Chapter 6
LONDON
“ W e absolutely cannot make it look like a gentleman’s club,” I argued as Liam and I went round for round about the offices. “Walker and Co Marketing has always been known for trendy interiors. Our workspaces are always immaculately designed and inspired by?—”
“That’s not true,” he objected on a huff, hands on his hips as he looked around the conference room we were in. “The Houston branch is modern but comfortable. Same with New York. There’s nothing overtly trendy about either of those two branches and I can say the same about each one I’ve visited.”
“Sure, but modern and comfortable is trendy.” I tossed a hand out to indicate the bare space in front of us. “You have the worst sense of style I’ve ever seen in my life if you think deep reds, hunter greens, and leather is the way to go.”
“It’s classy and elegant,” he argued. “We wouldn’t have to make it look like a gentleman’s club just because we use those colors. Besides, have you ever even been inside a gentleman’s club?”
“Yep, and I don’t want to work in one every day.
” I arched an eyebrow at him, my gaze turning toward the windows.
Right there in the distance was a white, sandy beach and the bay, the water sparkling in the sun and palm trees lining the street below.
“Look out there, then think about what it would look like in here if we followed your plan. I cannot think of an idea that would clash more with our natural environment.”
“Being in Miami doesn’t mean everything has to be white and blue with beachy vibes. I’ve already agreed to let you decorate our house that way. We can’t just go buy two of everything and make the office look the exact same.”
“Agreed, but we also don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The idea is good. It’s solid and it fits. We can keep it without replicating anything we’ll be doing with the house.”
“But that’s so boring .” He dropped his hands to his sides and strode toward the window. “There’s a lot of white and blue out there, but there’s also a lot of green. Why don’t we use that as our base color?”
“Green?” My nose scrunched up. “What shade of green?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean there are dozens of different shades, if not hundreds. Do you want lime, sage, forest?—”
He groaned. “Green is green, London.”
I sniffed and spun toward the door. “Green is most certainly not just green.”
This was the largest conference room on the floor on which Liam and I would be working.
Our offices were the corners on the far end of this very hallway, and while I might’ve let him run with some of his ideas on the first floor, up here was a totally different story.
For the next few months, we’d practically be living in this empty, glass monstrosity.
We had to turn it into someplace we actually wanted to be.
Every office and every conference room had at least one wall of windows, the sweeping streets and tropical greenery outside lending its coastal urban appeal to the interior. I wanted to work with that instead of against it—while remaining mindful of the ocean and all its wonders just beyond.
I inhaled a deep, calming breath when I reached the door. “We’re not getting anywhere with this. Do you want to go grab some lunch and start from scratch when we get back?”
Liam sighed, running a hand through his dark hair as his gaze drifted around the room. “Sure. Maybe you’re just hangry right now and that’s what is clouding your judgment.”
I laughed. “The only thing clouding my judgment is your terrible ideas. I simply have an impeccable sense of style and you’re offending it.”
“You’re trying to damn me to a pastel hell and I won’t allow it.” He winked and sauntered to the doorway, turning to sweep a hand out ahead of him. “Crazy ladies first. Let it be known that I’m still a gentleman, no matter how aggravating you are.”
Once again, I had the urge to stick my tongue out at the guy. He really did bring out my inner child in all the worst ways. Sometimes, it was pretty fun, though, knowing that impulsive, playful kid was still inside me.
Leading him through the empty expanse of our floor, I tried to picture it as a bustling office and my mind filled in the blanks, placing desks at strategic positions and painting the walls in a dusky pink.
I would put copper and touches of white with it, but as beautiful as I knew that would be, it would also be way too feminine.
Maybe it’d work for my office, though.
I didn’t mention any of that to him as we grabbed our stuff from the floor next to the elevator.
We rode down in silence, both of us lost to our own thoughts.
It was a mammoth task, getting these offices from where they were right now to a functional space that also looked like the kind of place where people would actually want to work.
Clients needed to be comfortable there as well.
As we left our building, hot, muggy air welcomed us, immediately dispelling the chill from the air-conditioning on my skin. I smiled and dropped my sunglasses onto my face while Liam paused on the pavement and pulled his phone out. “Let me check what we’ve got in the area.”
“Or we could just walk around.” I grabbed his arm, doing my best to ignore his firm, hard muscles under my palm as I pulled him down the street. “It’s called spontaneity, Jones. We’ll find the perfect place by seeing it for ourselves instead of searching for it on a device.”
He groaned. “Says the girl who believes everything needs to be recorded.”
“Speaking of which.” I grinned and slid my phone out of my purse, tapping into my camera and switching it to video. “It’s time for our day two diary entry. Smile and pretend you’re not a wet blanket.”
Liam made an offended sound, but when I started filming, he moved his head forward to hog the frame. “Can anybody who will end up watching this please tell London that not everything near a beach needs to be decorated in a nautical style? Your girl seems to think that?—”
“Hunter green and maroon do not work for an office space that has ocean views out of every room,” I finished for him. “Seriously, though. I can’t wait for people to see what we’re going to do with the Miami branch. It’s going to kick ass.”
“Even if we don’t know what we’re doing yet?”
I shot him a pretend glower. “We will know what we’re doing right after lunch.”
With that, I ended the video and stashed my phone in my purse once more, releasing his arm before holding it made my brain melt even more than it already had. Liam chuckled and slid his hands into his pockets.
