Page 18 of Wrapped in Perfection

"Yes. We want it to be a gathering place for residents."

"The entire floor?"

"Yes."

"Did your other designer create anything yet?"

Dmitri's face falls. In an irritated voice, he says, "No. We kept asking. She was supposed to present something today. We have nothing for any area."

I swallow hard. This is a huge project. I've never done anything this extensive. It excites and terrifies me.

"The hallways, elevators, and common bathrooms need to be designed as well," he informs me.

My chest tightens.

I turn and grab Dmitri's arm. "I'm sorry, but all my samples are in New York. I have swatches of every paint color imaginable, flooring, wallpaper, counters...everything. But nothing here."

"We order directly from the supplier, but we have showrooms here."

"I don't even know where they are in Chicago."

"We have accounts at several. I'll take you. Would it be better to look at the blueprints first or go to the showroom?"

"Probably the blueprints first so I can create a list."

"We will go tomorrow, then."

"If you tell me where it is, I can go myself. I don't want to waste your time." I usually bring samples to my clients for them to approve or choose from.

He spins me and steps so close to me, his body is flush to the back of mine.

My heart hammers faster.

He points over my shoulder. "See all this?"

"Yes."

"If this stays this way, I lose millions. We don't have enough time on this project right now. Anything I can do to help you and speed up the process is not a waste of my time."

I exhale. "Okay."

"I will also add you to the accounts when we are there so you can deal with them in the future without me present." He places his hand on the small of my back. "Let me show you a three- and four-bedroom unit."

I should tell him not to touch me and keep it professional, but I don't.

We go to the second floor and into both units. The men working all start talking in different languages, a few of them whistle, and Dmitri says something to them in Russian.

When we finish, I ask, "What about the roof?"

He raises his eyebrows. "The roof?"

"Are you doing anything with it? I designed one for a friend in New York, and it increased the value of each unit significantly."

"We've never done anything like that before. What kind of increase are we talking about?"

"Twelve percent."

"And the cost to develop it?"

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