Scarlett

Scarlett Woodhouse is what most would describe as old money.  She has crystal blue eyes that look grey in certain lights, raven hair that you cannot get out of a bottle, and the frame of a supermodel. Scarlett went to the finest schools in Manhattan, was formally presented to society at Cotillion, and has a B.F.A. in art history from Yale. Overall, she is breathtakingly beautiful and everything a high society girl should be.

So, it comes as a shock to many that at age 26 Scarlett is an art gallery assistant, making $31K per year, and living in an Upper East Side apartment that her father still completely pays for—along with all of the other “amenities” he supports. She is unmarried with no prospects and the rumor is that her mother had to coerce the gallery owner into hiring her. He has come close to firing Scarlett too many times to count, but always backs down when he remembers her mother’s position and how Mrs. Woodhouse essentially put his gallery on the map.

The truth of matter is that Scarlett barely graduated high school and her parents bought a wing to get her into Yale. The turn around did not come in college. She spent the entire four years partying with her sorority and graduated with the minimum GPA requirement. It goes without saying that her return to the big apple was less than triumphant.

Unfortunately for Scarlett, art history was a popular major her graduating year and the other New York socialites hit the books a little harder at their Ivy League institutions of choice. After two months post graduation of sunbathing at the Soho House pool with what appeared to be no intentions of looking for a job, Mrs. Woodhouse dragged her into Sergio Moretti’s gallery in Soho. She inquired about open positions while gently reminding Sergio of how many pieces from his gallery hangs on the walls of her home as well as her friends’ (at her suggestion).

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Much to her chagrin, Scarlett started work at the Moretti Gallery less than a week later. She has been there for four years now with no signs of a promotion in the imminent future. This baffles Scarlett as she believes she is a wonderful employee worthy of some upward movement in the company. It could have something to do with her arriving to work today at 11 a.m., but that is up for debate.

“Scarlett,” Sergio bellows in his thick Italian accent, “You were supposed to be here two hours ago!”

“I was at Trap last night until 3 a.m.,” Scarlett replies as she pulls off her Céline sunglasses, “There was no way I was getting in at 9.”

“Trap, what is a Trap?” Sergio asks.

“A club in meatpacking. Leo DiCaprio was there last night. Let’s just say that the beard is not looking so great in person,” Scarlett says flatly as she settles into her desk.

“Please, just get to cataloging all the new pieces that came in this morning,” an exasperated Sergio walks away muttering what can only be assumed to be Italian profanity.

Cataloging—Scarlett’s second favorite task next to watering the plants.  Making cappuccinos that are extra hot (as per Sergio) is also fun. Then, there is the added joy of answering the phones and greeting “clients” who have no intention of purchasing anything.

Sergio always talks these people up, but Scarlett knows their endgame. The free cappuccinos that are placed on a table within street view are practically beckoning them to come inside. So, they nod and smile as Sergio babbles on about “Post-Modernist” art until their cups are empty and then go on their merry way to continue shopping with an extra boost of caffeine.

The door swings open and Scarlett prepares her straightest face for whom she expects to be another caffeine junkie looking for a fix. She is surprised to find a very attractive tall man in a slim cut suit and wing tipped oxfords standing in the doorway. His brown hair is parted to the side and his green eyes with golden flecks are now directed right at her. He smiles.

“Hi, uh, welcome to the Moretti Gallery,” Scarlett says at an awkward pace.

“Hello,” the man replies with an English accent.

In her head, she knows his whole back story. An Englishman in New York who went to university at Oxford and is here to tackle some new media venture. He comes from a good family and maybe has an ancestor that is a Duke or Earl. Scarlett loves to make up a fake background for people and see how right she is.

“Do you mind helping me?” the Englishman asks, “I need something for my flat. I’m afraid the walls are completely bare.”

Scarlett checks his left hand. No ring. She teases her wavy hair and stands up. Just as she is coming around the front desk to meet him, Sergio glides in.

“Ciao! I’m Sergio Moretti! The gallery owner,” he announces at an alarming volume.

The Englishman gives Scarlett a disappointed look before turning to Sergio, “Ah yes, well I’m Liam. I was just telling this young lady that I need some art for my flat.”

“Looks like you’ve come to the right place,” Sergio winks.

As per usual, a dramatic Sergio becomes overcome with emotion presenting each piece to Liam. He goes over every detail from the brush strokes to the artist’s biography. After what feels like hours, Sergio is finally through and Liam looks exhausted.

“Well, you have definitely given me a lot to think about. Do you have a card?” Liam inquires.

Sergio nods and scurries away to his office in the back. Liam heads toward the front desk where Scarlett is sitting.

“That bloke can go on,” he says with a grin.

“Definitely,” Scarlett giggles.

“This may seem a bit forward, but I saw you in the window and was just looking for an excuse to come in here. My flat does need art. It is not quite urgent though,” Liam states smoothly,

Scarlett smiles opening her mouth to reply and once again Sergio makes an entrance. He does an odd hand weaving motion before giving his card to Liam, “For you.”

