SEVEN
Six days later, Fynn entered Hevir Consulting. It looked like a throwback to a 1960s medical clinic, or maybe a bus station with better carpet. The pleather and fabric on the stainless steel frames could be modern looking, if they weren’t so obviously dated. Everything was clean, but nothing complemented the next, and each piece looked more out of place than the one before. At the counter she gave her name to the receptionist and asked for Addian.
“Right this way. He said you would be stopping by. He will join you in a moment. He is on a cross-country call in the conference room.” The comely woman commented as she led down the hallway.
Addian’s office was a completely different designer’s nightmare. The center of the floor was swallowed up by a rough-cut desk that was twice as big as the man himself. Everything else, the carpets, the cabinets, the countertops, the window treatments, everything… was black on black on black. It could not have been more sterile if it were stainless steel. The workspace was proper and pristine, but also cold. She fought the shiver that raced her spine as she took it in.
She jumped, lost in thought when he walked in, speaking before he cleared the door. “I apologize. Have you been waiting long?”
“No, not long. I’ve only just arrived, really.” She countered as she recovered.
“Mr. Hevir,” a voice boomed through the intercom. “Matisse is on the line for you. Would you like to take it?”
“Enya, darling, I just got off the phone with Matisse. Please advise him that our time is ended, and I am with someone else now. It would be presumptuous, and rude, to cut further into their time than he already had me do by his previous call. I will call him back when I am finished with Miss Barrow.”
Fynn’s jaw fell slightly askew. “If you need to take that, this can wait.”
“Yes,” he smiled brilliantly with a slight trace of menace, “this can wait. And, so can he. He has quite the inflated opinion of himself, and his value to my company. That, and should I fail, I know he is at the front of the line of those waiting to take over. He can wait.”
Fynn had the distinct impression that they were no longer speaking about business exclusively, but brushed it aside. “Then, let’s get started. I only need a few things from you. First, do you have the floor plans with the structural schematics for the space? After that, I need to know from you how encompassing the project is going to be, or if you would like to start with smaller pieces. I would like to know if you have color preferences, and who else should have influence into the decisions as well.” She listed succinctly. “Are you looking for aesthetic changes, or a complete overhaul? I noticed that the furniture in the reception area is in need of updating, and probably replacing, but that is just the tip of that iceberg.”
Addian sat back. Completely contradictory to the feel from dinner, his interest was piqued as he listened to her itemize her thoughts. He wasn’t quite willing to admit that his berserker was interested, but she definitely had its attention. In this setting, she had a commanding presence. He found he liked it a lot. The difference between socially awkward and professionally poised was dramatic.
He chuckled in his mind. She was still too small, but he could work with that. She had to have the underlying strength, which he had not seen at dinner. He saw it now. “This is quite the shift from the person I met at dinner.” He commented offhand.
Fynn scoffed. “In business the lines are very clear, and in my business, I am in charge of all of them. There’s no awkward nuances or personalities to navigate. The only unknown, which I aim to find out quickly, is how far you really want to go with a project, and if it’s something that I can undertake. There is no value in blurring the parameters.”
“Straight to the point.” He summarized.
“Straight to the point.”
The more she spoke with such authority and command of her abilities and agenda, the more intrigued he became. He was seeing a completely different woman in front of him now than the one he’d met at the bistro. “As you have already identified needs in the reception area, let’s start there. I will have the floor plan and schematics sent to your office and we’ll expand from there, or, if our tastes collide, not.”
“You can fax them, or email them. Both are on the card I already gave you. I’ll get out of your hair so you can get back to work.” She countered with a nod, rose, and left. “I’ll let myself out.” She added over her shoulder as she went.
Addian watched her leave, wrangling his beast to heel and not follow her down the hallway. ‘Maybe even if our tastes collide…’ He muttered aloud once she was away.