The VIP Room(49)

“Of course. I’ll be right in,” I said, a little burst of excitement jolting through my stomach. Annie rarely got animated about new clients, which meant that this client must be a big one. And big clients meant a higher commission for the designers.

A few moments later, I knocked on Annie’s office door before pushing my way inside. My boss sat behind her expansive antique white desk like the queen she was. Cat eye tortoise shell glasses were perched on her slim nose and her lips were painted a bright red, her signature color. Her light blonde hair was done up in a neat, high bun, expertly pinned so not a single strand of hair was out of place. Appearance was everything to Annie. It was what made her something of a celebrity in the interior design world. She owned one of the best design firms in the city.

“Hello, darling. Take a seat,” Annie greeted once I shut the office door behind me. I remembered when I first interviewed with her for my internship, in this very office actually. I’d been completely intimidated by her beauty and success that I’d stuttered my way through the interview, but she saw something in me and in my designs and had agreed to mentor me. That had been almost four years ago now. I liked to think I’d come a long way.

I sat down in one of the vibrant teal plush chairs in front of her desk, my notebook and pen at the ready.

Her blue eyes shimmered as she smiled at me. “I just got off the phone with a representative for Blackwell Financial. They just moved into a brand spankin’ new building downtown and they want us to design the lobby space and all the offices for the higher executives and mid-level employees.”

“Blackwell Financial? As in the Blackwell family?” I asked, eyes wide.

“The one and only!” Annie’s excitement was contagious. “And, I want to bring you in on it. I’ll be heading the project, but I want this to be a collaborative effort between the two of us.”

Stunned, I stared at Annie, unsure if I’d heard right. “Me?”

She grinned. “Unless, of course, you don’t want it.”

“No! I mean yes,” I said immediately, my mind reeling. I laughed, wondering how this could be real. “I’d be crazy not to take it.”

This meant the world. Not only was Annie giving me a chance to prove myself at a higher level with raised stakes, but she was letting me take on a huge client. This was what I had been waiting for. I was confident in my designs, in my work. This was my golden opportunity to prove I could play in the big leagues.

Determination made me sit up straighter. “I won’t let you down, Annie.”

“I figured you’d say that,” Annie said knowingly. “So, let’s talk numbers. It’s hard to say price-wise what I’ll be charging before the consultation, but if we’re going off square feet alone, it’s going to be around an $850,000 project.”

My heart stopped at the price and then started hammering double time. $850,000. If I got my usual commission of 15%, I’d make close to $125,000 off this project alone! My head spun. Hell, the room spun.

Golden opportunity, indeed.

I cleared my suddenly dry throat and did a quick calculation in my notebook, my hand shaking. “So, it’s about 55,000 square feet of space.”

“That’s a ballpark number the representative gave me. And that’s only the amount of space we’ll be in charge of. The building is massive, apparently.”

I nodded as though on auto-pilot. When I eventually got back to my office, I would shut the door, jump around, and dance like a crazy person just to release some of this excited energy welling up inside me. I was still having difficulty wrapping my head around the past few moments.

“We have a very tight deadline for this one. One month. It needs to be completely finished by the first of November. So, be prepared. We’ll learn more at our consultation this afternoon. Be ready to leave at 1.”

“Of course,” I said. I stood, smoothing out my skirt. “Thank you, Annie. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“You deserve it, darling. Just don’t let me down.”

“Never.”

No matter what, I’d pour everything I had into the next month. It would be stressful and utterly crazy, but it would be well worth it.

I would rock this project so hard, Blackwell Financial wouldn’t know what hit ‘em.





Chapter 6





Blackwell Financial’s new building was a massive 75,000 square foot space, taking up a block of prime downtown real estate. I stared up at it in awe, trying to keep from gaping in front of Annie, who stood poised and imposing right next to me. Her Louboutins clacked on the pavement as we approached the giant glass doors.

All I knew about the Blackwells was that they were an old, filthy rich banking family with their hands in too many cookie jars to count. Real estate, banking, charities, asset management, art…heck, even wine. If I thought Donald Trump was rich…well, he had nothing on the Blackwells.

This client was a big deal for Annie. Huge. And now, it was for me too.

Restless determination made my pace quicken towards the building. A security guard held open the doors for the both of us as we entered the lobby. Right away, I noticed the starkness, the empty space. The lobby itself was quite large, at least 3,000 square feet of odd angles and sharp corners. The reception desk was the main feature, with a thick ebony marble slab and a brushed steel base. Blackwell Financial’s logo was large and imposing on the wall directly behind the desk. Off to the left side of the space, there was an employee badge scanning system, which led off to elevators. The right side was where most of the potential lay.