“What are you going to be doing with these videos anyway? I checked last night and you didn’t upload the one you took yesterday.”
“Nah, it’s mostly just for us. I figured we’re going to achieve something amazing here and it ought to be recorded. It’ll be fun to look back on the early days once it’s an ultra-successful, powerhouse of a branch.”
“If you wind up getting anything good, we can always string snippets together for the opening,” he suggested. “People might get a kick out of seeing that.”
“I thought the exact same thing, but we’ll have to see what we’ve got when we get there. Right now, we don’t have anything usable.” I spotted a sports bar down the street and grinned as I pointed it out to him. “Can anybody say burgers and chicken tenders?”
“That’s your first good suggestion today.” Liam took my arm this time and whisked me toward the neon blue signs signaling the entrance of the bar.
When we walked in, frigid air washed over me. I groaned in relief and collapsed into the nearest booth, taking a glance at the specials being advertised on big chalkboard menus.
“I’ll have a cheeseburger with fries and a beer,” I decided out loud.
“How adventurous.”
“You’re going to order the same exact thing, dildo.
” Flat screen TVs were mounted against every available surface and sports memorabilia filled in the rest of the spaces.
“While we’re here, take a good look at someone who knew what they were doing with the design.
As soon as you walk in, you know this is a sports bar.
We need to create that same effect at the firm. ”
“Marketing is a little different than sports.” He slid his sunglasses into the collar of his shirt and stretched his long legs out under the table, nearly bruising me in the process.
His gaze moved slowly around the room. “You’re not wrong, though.
They did a really good job with the place.
We can definitely learn a thing or two here. I’ll go order at the bar.”
He got up and strode toward the counter, easily engaging in conversation with the gorgeous girl behind it. I shook my head, wondering how somehow, he always managed to charm the pants off these girls.
“Excuse me,” a deep voice spoke behind me. “I don’t mean for this to sound like a such a cliché, but I’ve never seen you here before and I work nearby, so I’m a regular at lunchtime. Are you new to the area?”
I spun around to find myself looking up at a stupid gorgeous man. Wearing a tailored suit and an expensive watch, he had longish blond hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. My jaw wanted to drop as I stared at him, suddenly completely speechless.
“She is new around here,” Liam answered for me, appearing out of nowhere and sliding back into his seat. “Her name is London and she’s open to making new friends. We just work together.”
Stupid gorgeous guy glanced at Liam, nodded, and smiled at me. “Benson Mills. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
He walked away and rejoined his friends at the other side of the dining room and Liam groaned. “How are you still so hopeless at flirting? Seriously, London. It’s not rocket science.”
Turning back to him, I looked at Mr. Calm, Confident, and Smirky and I couldn’t hold back anymore. I stuck my tongue out at him. “I’m too focused on work to pay much attention to men, and in case you forgot, I went through a breakup last week. You should cut me some slack.”
“What I should do is give you lessons,” he said without skipping a beat. “You should watch me and take some notes. That bartender is already head over heels for me.”
“Bullshit.” I laughed. “You were over there for like, a minute.”
“Yeah, it took me a little longer than usual.” He pumped his eyebrows and twisted in his seat to look at the bar. Then he grinned and looked back at me. “Looks like our drinks are ready. Observe.”
Sliding back out of the booth, he got up and went back to the bar. Almost as soon as he reached it, the girl was in stitches. Her laughter finally subsided, and as he picked up our beers, she practically had hearts in her eyes.
What the hell did he say to her? It certainly wasn’t his office décor ideas.
Liam sauntered back to the table with a smug grin on his face and winked at me. “That’s how it’s done.”
“Fine,” I said before I lost my nerve. “Teach me your ways, Maestro. I’d like to have a little fun in Miami too.”
He pretended to think it over for a moment. “Alright. I can teach you, but only if I get to choose the wall paint colors for the office.”
I groaned. “Do I have a choice?”
“Not if you want to learn from me.”
My eyes narrowed, but ultimately, I nodded my agreement. “You can choose the colors, but nothing dark and heavy. No hunter green or maroon either. That’s too oppressive for an ad agency.”
He wrinkled his nose but stuck out his hand. “Deal. Let’s swing by Home Depot on our way back to the office. We might as well get this show on the road.”
For the rest of our time at the sports bar, we talked more about everything we needed to get done before the job fair. After we ate, we went to collect Liam’s truck and then headed directly to Home Depot, walking straight to the paint aisle when we arrived.
He immediately went with a lightish olive green and I purposely scrunched my face up as tight as it would go. “That looks like barf.”
“If you want those lessons on how to get back out there, you better shut it.”
I rolled my eyes, but I really did want those lessons, so I refrained from offering my opinion on any of the accent colors he chose.
When we got back to the office, we turned on one of our favorite playlists that we’d curated together on our way to Florida and picked on each other while we painted.
This was the start of our new adventure and I was suddenly excited all over again.
We were finally in Miami, we were settled at our house, and we were starting with our offices. It was all coming together. Now all we needed was our dream team to help us get it off the ground.
Even though he drove me crazy, Liam had been my right hand and equal in every build I’d been part of.
It would’ve been so weird to do anything like this without him, but together, I knew we were going to choose the right people and put together a team that would turn this branch into the next big thing in the marketing world.