Page 134 of Wicked Dares
Apart from being with Levi, this is undoubtedly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And everyone knows it. Aunt Bess and the family are even flying over in two weeks before we leave for England.
It would have been nice to be here while the place was being decorated and designed, but honestly, I think I just like the idea of it. There’s a hell of a lot of work to be done and a whole restructure of some of the rooms. The designers will be working on it for at least two months before it will look anything close to what I want. And come on, what crazy person would pass on a trip to England with the man of their dreams, to watch shelves and desks being put in an office?
Not me.
“I can’t get over how big it is.” Alexis spins in a slow circle with her arms out.
I glance up at the high ceiling and long windows. “Me too. I never thought I’d start with something like this.”
“I agree. Not that I didn’t think you could do it. This is just wild.” She clasps her hands and beams at me. “What should we do first? When are the contractors arriving?”
“They’ll be here in an hour. I think we should just have a look around until they get here and maybe…” I pause and look at the white walls. “We could think about colors for the walls. I have notes, but it’s good to get a feel of the place first.”
I think the foyer and the meeting rooms should stay white or a cream color, but I personally would like my office a light blue.
“Okay. Walls.” She nods. “How about a soft cream? Or that moody green everyone’s obsessed with? Please don’t say gray.That reminds me of that horrible bar I worked at during college. Eww.”
I laugh. “Okay, not gray. And yes to the cream and green.”
“Yay me.”
“Come on, let’s start upstairs with my office.”
“Sure, Miss C.E.O. Are you going to have your name on the door?”
“Of course, I am.”
Giggling, we head upstairs and spend the full hour on my office alone.
The contractors arrive on time, and that’s where the excitement really begins. The company I’m working with has a full-service team of designers, decorators, and contractors who can create whatever you can imagine.
By noon, the designers already have a plan to get started and the contractors are already taking measurements. And by late afternoon, they start building. There are points when so much is going on and there are so many people here, I almost feel like we are in the way.
Soon, people start heading home, and it’s just Alexis and me.
We need to get going, too.
“I’m just going to sort my hair out. I’m going to meet Kevin straight after,” Alexis says, sorting through her bag.
Kevin is the new boyfriend. She’s been seeing him for three weeks now.
“Alright. I’m going to pack up my stuff.”
“Cool. I’ll meet you in the foyer.”
She heads to the bathroom and I go upstairs. We’d been hanging out in the downstairs meeting room while it got busy.
I left some notebooks and office design magazines in my office. That’s all I have to get, then I’m good to go.
I rush upstairs and to my office. The door’s already open.
I spot my books on the desk but freeze when my gaze lands on a white rose right next to the stack.
Blood rushes through me, then slows. It’s a strange feeling. Almost like being stung by a bee.
I walk closer to the desk, telling myself I’m being paranoid.
This isn’t Reece. He’s in prison. Locked away behind bars, where he can’t get to me.
