10. Olivia
OLIVIA
T he train was never my preferred mode of transportation, but sometimes it was a necessary evil. For this quick trip into the city, it just made sense.
I spent the ride checking and responding to emails, a few of which were from Lucas.
One outlining our plan to find a new stone supplier after informing me we would absolutely not be using the vendor we’d visited.
Another to approve of a mockup of the “command center” room we’d incorporated for the house’s utilities.
Yet another to let me know his dad had called and he had my dish from the picnic.
With the sheer volume of messages, I’d swear he was trying to find excuses to talk to me. I mulled over my theory for a few minutes before I decided to test it out.
I pulled up his number and pressed the call button. It took two rings before I heard his voice.
“Olivia? Is everything alright?”
Since I didn’t have a legitimate reason for calling other than trying to gauge how much he wanted to talk to me, I had to think fast.
“Yes, sorry for the surprise call. I’m on the train and my internet service isn’t great, but I wanted to make sure you had what you needed. So I didn’t hold up your team.”
“Oh.” He sounded disappointed. “Well, yeah. If that’s all you need, then we’re all set.”
“Okay great! Just wanted to make sure.”
“Yeah, thanks for checking in.”
“No, thank you.”
“Okay.”
I couldn’t stop repeating him. “Okay.”
I could hear a smile in his voice.
“Alright.”
“Alright.” Damnit.
“Olivia?”
“Yeah?”
His voice dropped an octave. “Be safe.”
My spine tingled hearing the concern in his words. I replied quietly, “Thanks Lucas. I will.”
“Bye, Angel.”
I tried to keep the smile out of my voice and said goodbye. For the next ten minutes, I sat grinning like an idiot. I needed to get my shit together.
Before I knew it, we were pulling into Penn Station and I was suddenly thrust into the buzz of New York City.
My meeting with Callie was at her offices in the flatiron district, so I started in that direction.
It’d been so long since I visited. I wanted to enjoy the atmosphere, so I built in enough time to allow me to walk there.
While I walked, I tried to calm my overwhelming nerves. It still felt completely surreal that Netflix wanted to meet with me. I’d put so much work into my company and I knew my online presence was strong, but somehow it still didn’t feel possible.
Too quickly my thoughts traveled to a different nerve racking topic — Lucas Alessi. The more time we spent together, the more I couldn’t help thinking I wasn’t alone in feeling like I was being low-grade electrocuted every time we were in the same space.
Sure, it wouldn’t be the most professional thing to get involved with him. But would it be that awful? Then again, if he were interested, wouldn’t he have acted on it by now?
Mind spinning, I arrived at the Netflix building and took the elevator to the twenty-sixth floor. I resolved to shelve thoughts of Lucas Alessi and focus on the opportunity in front of me.
A kind young woman at the front desk led me back to a glassed-in conference room where I waited while I took in the offices.
The modern design of the space featured a heavy amount of glass, clean lines, and crisp white furniture.
It looked exactly how I would picture an office of a streaming service to look.
Red accents in the artwork and area rugs tied in the company’s brand.
Employees buzzed from desk to desk, as well as many with big headphones on, completely absorbed in their work.
Soon, a woman pushed open the door to my little fish bowl and entered. She was taller than me, with long blonde hair and tan skin. She looked like a model for an outdoor company. Like she could sell surfboards or jet skis .
She wore high-waisted dark pink pants, yellow slides, and a Kelly green shirt. She looked cool and professional. This must be Callie. She offered me her hand and a big, bright smile.
“Hi Olivia! Callie. It’s so great to meet you in person!”
“Hi, thank you. I’m excited to be here.”
Callie motioned for me to sit and took the chair opposite me. She offered water from the setup in the center of the table, which I declined. My mouth was dry from nerves, but I didn’t think I could ingest anything or it might come right back up.
While she poured herself a glass, she explained, “So I wanted you to come in because I think it’s just easier and more productive to have a meeting like this in person.”
I nodded. “Of course. No problem. It’s nice to be in the city again.”
She grinned. “When were you last here?”
“It’s been a year or so. I lived here for a couple summers during college while I did internships. I’ve come for a show or work here and there, but nothing significant.”
“Well, welcome back! It certainly has its pros and cons, but one thing I’ll always credit the city with is its ability to inspire.
If you’re creatively stagnant, it’s a great resource.
I don’t come into the office every day, but I always know I’ll feel that creative buzz again from walking around the city. ”
“On the flip side, you may witness someone peeing in public on your morning commute. So it’s really a roll of the dice.” She chuckled at her own New York City musings, and I found myself relaxing in her presence .
“Anyway, I’ll get to it. I reached out because our development team is always keeping our eye out for emerging talent and, as I’m sure you know, home interior shows have become a profitable sector for us.”
I nodded, but remained silent to let her continue.
“We’ve had you earmarked for a while and now that you’re building Helen Arnoult’s home, we think it might be the right time to move on developing a show.”
That took me by surprise. Helen’s home was still pretty early in development. I had no posts about the project on my social media yet. I wasn’t sure how they knew about the project.
“Oh. Would you be looking to include Helen’s project?”
“Possibly, but it’s not a deal breaker. We’d need to see how development time worked out and obviously need her permission.
It was a good tipping point to get the higher ups interested in you, but the team is less interested in a specific project and more in the variety and unique point of view you could add to the lineup. ”
“Yes, you mentioned that. I’m flattered, but I’m a bit confused about that. What exactly do you mean by ‘variety’?”
“Oh! My apologies. As a single woman. This industry has really gotten into a rut with the whole ‘lady who designs, man who builds’ trope. We're looking to shake it up and show more of a cosmopolitan, single woman taking on the industry. We love your self made story and think, combined with your media personality, you’d be an amazing fit for that angle.”
Wow. That was absolutely not what I was expecting to hear today. Being sought after for being single? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Happy, I guessed. But being entirely on my own, no family, no partner, wasn’t exactly an emotional badge of honor I felt comfortable wearing.
I didn’t mind being single, but with my dad gone and my mom being my mom, it meant I was often alone. Friendships had become casual acquaintances as I’d gotten older and people’s lives had gotten busier.
“I see. Well, thank you. I'm flattered you thought of me. Can I ask how much of this show would be about me personally? How are you envisioning showcasing the work?”
“We wouldn’t be following you home or anything like that. I’ve seen the office you show on your social platforms. We’d likely need to set up a larger one for filming.”
“Then we’d film the creative process, interactions with other contractors, job sites, and, of course, the final product. Not too far off from the videos you put together, but just a longer format and obviously produced by professionals. No offense, because they’re great.” She winked.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
‘Hey, we’d like to take everything you’ve been pouring your heart into for years and make it a professional production.’
This was surreal. I exhaled a disbelieving breath.
“That sounds… incredible. Truly. I can’t believe what you’re saying.”
“Well, believe it, baby! The team and I have absolutely loved following you. I’ve been a fan for years and actually feel a little like we’re already friends, so I’m excited to work together.”
Callie had a warm, welcoming presence. She felt like sunshine, but with an edge of badass, like she was a woman who got shit done. I decided right then that I liked her a lot.
I beamed at her praise and shook my head in disbelief.
“This is crazy.” Was I really going to do this?
“What are your plans for lunch? And do you like Thai food? And can I take you to eat Thai food for lunch?”
I burst out in laughter and replied, “Love Thai and I’d love to.”
“Awesome! We’ll work out some details, then I can update the paperwork before we send over any contracts.”
Contracts. With Netflix. This was unreal.
As I followed Callie out of the building, I tried not to get hung up on the thought that Lucas Alessi had just become off limits in a whole new way.