The Art Of Letting Go

Salima works at an art agency and spends the morning calming a difficult client named Alex. She ends the call and argues playfully with a colleague about his interference. The agency is meeting about a partnership with Epic Expressions to present local talent. In The Art of Letting Go, Salima visits Jabari, a reclusive artist, to remind him of a meeting with her boss. He acts indifferent but comes. At the meeting, Jabari touches her earring and predicts they will be many things, professionalism being only one. He visits her house to thank her, and they bond over a shared appreciation for a painter. Their connection grows. She presses for clarity, and Jabari says they are only getting to know each other. She sees a woman leaving his home, and he asks her to buy a birthday gift for a female friend. Her friend Uche warns her that Jabari is bad news, but Salima is torn. They argue at his house, and Jabari accuses her of trying to manipulate his feelings. She tells him their relationship will be strictly professional. At Jabari's studio, Salima sees that he has painted portraits of many women, including her. Another woman in one painting wears a necklace that was an apology gift. Salima realizes she is not special to him. She confronts Jabari and tells him she loves him. He says he likes her, but his feelings do not change that he does not want a relationship. She calls him a sick bastard, says they are done, and walks out. Devastated, Salima stays home crying. She and Uche reconcile after a bitter fight, and Uche consoles her. Uche covers for her at work with a fabricated excuse. At an art exhibition, Dami, a patient coworker who has been attracted to Salima since her interview, asks her to dinner. Salima says she needs a month or two to deal with her baggage. Dami schedules a dinner date in 45 days, and Salima smiles at the gesture.