“Alright.”
“And you have to give me a budget. I need to know what I’m working with.”
“I’ll work up some numbers.” My eyes shifted to her plate. “Eat. It’s getting cold.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but picked up her burger. “Don’t think I’m going to perform other services just because you’re paying me to redecorate your office.”
A low chuckle left my lips at her words. “There’s no amount of money I could pay you to do the things I want to do to you.”
“Exactly.”
I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “All I have to do is lick that sensitive spot below your ear, and you’re putty in my hands.”
“Ellie,where am I putting these files?” I called out from the new front office.
She rushed through the large hole in the wall where the new door would be installed later today. The stack in my arms wavered precariously as she rushed over, taking the top half.
“Let’s just put them here for now. We’ll save that wall,” she said, pointing to the back wall, “for the oldest cases.”
“Who saves this much paperwork?” I asked, brushing the dust from my arms, then waving the particles from my face with a cough.
“Hopefully, your new secretary will be able to make this all digital.”
“Yeah, I just have to find someone capable of sorting through all this shit and understanding what’s what.”
Turning on her heel, she headed back into the other room for the last stack of files. “You just need someone with great organizational skills.”
“Are you for hire?” I asked, taking the stack from her as she picked it up.
“I have my own boutique.”
“But you’re so good at this,” I pouted.
“Yes, and if I worked for you, I’d spend every day on my back instead of upright in a chair getting work done.”
That much was true. I headed back through the opening and set down the last of the files. Now that that was done, we could get started on painting the office.
“These are the colors I’ve chosen for you,” she said, holding up paint samples.
I glanced over them, but wasn’t really impressed with any of them. “What about something gray?”
“Um…sure, if you want everyone to think you have no personality.”
“What’s wrong with gray? The right shade would look really sharp. Isn’t gray in right now?”
“Well, yes it used to be…like ten years ago, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs gray. You want something warm and welcoming.”
“This isn’t a house. It’s an office. It can’t be too welcoming. I don’t need people stopping by for coffee and hanging out to chat.”
Her eyes brightened before I shot her a glare to cut her off.
“I am not putting in a coffee machine for clients.”
“But that’s what people want! Even salons have coffee and water for their clients. Do you really want to be so cold that you don’t offer clients something?”
“Yes,” I snapped.
“Well, too bad. You hired me to help, and I’m telling you, gray is out.”
