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The Sheikh only huffed and hooked his arirls as he led theallery, toward the drinks Joel smiled until the Sheikh passed, and then he turned to me with a bitter and twisted look on his face, like he s nasty

Joel and I stood at a distance, trying not to crowd or rush the trio, as they poured glass after glass of chane and drank them faster than anyone I’d ever seen After ten otten they were in an art gallery

Joel stealthily put his hand on esture I knew too well

He was trying to keep me calm, but I couldn’t help myself Instead I asked in a loud and firm voice, “Can I answer any questions about the art for you?”

None of theed I had spoken Heat crept up my neck and face

The Sheikh tipped over the last of the chane bottles, and it rolled across the table and hit the wooden floor with a loud crack He looked around athe black cloth, and once he didn’t find anything else to drink, he pulled the blondes close by their tiny waists and whispered so in a deep timbre in each of their ears Whatever it was made both of them blush and shiver

“Ay dios mío,” said Joel to himself He shook his head and walked away from the scene

I couldn’t walk away I was too furious Like a car wreck, I couldn’t look away froht had turned into

The drunken party headed back toward the door, breezing byto s before he disappeared into the night with the tomen

Dark realization came over me as it became apparent that the Sheikh had never intended to purchase any of my art He didn’t care about me or my work at all; he only wanted to put on a show for his lady friends, to i with hiet laid

That was the last straw Heels pounding like a judge’s gavel on the hardwood, I allery and out the front door to follow the on the curb, and the blondes were trying to fall inside without hurting themselves as the Sheikh and a well-dressed chauffer waited

“Hey!” I said, stalking up to him

The Sheikh turned at the sound, wobbling on his feet just a bit

“What do you want?” he said

“You’re an inconsiderate asshole, you know that?”

Suddenly the sound of the idling engine was all I could hear The blondes had stopped wrestling with each other, and even the thin chauffer seemed to have frozen in surprise The face of the Sheikh had lost all pretence of humor

“What did you say to me?” he asked in a deep voice

“I said you’re an inconsiderate asshole You wasted ht I know the art world is just another playground for people like you, but this isI am, and you just crumpled up all my work and threw it away like a piece of trash You’re an asshole”

The Sheikh stared at h mine Before he could respond, I whirled onthe door behind allery, the car was gone