Book Fair: New York Novels & Stories

There is no mate bond, but having him close makes me feel more secure. “I can’t wait for you to see this.” He rubs his thumb on the top of my hand as he leads me to a store. It’s rare Bronx gets so excited about surprising me. We approach a bookstore with a dusty, old window display. In gold paint, there is a picture of a pan flute and a goat. The images are peeling and sundried as if they’ve been there forever. Over the pictures are the words ‘The Barded Goat Used & Collectible Books’.

The city disappeared beyond the windows. The rain softened into background noise. Lois recovered first. "You got lost." Walter blinked. "What?" She approached with a smile. "The financial district is four miles that way." A faint crease appeared between his brows. "I'm aware." "Then why is New York's busiest billionaire standing inside a bookstore on a Tuesday afternoon?" Walter looked entirely too calm. "I came for my coat." Lois glanced toward the hook behind the counter. The coat that had been visible from the entrance.

The air in the New York Public Library press room was charged, not with the schadenfreude of scandal, but with the excitement of genuine mystery. The invitation itself had been cryptic, with only the image of a stylized ship's wheel merged with a drafting compass and the words: The Roberts-Jones Foundation: A New Horizon. No one knew what to expect. A mea culpa? A retirement statement? A final attempt at rescuing a reputation?

SELENE’s POV The Meridian Art Fair happened once a year in the old gallery district, the kind of event that existed at the intersection of genuine culture and performative wealth. Artists whose work would sell for obscene amounts stood beside collectors who bought paintings the way other people bought furniture, for the statement rather than the feeling.

“The conventions I attend are usually so dull compared to all this.” “This is relatively small. You should see the BookExpo America at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. That one is about three times the size, but for your debut, I believe this event is perfect. You’ll have a better opportunity to talk to people who are interested in your book and not just looking for freebies.”

Maya replied as she went over to Gwen, and entwined their arms, walking into the book fair, with Jayden right behind them Lots of books were on display on wooden stalls, and multiple colors of umbrellas upholstered over the stalls. The place was crowded with people going to various stalls, checking out the books, and picking what they liked. "There are so many people," Maya said in surprise. "It's this way every year, Luna. Whenever a book fair holds, you would be sure to find a lot of people here, because of the many great bols on display. What kind of books do you read, Luna?" Gwen asked her, as they moved through the crowds.

It was New Year’s Eve, and Jessica was filled with hope for a promising and prosperous New Year. The Biannual Ladybirds’ Art Show was being held in the Lennox Tower in Manhattan. The view was fantastic. Fireworks could be seen from the floor they were on. The room was huge. The temporary walls that had paintings and photographs on them were set up like a maze.

Charmine merely said, “Yeah, I know. I’ve talked about it with Anthony today, and I agreed. He should be able to make arrangements for Momo and Annabel within ten days.” “Truly? Yes, that’s good, that’s good...” Senior Jordan exhaled in relief. “Since you’re well aware and consented to it, then I don’t have to worry. I thought you didn’t know, and I didn’t want you to feel upset. The Trade Fair happens at eleven tomorrow morning. You have to attend.” Charmine was dumbfounded. “Trade Fair? Do I have to go?” “Yes,” replied Senior Jordan, “this is the trade fair between Burlington and Kansas. The association called us up and requested the person in charge of each sector to attend. I wanted to g

She hid a smirk. But if he was, why push it so far into the future? It was only the 11th of the month, and he only asked if she was free by month's end? Oblivious to Sonia's internal rollercoaster, he continued, “There's a book fair I thought you might be interested in. I was planning to attend, and thought you might like to join me.”

“What do you mean?” “You’re reading a book,” I scoffed. “What is it about?” She beamed. “Did you think that I never read?” “I’ve never seen you read anything,” I laughed. “Oh please, I do read and guess what? There’s an open book festival of ‘Sincerely, Yours Too’ tomorrow in Manhattan. I was thinking we should go. I’d like to meet the author.” She handed me a pamphlet about the open book festival. I looked at it and just thought that she wrote about things that only women found interesting and it wasn’t going to benefit me to be there. “I will arrange for a driver to take you there, I have a golf session with one of my clients.”