***
“Knock, knock!” CJ said as she walked into Blake’s office on Monday morning.
“Hi,” Blake greeted her. Blake was tidying up her office before the sheikh’s arrival.
“What are you tidying up? Your office is always so neat and tidy.”
Blake smiled. “Everything has to be perfect for when the sheikh gets here. Michaela was in here five minutes ago reminding me that I should make sure that nothing goes wrong with this project,” she replied.
“You are the company’s last hope.” CJ grinned. “No pressure,” she said sarcastically. They both knew that there was a lot of pressure on Blake.
“You have designed a lot of amazing buildings. I am shocked that he did not like anything you had to offer,” said Blake. She had seen a lot of CJ’s work and she thought it was amazing. CJ was very talented.
CJ sighed. “He’s a difficult man to please. I wish you the best of luck,” she said.
“Thanks.” Blake smiled. She picked up a few documents and handed them to CJ. “Michaela took me off all my other projects. She told me to give them to you and James,” she said.
“Thank you. I actually wanted more projects because I am almost finished with my current one.” CJ took the documents from her.
“The sheikh will be here in about ten minutes.” Blake looked at the clock on the wall. It was just before 9 a.m.
“What was your first impression of him?”
Blake shrugged her shoulders. “I only spoke with him for something like two minutes. I have to meet with him once more before I have an impression of him,” she replied. CJ stared at Blake with a blank facial expression.
“Well if you say so,” she said. She turned on her heel and headed for the door. “I’ll see you at lunch,” she added.
“Bye Cora,” Blake said to CJ.
A few minutes later, Tara came to Blake’s office. Tara was the receptionist. She knocked on Blake’s door before she walked in. “Blake, I have Sheikh Sedarous with me,” she said in her high-pitched and overly friendly tone. Blake rose to her feet instantly.
“Please let him in,” she said. Tara opened the door wider for the sheikh. Bassem walked into the office. He was dressed in a pair of black fitted trousers and a navy blue shirt and a pair of navy blue loafers. His body was in perfect shape. It was impressive.
“Good morning, Sheikh Sedarous,” Blake greeted the sheikh as she extended her hand for a handshake. He took her hand into his and shook it firmly. He had such large and warm hands.
“Good morning, Ms. Gordon,” he replied. Bassem’s deep voice filled the room. It gave Blake goose bumps.
“Please have a seat.” Blake gestured at the tufted chair at her desk. “Shall I get you anything to drink?”
“No, thank you,” Bassem declined her offer as he sat down. Blake nodded. She walked around the desk and sat down in her chair opposite him. She opened her desk drawer and pulled out a black folder.
“This folder contains sketches and photos of my previous projects,” she said as she passed the folder to Bassem. Without saying a word, Bassem took the folder and opened it. He flipped the pages as if he was looking for something specific. He barely looked at the sketches.
“I don’t have much time, so I will just get to the point,” he said. Blake nodded. “I have twenty acres of land and I wish to build a moderately sized home.”
Moderate? There was nothing moderate about twenty acres of land, Blake thought to herself. That was a lot of land to build a house on. There were even farms smaller than that. Blake whipped out a notepad and a pen.
“I suppose you would looking to build a two-story house?” she asked. Bassem nodded.
“On the ground floor, there should be a kitchen, dining room, drawing room, library, at least two bathrooms and a coat room. I prefer wide hallways and high ceilings and a very grand entrance to the house,” he said. Blake jotted down everything he said.
“Would you like to have an imperial staircase?” Blake asked.
“Yes, and it must be opposite the front door.”
“Okay.”
“There should be at least five bedrooms upstairs.” Bassem then described the sizes he wanted the rooms to be. He was very exact about what he wanted his house to be like. It was now Blake’s job to bring that dream into reality. To her it sounded simple and straightforward. However, after hearing that he had rejected everything everyone else had designed, she knew that she needed to spend a lot of time and effort designing his house. She needed to get it right. Michaela would never forgive her for losing such a great opportunity.
When they were finished, Bassem rose to his feet. “I expect to see a preliminary sketch in three days,” he said. Blake raised her eyebrows. Three days was not enough time.
“Three days?” she said as she rose to her feet. She was a tall woman but not so much when compared to Bassem. He was at least five inches taller than her.
“You can’t get it done by then?” he asked her.
“I can do it,” she replied.
“If you have no confidence, tell me now so that we do not waste any time.”
“I can do it.”
Bassem slipped his hands in his pockets. “Very well then, I shall see you in three days,” he said. He turned on his heel and headed out of her office.