Just then the glass door opened, catching my attention.
A woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties brushed through the doors, smiling at Natoi. “I have a two o’clock appointment with Michelle Clarke.”
That certainly grabbed my attention. I hadn’t been expecting anyone that day. I wondered which event this woman was from.
“I’m Michelle,” I greeted, stepping out into the main lobby of the office, extending my hand.
“Pleasure. I’m Diane.”
I squinted.
“Wallace. Diane Wallace, the interior designer you requested.”
I searched my memory bank, trying to figure out which one of our events was being hosted by an interior designer, but came up blank.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Wa–”
“Diane. Please.”
“Diane. I’m sorry, Diane, but I can’t place the event you’ve hired us for,” I stated apologetically, fearing my forgetfulness would reflect poorly on the company.
“Event?” The space between her eyebrows wrinkled. “I don’t need an event planner. I’m the interior designer hired by Mr. Townsend for his home in Cedarwoods.” She pulled a planner out of the large bag that hung over her shoulder. “I hope I have the right … oh yes, I wrote it down.” She looked up at me, satisfied with herself.
“Let’s step inside my office.” I held my arm out for her to pass me. My gaze swept past Natoi who was giving me a suspicious look. I knew I’d have to fight off her questions about this whole thing later. But I couldn’t answer anything until I fully understood what was going on myself.
“Please accept my apologies, Diane.” I shut my office door behind us. “I had no idea you were coming. I was never informed.”
Unperturbed, Diane brushed it off. “No matter. Mr. Townsend specifically requested my services and he was adamant that you were to have anything you wanted. There is no price limit.”
I was still so confused. I palmed my cheeks with my hands and looked around my office.
“How about I set up some design ideas on your table here? He said you had a farmhouse theme in mind. I’ve pulled up some possible sketches to draw inspiration from.”
“S-sure, you do that. I just need to make a quick phone call. I’ll be right back.” I moved behind my desk, removing my cell phone from my drawer, and made a beeline for my office door, passing Natoi’s desk and through the doors until I was out of the office entirely, standing between the elevators. I pressed the button to ring Carter’s cell phone. I was angry, thrown off and in a little bit of shock.
“The person you have reached is not avai–” I pressed the end call button before the voicemail message could even complete. I knew he was at work and possibly on a call so I opted to send a text message.
You sent an interior decorator to my work? Are you out of your mind!!??
I stood there staring at my phone screen for a few moments, willing it to light up with a response, but it never came. And I had to get back to my office. I had work to do. I turned back to head to my office and found a spread of photos and some sketches all over the circle table in the corner of my office. Diane’s head rose and her eyes shone.
“Shall we get started? Mr. Townsend did say he didn’t want to interrupt too much of your work day. Our next appointment will have to be in the evening or over the weekend.”
“Our next appointment?” My eyebrow rose.
“Yes, he wants this done as soon as possible.”
“I’ll bet he does.” I turned back to the table, intrigued by some of the pictures I saw in spite of myself. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look a little bit. I’d consider it a late lunch break for me since I hadn’t taken one earlier. But I promised myself I would speak to Carter about his presumption.
~ Chapter Sixteen ~
Michelle
“Mama, come on!” Diego rushed me, excitement filling his voice.
I looked over at Carter who seemed to be just as excited as he stared at me with the same impatience as my six year old.
“Nobody told me we’d have to walk on wet grass,” I hissed at both of the impatient males in my life. We were at Williamsport Football Field for family day at Tyler’s football camp. Apparently, he’d healed up from his injury and had invited the entire family for a visit. I’ll never forget Carter’s response when I told him that I thought it might be best if he just let the visit be amongst family.
