Page 27 of A Sinner's Virtue
Icannot believe I landed this client. This place is huge. I’ve seen big, over-the-top homes. But this one is something else. Mr Lobson bought this place a month ago. He’s old money, from what I can tell. I still don’t know what he actually does. I just know he’s in his mid-fifties, has a kind smile, and a nonexistent budget for me to redesign the interior of his newest property.
Lucy lets out a long whistle. “Man, this place is insane. Must be nice to be a member of the one-percenter club, huh,” she says.
I side-eye her. “You should know.” I laugh.
Lucy comes from old money, one of Australia’s wealthiest families in fact. So does her fiancé, and let’s just say those two getting married is going to create the next generation of combined wealth for whatever children they decide to have.
“Yeah, but still… this place is amazing,” she says while spinning around in a circle.
We’re standing in the foyer. There’s one of those twin staircases on each side and black-and-white marble flooring as far as the eye can see. The clicks of our heels echo off the walls. The house is completely empty. It’s a bare canvass. A designer’s dream.
“Where do we even begin?” I ask Lucy.
“Let’s just focus on one room at a time. It’s going to be a long day, Zoe. I hope you ate your Wheaties this morning,” she replies before taking off down the foyer.
Following after her, I try to absorb everything that is this house. Mentally planning colours and styles with each room we pass. “What do you think Mr Lobson does?” I ask Lucy.
“No idea. I’ve never heard of the Lobsons,” she says.
“Don’t you think that’s a little strange? Like, you know everyone in this city.”
“Maybe he’s new to town. What I do know is he’s paying us a great deal to have this place ready within the next month.”
“Right, let’s do this.” I smile. I always get excited about jobs, but there’s just something thrilling about being able to complete a whole house like this. Starting completely from scratch. “I’m going to take a look upstairs. You okay down here?” I ask Lucy.
“Yep, go for it,” she says. She has her phone out and is snapping pictures for reference.
Making my way back through the empty house, I walk up the staircase. As beautiful as this property is, it’s a little eery. I’m thankful Lucy is working on this project with me. I don’t think I’d want to be in this house alone.
When I reach the top of the stairs, I look left and then right. I’ve seen the floor plans. I know all the rooms on this level. I decide to head for the first bedroom, which is going to be a guest room, so it should be an easy place to start.
I step inside and open the internal doors to the walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom, where I sit on the floor with my back against the wall. Then I pull out my tablet and start working on design concepts for this space.
Half an hour later, I’m jerked out of my zone by the buzzing of my phone. I dig it out of my bag and see Marcel’s name pop up on the screen. I push on the notification to open his messages.
Marcel:
I should have stayed in Melbourne.
Me:
And miss your brother’s wedding?
Marcel:
Better than missing you.
Me:
It’s a weekend. You’ll survive.
Marcel left last night to go to some tropical paradise island. He’ll be back on Monday. It’s really not that long to be apart.
Marcel:
What are you doing?
I snap a picture of the empty room and send it to him.
