed with a cloth and immediately Señor Diego saw it, he was so eager to open it up. She placed it in front of him and he whipped off the cloth. 

Behold! His painting stood before him. It was an image of a magnificent tiger roaring on a mountain made of gold.

Señor Diego was beyond pleased, he was astounded by the artistry.

"Oh, this is absolutely beautiful. The details, the precision, and the sharpness of the colours. Everything is excellent," he said in awe.

"I'm guessing you like it," Sharon said to him.

"Like it? No, like is an understatement. I absolutely love it. I told the man who attended to me the first time I came here that I needed a painting as a gift to a potential business partner in order to gain his favour and secure a partnership with him. With this, I won't only gain his favour but possibly, his eternal love as well," Señor Diego said, giving heavy praise to the painting.

He noticed a spot in the painting that usually would be difficult for even the best painters to get right. This painter, however, did it flawlessly.

"Look at this part," he said to Sharon and pointed out the spot in the painting to her, "Usually, the artist would paint over it, maybe try to portray it as a shadow or something abstract, but not this painter."

"I was going to paint over it, but I decided to try adding more gold to the corner. I thought it would help highlight the mane of the tiger even more," Sharon said without thinking, revealing that she was the painter, a revelation that didn't escape the ears of Señor Diego.

"You? You're the artist?" He asked her in disbelief.

Sharon contemplated lying to him and denying being the artist, in fear of him telling more people about her. As she was about to lie, Victoria's words echoed in her head; the words about her always being scared of Addicus and never being able to live without fear of him, the words about her being safe from him here and how he could never find her, the words of letting go of the fear and finally living a full and happy life. 

Sharon decided to let go of her fears and admitted to being the artist.

"Yes sir, I'm the artist," she said with a victorious smile.

"It is indeed an honour to meet a painter as talented as yourself." He said and shook her hand.

"In all my years, I've never seen art this good. You're truly special. May I ask your name?"

"My name's Sharon. Sharon Thompson."

"Well, lady Sharon. It's been a pleasure. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. I must leave now. My trip is tomorrow and I'm quite certain that this is going to make a good gift," he said, and left with the painting.

Sharon felt better after finally revealing her identity.

She made up her mind at that moment to no longer hide or live in fear, not anymore.