While he drove, he asked me questions about my process, how many nests I had designed, and what I figured a reasonable workload might be. Even if he was angling to simply hand me the job, I wanted to assure him I could do it.
At stoplights, I showed him examples of rooms I’d designed and decorated.
“I promise if you take the job, you’ll be doing me a favor. I already trust your work.”
I chewed my lip. “Where would I be stepping in? How much did your designer get to?”
“She ordered some stock, but I don’t think she ordered everything. I have paint color chips I think I’m supposed to give the contractors.”
“How about I help with the current project on something like probation? It’ll take me some time to sort through everything she’s done and figure out what I need to do from there, plus I’ve never done anything at a commercial level before.”
“If that’s what you’d prefer, we can do that.” He looked at me for a long moment when we paused at another stop light. “Do you have your banking information handy?”
“I don’t have a bank account. I guess I don’t really have a credit card, either, since Tyler has probably shut that down already.”
“All right. I think we should stop at the bank first and get you set up.”
So, we did. The teller at Alve’s bank was lovely, and we left there with an account in my name, a shiny debit card, and a new credit card that Alve co-signed on so I could start building my own credit history.
“Ready to head over now?” he asked as we settled back into his car.
“You bet.”
Alve nodded, zipping to our original destination, where Alve nodded as we pulled to a stop in front of a sleek new apartment building in a residential district with a grocery store, a medical building, and a rather robust strip mall with a few restaurants across the street. The ground floor even had fenced yards for a few of the units.
“This is such a great spot,” I commented as I climbed out of the car.
“We try to choose building sites that are close to amenities.” Alve offered me the crook of his arm and I suppressed a giggle over the adorable gentlemanly image he made. I slipped my arm through his and he led us inside.
The building was gorgeous, everything shiny and new with layers of security on each set of doors, as well as a pod for a guard. Once we were past the initial lobby, we diverted to a suite on the first floor.
I was met with a bright open space, sturdy flooring and functional design in the layout. It would need a lot to make it cozy, but that was my job now.
“The incoming tenants have been given a survey. This lets us know the circumstance they’re coming from, so we can allocate an appropriate amount to make sure the suites are up to omega standards. We know preferred colors, allergies, whether they have children or pets, and plenty of other data to create something personalized and comfortable. No matter how much money they have coming into our housing system, they’ll be provided with a safe home and omega comforts.”
“Alve, that’s amazing.” The words were soft on my tongue. I’d never considered how much the OHI provided since I’d never looked into it that deeply. The concept alone—that regardless of resources, omegas were given comfort—stole my breath. It was probably egregiously expensive, certainly more than the tenant’s rent would cover, but Alve had forged ahead with it anyway.
Alve showed me some of his designer’s plans and it came to life in my mind’s eye.
“Do you have to order from somewhere specific?”
“We’ve been working on a contract with Best of Nests, but their corporate overlords are being difficult about each suite being tailored. They’re requiring us to order in bulk.”
“That’s silly. Every omega is different. You should definitely talk to Jude about it.”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Alve confessed. “I didn’t want to put him under any pressure.”
“If corporate is going to be a butt about it, then I’ll order all of the customization pieces myself. We can work around it.”
“Does that mean you’re going to take the job for sure?”
“Yeah, I’d like to. I want to see what I can do.”
Alve’s eyes gleamed with pride. “I have no doubt you’ll accomplish something wonderful.”
It was bordering on ridiculous how that simple, sweet statement had my chest tightening and tears misting my eyes.
Panic flared in Alve’s muted scent. “What is it? What did I do?”
