Page 53 of What's the time, Mr. Wolfe
Somewhere in my head, I told myself to stop doing my usual and overthinking.
“So, work,” I said, needing to bring the conversation back to my level.
We finished our coffee and walked back to the office. As we crossed reception, Sebastian exited the lift. He was with another suited man. He stopped and smiled at us.
“My two favourite women,” he said. I bristled, but Amelia bowed her head.
He stared at me; I glared back. He raised his middle finger and rubbed beside his eye. Slowly, I smiled.
He left, chatting to the man beside him.
“Phew,” Amelia said, fanning her face.
I raised my eyebrows. “What stays outside and all that?” I reminded her.
“Not him, the other one. Now, he’s hot.”
I laughed as she linked her arm in mine. “Let’s try and find out who he is,” she added.
“No, let’s not. Let’s go get work done before I get fired before I’ve even started.”
The first project, as I thought, was the nightclub. Amelia and I went upstairs to Sebastian’s floor and sat at the desk with the mock-up. I detailed some of my ideas and she readily agreed. She was an architect by qualification, and like me, preferred to design the interior layout than the outside.
We took what we needed back to our floor, and shegave me a station next to hers. I had a desk, a drawing board, a laptop that I could take home, and a mobile phone. It was the latest iPhone that would sync with the laptop so I could work on either. I placed my bag on the desk.
“Wow, that’s a vintage Dior, isn’t it?” she said, picking up the bag.
“No idea. It’s one of many that my grandma owns. She has a trunk of designer dresses from the forties and fifties. I sold some to a brilliant retro shop.”
She looked aghast. “You have no idea what this is worth, do you?”
I shook my head. “This bag would probably cost around ten thousand pounds to buy.”
“No way!” I took the bag from her and studied it. “She has loads of these!”
If only I’d bloody known, we might not have struggled so much. I chuckled and placed it on the floor. Perhaps I’d take better care of them now I knew.
Amelia left me to redesign the downstairs. I felt she was better placed on the upstairs than I was.
Mike came over to check on me a couple of times and asked to meet me at the end of the day. I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I hadn’t noticed the time.
“Lunch?” I heard as Sally walked across the room. Ihadn’t wanted to have lunch with her, but felt I couldn’t say no.
“Erm, okay. I’ve bought a sandwich.”
“Great, so have I. We can sit in the park for a half hour.”
I picked up my bag and we left together. We grabbed a coffee from a vendor and crossed the busy road into the park. It was actually nice to get out and although it was chilly, it was refreshing.
“I like to come and sit here during the day. Gives me a break from the lighting,” she said.
“The lighting?”
“Yeah, you have... What are they called? Those daylight bulbs. I don’t have that downstairs. The light flickers sometimes and it gives me a headache.”
“Have you reported it?” I asked.
She shook her head as she took a bite of her lunch. “I will do, when I get round to it.”
