Page 50 of The Dicktionary Club

Kelvingrove Art Gallery was one of my all-time favourite places, with its impressive architecture and grand, ornate design. It stood like a palace in the heart of Glasgow’s West End.

‘The entire gallery will be yours for the night,’ he said, as if this was the most rational and obvious conclusion. ‘Come on.’

He unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over to me on the passenger side. I felt his minty fresh breath hit my face.Fuck,is he about to kiss me?I wondered, not knowing how I’d react.I could punch him, or jolt my head away.Then he pressed to release my seat belt.

‘I’ll show you around.’

I was dizzy and overwhelmed. How the hell did he manage this?

I took a few seconds to let my heart rate settle, then exited the car. My eyes squinted, taking in the huge silhouette of the museum against the sunlight.

‘Philip,’ I said.

He was a few steps in front and turned around. ‘Yes?’

‘I appreciate this, I honestly do, but this will be completely out of budget for me to host here. It’s one of the country’s most sought-after venues,’ I said, having never even attempted to think of it as an option with regards to Alexander’s campaign.

‘Not at all. It’s a favour. There’s no fee. Come on, let’s take a look,’ he continued, casually heading through the park and climbing the mountain of stairs towards the gallery’s grand entrance. We passed under the sandstone arch together.

No fee?I couldn’t wrap my head around any of it. How had he managed this? Why would he do this? I’d only just met this man, and suddenly he was pulling more favours out of his arsehole than Sticky Vicky during a late-night show in Benidorm. As we entered the building, squeezing and dodging between crowds of tourists, an older man in a suit approached.

‘Mr Khan, we were so happy you called. Is this your partner?’

Philip grinned. ‘Yes! Good to see you again, Seamus.’

Seamus held his hand out for me to shake, and when I did, I clarified, ‘Business partner – well .?.?. sort of. I’m Ella. Pleased to meet you.’

Seamus winked at me as if to say he didn’t believe a word of it and proceeded to walk around the gallery.

‘This is of course the main foyer, where we hold events orparticularly special occasions for our VIP guests,’ Seamus said, leading us through to the grand room. I had been here so many times before, but suddenly I was more aware of its beauty. It was like a cathedral, with ornate yellow and black marble floors, vast sculpted ceilings and sweeping staircases.

‘Wow,’ I said softly.

‘We can display paintings against the walls and have the main space for guests to mingle. What were you thinking, Ella?’ Seamus asked.

I looked at him, but my mind was blank. I was so overwhelmed with excitement and fear that I was entirely speechless.

‘Pilates?’ Philip said, nudging me.

‘Ahh. Pilates. Well, we’ve never had that before. But we once held a silent disco for the kids,’ Seamus said.

Philip and I smiled at one another. He was clearly enjoying the funny side of my espionage game.

‘No, Seamus, not Pilates. But I love it, honestly. It’s stunning. I’ll have to regroup and consult with my team before I have an exact plan. The space is unreal, so I want to make the most of it. I need to think up ways to get the people of Glasgow talking about this event; then, if it’s OK with you, could I get back to you with the plan?’ I asked. My mind was running on overdrive, trying to piece together where everything would go, how I’d make sure we maximised this in terms of attendees, and envisioning how impressed Andrea would be when she found out.

‘Certainly, Ella.’

‘And, Seamus, do you have the list of dates that the gallery is available?’ Philip asked.

‘Yes.’ Seamus scrambled into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to me. ‘These dates are the ones we have in the next few weeks.’

I grinned, noticing my proposal of 31st July was there. I’dpreviously mentioned it to Alexander.

‘Can we confirm thirty-first of July, please, Seamus?’ That would give me just under three weeks to get organised.

‘Certainly, Ella. I’ll get that added right away.’ He held his finger to the sky and walked back across the foyer towards the front entrance.

‘I’ll be in touch, old man!’ Philip called back, and Seamus pointed his finger back as if to say,you better be!

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