Liam accepts thankfully and pulls out his wallet retrieving his own card for Sergio. He then turns in Scarlett’s direction, “Do you have a pen by any chance?”

A confused Scarlett hands him a pen. He scribbles something on the back of another business card and hands it to her.

“You two have a lovely day,” Liam looks at both Sergio and Scarlett before leaving the gallery.

“He certainly was yummy, huh?” Sergio observes as he pats his balding head, “What did he write on that business card?”

Scarlett looks him directly in the eye, “Oh, that it is a second copy just as backup.”

“Well, get back to cataloging,” Sergio looks at her suspiciously before shimmying away.

Scarlett flips over the business card.

Dinner? Text my mobile and we will set up a date ツ —Liam

Her heart skips a beat. She decides that she will wait at least an hour before sending him a text. Scarlett hates to appear overeager with men. It is not that she wants to seem uninterested, but she does not like to give them all the power by showing too much interest too quickly.

After scanning his business card she learns that Liam Arrington is the Senior Vice President of Digital Communication at Baker Media Corp. She has no idea what that title entails, but she gave herself a point for being right about the media part. A quick Google search lead her to a British newspaper article which advised her that Liam attended Cambridge for undergrad before getting his M.B.A. at the Saïd Business School at Oxford. Scarlett was on a roll. She could not find much on his lineage, but she had to leave some air of mystery for the date. Scarlett would, of course, have to pretend that she did not know anything about her internet findings as well.

Scarlett: Hey it’s Scarlett (the girl from the gallery)

Liam: Hey! So glad you texted me. I was a bit worried leaving my business card may have read as a tad creepy.

Scarlett: Haha no!

Liam: Well good! So are you free for dinner sometime this week?

Scarlett: Yes, definitely! When are you thinking?

Liam: How is Wednesday around 8?

Scarlett: Kk sounds good!

Liam: Great! I’ll figure out a fun place for us 🙂

 

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Liam chose an impossible to get into without a reservation sushi place in Tribeca called Sakana. The waitresses dressed like traditional geishas (full makeup and hair included). That is where the tradition ended though. Every night, there was a DJ blasting deep house and after midnight the restaurant turned into a club. The geishas would shed their kimonos to reveal sequins bras and matching booty shorts. Some would dance on platforms while others handled bottle service. It was all the rage when it first opened and showed no signs of slowing down. Scarlett was very impressed with Liam’s choice. She also had been dying for a reason to break in her new white So Kate Louboutins.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t take the music into account when picking the place,” Liam yells over the deep bass.

Scarlett smiles as she bops along to wordless tune, “It’s fine. I can hear you.”

“So how do you like working at a gallery?”He fumbles with his chopsticks before grabbing a piece of tuna.

“I hate it,” Scarlett says dryly.

Liam chuckles, ” I have to admire your honesty. There are definitely times I want to just say ‘sod it’ .”

“Yeah, I just have been doing the same thing since I finished school. It gets redundant,” she sips on her mango pineapple passion fruit concoction.

“Well, is there something you would rather do?” he asks curiously.

“It probably sounds dumb, but I would love to own my own gallery someday,” Scarlett shyly replies.

“It doesn’t sound dumb at all! You just have to go about doing it,” Liam beams.

Scarlett smiles at Liam. She would probably need to stop partying on weeknights, sleeping until 1:00 p.m. on weekends, and living on her father’s bank roll— just as a start— before she could even consider going into business for herself. There is no denying that Scarlett is lazy, but it does not mean that she lacks ambition. Her laziness just gets in the way of it.

The rest of date goes amazingly. Liam shares hilarious stories from his days of rowing crew at Cambridge. Scarlett tells him about her life as a sorority girl. It turns out they both love Larry David and have a very similar sense of humor. They spent a good chunk of the date laughing hysterically while they talked about episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Liam is 32 and his “flat” in the West Village is actually what most people would call a townhouse. He explained his job, but Scarlett is still unclear what he actually does day-to-day.  Whatever it is, it sounds important. Liam definitely has no royal connections as he is a self-made man who went to both Cambridge and Oxford on a scholarship. All in all, he is perfect.

At the end of the night, just as Scarlett is about to get into her cab heading uptown Liam grabs her hand and pulls her in close. He pecks her lightly on the lips, but it still gives her butterflies.

“I had a marvelous time,” he says.

Scarlett, unable to produce words just nods. He kisses her again, this time more passionately. The cab driver lets out an annoyed huff. Liam smirks, “I’ll text you.”

On her way home, a smile is plastered to Scarlett’s face. She does not even care that the air-conditioning is broken in her cab or that cab driver has a very potent odor. This date will be the story she tells her children when they ask how Mommy and Daddy fell in love. Her phone vibrates.

Liam: Great night, babes. We must do it again 🙂