Sleep found Chloe quickly and soon, her past came with it. She was in New York, at a gallery put together by the teacher of her art class. Several of her pieces were on display and there was a possibility they might get bought, but Chloe didn't have high hopes. She was still very much an amateur, though art had gone from a therapeutic hobby to a passion for her. Thankfully, the teaching job she'd been set up with managed to cover her cost of living.

To be honest, she almost didn't want to be at the gallery. Her gut was in knots from nerves and she didn't exactly know anyone here. Her teacher was nice but she hadn't made friends with anyone else in the class. So she stood anxiously in a corner near where her paintings were, sipping at a glass of wine that only made her stomach feel worse.

"You don't look like you're having a good time."

Chloe started and whipped her head in the voice's direction. A tall, blonde man regarded her with a smirk. She pinned him for a model almost immediately, with his strong profile and thin yet developed frame. She felt a pang as he reminded her of Adrian and he took a step back at the frown that creased her face.

"If I've bothered you, my apologies," he said as he began to turn away.

"No, I'm sorry," she said as took a step towards him. "It's just you reminded me of someone I haven't seen in a long time."

The man smiled, raising his brow to her as he took a sip of his drink, "I certainly hope to leave a better impression, mademoiselle." He spoke with a french accent as he gave her a playful bow, "After all, I go out of my way to give people a brighter day and something pleasant to look at."

Chloe snorted softly at how cheesy that sounded, shaking her head.

"It was a passing resemblance," Chloe replied, "we didn't leave on the best terms, but that's both my fault and not relevant." Chloe looked around the gallery hoping that would be it but he stepped closer as he smirked.

"Then let us forget it entirely, and speak of something more pleasant. After all, I can't leave such a gorgeous woman by herself, especially one that makes the art here pale in comparison to her." He spoke with such confidence and a smooth tone, Chloe almost laughed.

"Well then sir, may I know the name of the man who wishes to keep me company?" Chloe asked, taking a sip from her wine. The knot in her gut was finally loosening, if only a tiny bit, but it must have shown in her posture loosening, and that gave the man a wider smile.

"I am Phipp, at your service, mademoiselle. Now, may you do me the honor of your name?" he said with what was clearly his signature smile as she chuckled.

"It's Chloe Bo-" She stopped, remembering she couldn't go by that name any more. "It's Chloe Moriarty. It's nice to meet you, Mister Phipp. I certainly hope the show is to your liking."

"It certainly is. The art is so well painted and the sculptures are some of the best sculpted I've seen." His delivery of the lines were a bit forced, which made Chloe raise a brow at him. "I mean, the amount of time that was spent on it must have been dreadfully slow." He continued on about his love of art, which Chloe began to doubt was his reason for being there, for a good bit, to the point where Chloe's wine glass was empty and so was his.

People were moving around them, making comments on the art, some good and some bad, but Chloe's ears craned to catch them all. It wasn't until Phipp put his hand on her shoulder that her attention refocused on him. "Are you alright, Miss Moriarty?"

"Oh yes, sorry, I was just trying to see what people thought of my art, apologies," Chloe flushed, feeling bad for zoning out on him but he only smiled.

"Oh? And which one is yours, if i may ask? I'd love to see it." Phipp's response didn't feel as forced as his professed enjoyment for art, but Chloe still felt that he wasn't completely genuine.

"It's that one," she pointed at a large piece she had painted. It depicted a woman who seemed trapped and disappearing, parts of her fading in embers and ash while other parts seemed to disappear into flowers, bees, and moths. "It's just something I did to kind of vent to myself in a way, though I don't think it's that good. The other piece I've done is at the other end of the gallery, it's just something I did to show how I feel about living here with all the people I've met in my two years," she smiled, wishing she could see what people thought of it, but she chose to stay by this depiction of her past because it was a piece of her she hoped no one would buy.

"It's…" Phipp looked at it, tilting his head, struggling to find meaning in the piece until he chose to smile at it anyway. "It's definitely something new," he sounded a bit confused and curious. "Mind if I make a call? I think my boss might like this piece actually, he loves this kinda stuff."

Chloe nodded and with that Phipp walked off, getting his phone out as he went to a different corner. Alone again, Chloe's gaze returned to the art piece and what it meant for her, the mistakes she had made and the damage she had done to everything and herself. "I hope he doesn't," she said softly.

