Mama's Boy

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Aiden stared at her finished piece, amazed by her own talents. In just a few hours, she'd created a masterpiece. She'd drawn a woman made of rocks, surrounded by what could be lava on a canvas that was twenty-for inches wide, and two feet tall. The colors in the painting were dull and blended well with the art's mood.

She looked down at her clothes, checking for any spots of paint; she was glad to see there wasn't anything on her. Then, she picked up a clean, small-headed, paint brush and dipped the tips of its bristles into a dab of white paint. Holding the brush's handle as she would a pencil, she signed her surname, Richter, in the corner of her work.

"Wow, that looks really good," a light voice complimented behind her. Aiden turned around and smiled at the woman.

"Doesn't it?" she replied.

Hailey nodded a Aiden and walked over to her. Holding out a hand to the pretty blonde, she introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Hailey Leighton."

Aiden peered at her hand before shaking it. "I know who you are; your sculptures are pretty good. I'm Aiden Richter, by the way."

"Pretty good? My sculptures are among the best," Hailey told her. Aiden shrugged her shoulders and turned to pick up the brushes she'd been using. She carried them to one of the studio's sinks and began to wash them one by one.

"If you say so," she mumbled, turning on the tap water. Hailey had heard her mumble under her breath but hadn't understood what she said. Brushing the comment off, she continued to make conversation.

"I'm guessing you're going to be in the Rookie Showcase too?"

"Rookie Showcase? What's that?"

"It's basically an induction show, Grotesque's way of introducing their new artists."

"When is it?"

"It's in April."

"Oh, well then, yeah, I'll be in it. What's it to you?"

"Great! So will I." Hailey walked over to the opposite side of the studio. She pick up a canvas and set it on an easel before picking up some brushes, paint and a palette.

Aiden had paused in the act of cleaning the brushes and looked at Hailey. "Why are you going to be in the showcase? Aren't you already apart of Grotesque?"

"I am but-" Hailey started.

"But her mind is too narrow to try other things so she has to correct 'erself." The girls' heads snapped to the direction of the studio door just as a man, unfamiliar to Aiden, stepped into the room. She took a good look at the handsome, older, brown skinned man. Grey hairs were variously speckled in his goatee. There were laughing wrinkles by his dark, brown eyes and he had a bald head. "So you' decided that sculptin' ain't for you no mo', Hailey?" The man asked. Hailey rolled her eyes at the ceiling and placed a hand on her hip.

"No, Jackson. I just want my buyers to see that I can do other things besides sculpting."

Jackson?, Aiden thought, looking between him and Hailey, As in Jackson Gregory?. She'd read about him. Like Knox, his personal life and pictures were nonexistent on the internet but she did find a little information on him, more than she had on Knox. He had been working at Grotesque for twenty-three years, since he was eighteen. Aiden did the math; he was 41-years-old. His father was the last CEO but had died from a stroke. Jackson was supposed to be the current CEO of Grotesque but had declined the job offer. Instead, he stuck to his second-in-charge position.