2. Lucas #2
After a quick search, her extensive social media presence was laid out before me.
She was on every platform, sporting a variety of content.
There were photos of rooms she’d designed, her personal travel, and a kitten she adopted.
Then there was more long-form content where she stepped in front of the camera and walked people through DIYs or just gave a narrative while showing off a completed project.
She was magnetic. Scrolling through the comments, it took me all of two minutes to realize she had a loyal and loving fan base. People were constantly gushing over her work and cheering her on.
Watching her like this was like watching a master in their element. In our meeting she’d been competent, but I could sense the uneasiness. Here, she was perfect in her imperfection.
I scrolled to a video of her trying a new backsplash adhesive application. Thirty seconds in, they all fell to the floor and she started laughing hysterically. She deemed the project a huge fail and let her followers know not to try it.
I smiled as I watched her sweep up broken tiles, rolling with it. She still had a massive grin on her face.
It was nearly two hours before I pulled myself away from her face on my phone and computer, having watched her in tandem on both screens. It felt unhealthy. Okay, it was unhealthy, but I couldn’t find the will to stop.
I’d never been more convinced this woman would edge us out of the project if a choice ever needed to be made between her or Alessi Construction.
It was that exact thought that drove me to pull up my email and send her the most professional communication possible.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Arnoult Plans - Initial Revie w
Ms. Dawson - Attached are the plans we reviewed during our meeting. Please provide any desired feedback by the end of the week in order to ensure the project timeline stays on track.
- Lucas
An hour later, she responded.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Arnoult Plans - Initial Review
Mr. Alessi - While I have other projects, I understand the importance of the timeline for this build and will do my best to get you my thorough feedback by Friday morning.
Warm Regards,
Olivia
Two days, seven hours, and thirty-four minutes later, another email came through while I was at a job site attending an inspection for a newly completed home.
At our urging, the client had hired an independent inspector to ensure their home was built to the highest standard.
I always made myself available during the inspection in case there were questions, but I kept my distance.
Some inspectors felt intimidated by the builder being on site.
It was important to me that their report be impartial, so I always waited outside, usually in my truck, and answered emails.
My inbox was always clogged with emails from potential clients, subcontractors, and now, little brunette designers with big brown eyes.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Arnoult Plans - Initial Review
Mr. Alessi - I have reviewed your plans.
Attached are my suggested revisions. In general, these were wonderful, but I want to make sure we are working to conceal as many of the modern amenities as possible, since the interior will be drawing inspiration from a centuries old cottage.
Most of the modifications I’ve suggested are to this end.
If you anticipate any technical issues with these suggestions, please reach out.
Warm Regards,
Olivia
I immediately sent everything to my brothers for review then did my best to hurry them along without exposing why I needed their feedback so quickly.
I wanted to keep emailing Olivia and I needed their responses to keep our chain going.
As soon as I received their replies, I fired off another email to Olivia.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Arnoult Plans - Initial Revie w
Ms. Dawson - I have reviewed your modifications and don’t anticipate any issues. Our construction foreman, Leo, has also reviewed. He’s annotated questions and notes on the attached document. In particular, he has questions on the build of the fireplace mantle you’ve specified.
We’ve worked in a potting room on the east side of the home, per your request. I agree Helen will appreciate the addition. I’ll be sure to give you due credit for including it.
- Lucas
She responded within the hour while I was visiting another job site. I’d never spent so much time staring at my phone in my life.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Arnoult Plans - Initial Review
Mr. Alessi - Wonderful! Helen will love this potting room.
The light in the morning is going to be gorgeous.
It’s the perfect spot. I believe we’re close enough to completing.
We should plan to wrap up, send the final version to Helen, and schedule a meeting to review any questions she might have. How do you feel about Italian?
Warm Regards,
Olivi a
The emails we exchanged were entirely innocent and professional. Yet every time I saw her name sitting in my inbox, my skin buzzed with anticipation.
It was odd and unsettling to have this reaction to simple emails about a construction project—something we did every day. Her tone and the subject matter were perfectly normal, nothing I didn’t see a hundred times a day, but the details were my undoing.
Her modifications were annoyingly insightful. She hadn’t asked us to leave room for subzero freezers so she could get an impressive photo when the job was complete. She had genuinely thought about Helen and how she might use her home, what she would enjoy.
Olivia had suggested we conceal modern amenities as much as possible, which had my team busy working through creative solutions for HVAC elements, lighting, and basically anything involving electricity.
Our employees had risen to the challenge and I could tell they were proud of the solutions they’d presented.
She also asked us to add a potting room and even planned out the ideal location for it based on the sun exposure on Helen’s plot of land.
The room would be completely lined in windows that started at counter height and ran up to the ceiling, which would be vaulted and include skylights to give the room as much of an outdoor feel as possible.
Designers so often annoyed the shit out of me with their wild requests for unrealistic features that looked good, but didn’t actually serve their client and were sometimes completely structurally unsound.
But Olivia’s suggestions had been subtle and purposeful.
Respectful even. Of my original plans, of Helen’s vision, even of the land we would build it on.
It pulled at my chest every time I opened an email and saw her handwritten notes on my plans, scanned in for us to review. There was almost nothing I found sexier than a competent woman, and Olivia Dawson was proving herself not only capable, but immensely talented with every interaction.
It was both a delightful and irritating revelation.
She was going to make the remainder of this project painfully enjoyable.