"I doubt that." Chloe jumped with a yelp turning to see Roman standing with a damn smirk on his face and that fucking cowboy hat on his head. She frowned intensely at him and he only smiled at her, "People that hire people like that will buy anything, especially people who hire models, they like pretty things."

"And what makes you think he's a model?" Chloe shot back, and this time someone else responded on her other side.

"Simple, he looks like someone too obsessed with attention and getting noticed more than the art pieces around him. I mean, you heard his thoughts on art. Does that sound like someone with any attention for anything beyond their looks and posture?" With those words spoken Chloe looked to the man next to her.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think, Eisenstein?" Chloe asked. As she looked the severe and solid man up and down, Eisenstein huffed in dismissal.

"He's a fashion model, they think their bodies are pieces of art and it's annoying as hell. I only heard a bit of what that man was saying about art and I already wanted to throttle that bastard." Eisenstein's words were barely more than a growl. One thing Chloe could always say about Eisenstein is that he was bluntly honest and to the point. The problem was that also made him intimidating, though Chloe often thought he was willfully oblivious to how his words struck people.

Chloe turned so she could face both men and tried not to smile at how both tried to pretend like the other didn't exist. According to Roman, Eisenstein was much more than a philanthropist and father of one of her students, and perhaps he was. Chloe could easily imagine him tossing someone into the trunk of a car, but he also did a lot of good for many of the communities of New York and she considered the scales balanced in his case. She had known plenty of people of influence like Eisenstein that were much worse. That didn't make it any easier for the professional hero and supposed crime lord to interact at social functions.

"Is it wrong to take pride in one's appearance, Nate?" Chloe asked, knowing that she was poking the bear by using Eisenstein's first name. There was something about his tone that made his condescension feel like Chloe was also on the receiving end.

Eisenstein looked at her stonily, his dark eyes gleaming. Roman stepped forward, gallantly interjecting himself between her and Eisenstein.

"Of course not, Chloe, but I think what we're both thinking is that if you're going to spend time chatting anyone up tonight, you can do better than Banana Republic over there," Ramon said as he gestured between himself and Eisenstein before hooking his thumb in Phipp's direction. "I mean, something tells me if you stand near him on a windy day, you'll hear whistling while his mouth is full."

A snort from Eisenstein meant that he agreed and Chloe found her irritation growing. Neither of these men, despite their powerful positions, had any business trying to tell her how to conduct her personal life.

"Maybe you're right," she said as she narrowed her eyes at them both, "but maybe he's also fun in different ways. Unless one of you is willing to make me a better offer?"

That caught them both off guard, with Eisenstein suddenly examining his cufflinks and Roman pursing his lips. For a moment, it looked like Roman was going to say something but eventually he tugged his hat down, obscuring his eyes and Chloe spun to walk towards Phipp, grabbing two more glasses of wine as she went.

As she approached, Phipp was just finishing his call with that wide smile of his on his face. He closed his phone as he turned to look at her, "Well, Miss Moriarty, I've got some great news for you."

Chloe raised a brow as she handed him a glass of wine, "Oh? And what might that be Monsieur Phipp?" She took a sip of her wine, looking him up and down one more time.

"My boss wants to buy your art piece! Apparently both he and his wife loved it, so they're willing to make an offer. I think his wife said something about the depth of the piece reminding her of the challenges she faced when she was younger," Phipp replied. "Had to sneak a picture for them, sorry. I know it doesn't do your work justice."

Chloe could only blink in surprise that someone wanted to buy it, let alone that it spoke to someone on a level that sounded like it echoed her own feelings.

"So I guess you and I will be spending more time together to discuss the price, perhaps over something to eat?" he said, stepping closer to clink their glasses together, his smooth tone hinting at more than just a meal.

"I guess we will," Chloe said, taking his arm before sparring one last glance back at her two would-be gallants before walking deeper into the art gallery with Phipp.

As the sound of her alarm went off, Chloe groggily woke from the past she'd relived, feeling more confused than usual. There was a nagging sensation that she was missing a major piece of the picture because no matter how she thought of Phipp, she didn't feel a stirring in her heart or the pang of longing and loss. The impression she got from that memory was that Phipp was supposed to be important, and he was certainly handsome enough that they would have made a good looking couple. She continued to try and sort out the mystery of this new addition as she got ready for the day until she eventually had to put it from her mind to focus on more important things.

Edited and co-written by GrayNeko