Page 62 of Crazy In Love
“Damn you, Bridger Chadwick. You sure know how to irritate me,” she said.
“It’s a gift.”
Silence fell between us, and I blew out a breath. “I want to hire you.”
“To do what?”
“Well, you’re an interior designer, are you not?”
“Yes,” she said, and her entire tone changed, like she was sitting forward now and fully listening.
“And I believe you made fun of my home.”
“I said that your home was beautiful. It’s just—icy, like the man living inside,” she said, and I could hear the teasing in her voice.
“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“So you want me to design the interior of your McMansion?” she asked, as if she had to say the words aloud to believe them. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. Henley and Easton want to throw their wedding here, and my mother thinks the interior needs some work.”
“That’s an understatement,” she said over her laughter.
“Here’s a tip, Emilia. I could potentially be your first client. You shouldn’t insult me before you’ve closed the deal.”
“You called me. It sounds like the deal is already closed, if I agree to it.”
Smart.
She was correct.
I’d reached out. I’d shown my hand.
It was very unlike me.
Time to put her in her place.
“Well, we’ve got to work out the details. I don’t want any ceramic cats or glass flowers. No frilly shit. You can show me what you’ve got, and we’ll see if it’s a fit. I will be interviewing more than one designer for the job.” The lie rolled off my tongue with ease.
“‘No frilly shit’? Very inspiring words,” she said. “We would start by sitting down and coming up with a design plan. I’d show you photos of different aesthetics and figure out your style. And then I’d draw up some options and start showing you different material, and we’d go from there.”
“All right. And if I choose to do this with you, we’ll have some ground rules. First off, it can’t drag on for months on end. I don’t like having people in my home. You’d have to be here when I’m not at home if anyone is going to be working here.”
“I understand. We can work all of that out. I’d have to split my time between your place and the flower shop,” she said. “But we can get it done quickly. I don’t believe you’ll need much demolition unless our design meeting tells me differently. Your finishes are brilliant. You just need décor, and a little character. But how much we need to do will depend on your style after our initial meeting.”
“Fine. Let’s meet tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Did I stutter? I told you I want it done as quickly as possible. Is this too much for you?” I asked.
She sighed. “It’s definitely not too much for me.”
“Good answer.”
“What time would you like to meet tomorrow? I’ll get some ideas together tonight to bring with me,” she said.
“I’m in the city tomorrow for a few meetings. I’ll be home around five p.m.” I glanced down at my calendar to see a full day of meetings.
