Seduced by Design

New Client

Molly

“Ah…Miss Thompson?” I looked up from my drawing table and smiled at my secretary, Nancy.

“How many times have I told you to call me Molly?” I asked her with a soft smile. Nancy was new and the only reason she was new was because Alessa had promoted me to head interior designer. Which meant I got my own personal secretary. Nancy had only been with me a few weeks, and she reminded me of a younger version of myself. I flinched at that thought because I was only twenty-eight.

“Sorry, Molly,” Nancy hurriedly apologized. “I just got off the phone with Alessa, and she wants to see you quite urgently,” I nodded at that as I glanced back down at the project I had been working on. It would have to wait. I left everything and headed to Alessa’s office. I knocked once before I stuck my head inside.

“You wanted to see me, Alessa?” I called out. Alessa looked up from her computer and smiled warmly.

“Yes, I have some exciting news,” she said, and I nodded as I entered her office and sat down across from her.

“Sure, what’s going on?”

“Well, I just got a call from Mr. Phillips…do you know who that is?” she stopped to ask, and I shook my head. It didn’t matter that I had been living and working in Chasea for a while now. I still didn’t know everyone. “Right, so he owns the motel just outside of Chasea,” she explained. “Anyway, the motel hasn’t been doing very well, and he believes it's because the place looks like s**t. His words, not mine,” I chuckled at that because most of our clients referred to things as ‘s**t’. “Anyway, he has a meeting with Damon on Monday, and he’d like our head designer to be a part of the process from day one,” none of this was unusual. Dream Designers often worked hand in hand with Crawlott Construction.

“Right…any other information?” I asked curiously.

“At this point, no. He just wants your opinion and thoughts on the layout before they start with construction. Once that’s done, the place is yours,” she said with a smile. I frowned because the way she was looking at me told me she hadn’t told me something.

“What? What haven’t you told me?” I urged as excitement grew in my belly. It didn’t happen often, but when Alessa got that look in her eyes it normally meant something awesome, like an unlimited budget or something.

“There is no budget,” she revealed slowly, and I cheered loudly as I jumped up. This was the best news. A client with no budget meant the options were unlimited and that really allowed me to express myself creatively. “I know, pretty exciting,”

“And…he doesn’t want you?” I asked curiously once the hype had died down. Alessa was part owner, and a lot of clients still requested her.

“Nope, he asked for the head designer, and that’s you,” she said, and I did a little happy dance. Projects like these meant big commission money and I loved money. “So, I’ll let Nancy schedule in that meeting for you,” she added.

“Good stuff…anything else?” I asked before I made a move to leave her office. I was still busy with my other project, and I needed to get it done.

“Nope, that’s it. Actually, I’m heading out in a bit, so I’ll see you on Monday…after your meeting,” Alessa said, and I smiled.

“Sure thing, see you later, boss…have a good weekend!” I said as I left her office and headed down the hall back to mine. I stopped by Nancy’s desk, and she tried to act calm as she looked up at me. “Alessa will be emailing you the details for a meeting on Monday,” I said to her. Nancy nodded and because I could read her like a book, I sighed softly. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked. Even though there was no one close enough to overhear us, I didn’t want her to think I was coming down on her or something. Nancy immediately looked panicked as she jumped up.

“N-o…ah, no, no,”

“Then why are you so scared of me?” I questioned curiously as I stared at her. I took a step back so that she wouldn’t feel like I was getting up in her face. Nancy blushed as red as a tomato.

“I’m not scared of you…it’s just…this is a big job for me and…I’m scared of messing it up,” Nancy admitted, and I nodded thoughtfully. I made a move toward my office.

“Come with me,” I said. Nancy hurriedly followed me into my office, and I took a seat by my drawing table. It was where I spent most of my time. It was a complete mess, but it was my mess, and I loved it. My desk wasn’t as messy since I hardly used it, but it was still mine. This office was still mine. “I know how scary a first job can be. Especially one like this. But…we have to find a balance here, Nancy. I cannot feel like this any longer,” Nancy looked as if she was about to burst into tears and I sighed. “What I’m trying to say is…you’ve been doing a great job, and we just need to establish a better friendship so that we can both feel comfortable at work,” I explained. Nancy hesitated for a moment and then she smiled.

“Really? Do you think us becoming friends is going to help me relax a bit? Because this is my first job, and I’m the secretary of the head designer! The head designer!” she exclaimed so excitedly that I finally got a glimpse as to who Nancy actually was. And I liked her.

“Now, right there is the Nancy I want,” I pointed out. She paused, almost as if she was thinking it over, and then I could see how she visibly relaxed. Gone was the stressed-out look on her face. Gone was the tense body structure. She smiled, and I knew that we had made progress. Which was what I needed in order to do my job to the best of our abilities.