Angel Falling (Falling #1)(76)
Silently I thanked the heavens above that Alex had called the meeting at five. Hank’s crew started their work at six in the morning and typically ended their day no later than four. I’d made sure of it before sneaking onto the premises to check the progress. Seeing something Hank worked on each and every day made me feel closer to him somehow. Everything was always in order, too. Hank ran a tight ship, and his work spoke volumes to ethics. If only his personal ethics were as authentic.
We met the six stakeholders in the lobby of AIR Bright Enterprises along with the architect. Oliver chose a red power suit for me with leather trim down the lapels and down the side of the pant. Tuxedo-style, he called it. I wore a crisp white shirt with a high, perfectly starched collar. Black sky-high stilettos complimented the look giving me the extra height I needed to look most of the men directly in the eye.
Grant tried to hug me, putting his hand on my bicep and pulling me toward him. In an awkward move, I shimmied away and presented my hand for a cordial, business-like shake. His eyes widened for a moment, and then he slipped into his cool and professional demeanor like an old suit. He was comfortable in his bored, overly professional persona, and hell if it didn’t fit him perfectly.
Watching him now interact with the other men made me realize how completely blinded I’d been by him. He was a smooth talker, had a nice build, but he was also dreary, overly snobbish, and gave a new meaning to the self-righteousness of upper-classman. A gentleman he was not, though he’d like to think he was. I knew better; one day he’d get his for the embarrassment he caused me during our relationship and again with the Hank debacle.
Alex led the group through the breezeway to the new section of AIR Bright. We entered into a wide open space with a pristine granite reception built-in that spanned a good fifteen-foot radius. On each side of the reception desk were frosted glass double doors with the new logo imprinted in the see-through cut outs, prominently displaying “Bright Magazine.” The etching of the sun coming from behind the upper half of the logo was captivating. Drop lights hung down in varying locations throughout the open space.
“Under each light the designer has chosen special seating areas for guests of the magazine.” His hand swept the air in a flourish over the open floor plan. It was pretty easy to imagine, and so far the stakeholders seemed to like what they were seeing.
Alex continued the tour through the doors and into a long hallway with individual offices dotting each side. At the end of the hall it opened to another large space with cubicles surrounding each wall. “In the middle of the room there will be an extra-large conference table complete with Wi-Fi, a drop-down graphics screen, all of the latest technology built-in,” he continued.
I added to Alex’s description of the space: “I’d suggested the open plan so that the staff could meet together right in the heart of the magazine. They could share the up-and-coming trends, columns, the pieces they’re working on all within earshot of the rest of the staff. This will promote working together, a team environment. It gives all the staff a sense of belonging and that there are no secrets. Gossip should be minimized with this plan, allowing for staff to focus on what’s important … Bright Magazine!” The concept was a New Age approach; I truly believed it would return excellent results.
We continued through the space where Alex had added indoor-outdoor breezeways that connected different departments. “I wanted to give a person walking through the feeling of being inside a catacomb of light and air. Greenery will be added everywhere, and the space will be naturally warm with organic light brought in from the sun. The canisters you see throughout will only go on if the sun is not providing enough natural light.”
“Alex and I agreed upon this concept after a great amount of research had been done on the productivity of workers who have access to natural light and fresh air through windows and plants, versus working in a cubicle farm. The statistics on creativity and productivity in the employees that had regular access to nature’s gifts were staggering.”
The men spoke among themselves, but overall, the staunch, rich businessmen looked pleased with their investments. I couldn’t have been more proud. The only thing that would have made it better was if Hank was seeing their excitement in what he and his team built.
Alex spent the next thirty minutes walking the group from room to room, highlighting specific features of the design. His excitement was contagious. I actually looked forward to hitting the books with these men and making some decisions on the HR firm we needed to hire, the business plan, and the design aspects of the offices, cubicles, and conference rooms. Of course, I was hiring London to design the space. Not because she was my sister, but because she was brilliant and could fit her vision into a specific budget. The stakeholders all knew we were hiring my sister to do the work; they agreed after they’d seen her portfolio, but before I’d told them my relation to her. Grant had a few choice words to say about the decision, but in the end, majority ruled.
We made our way back to the Sky Conference room at the top of AIR Bright. It was on the sixtieth floor and almost completely surrounded by glass windows. Everyone found a chair and settled into their preferred locations around the table.
After two hours of discussing the ins and outs of the building, we agreed upon an HR firm and some of the story board designs that London had provided detailing the seating and artwork in the reception area. We also confirmed what an average office would look with the style desks, file cabinets, and bookcases she chose to suit the space. Her designs were really quite beautiful. We had agreed that we wanted to go contemporary and sleek with the space, but with an organic, rugged edge to pay homage to the old-school magazines and news-style media rooms that had come and gone in the past.