Big Break

chapter Three

Tiffany

I made it to the office on time this morning without any coffee shop incidents. The entire building is buzzing with excitement.

“I don’t know if we’ll get the Basille project, but Tess is definitely trying to get the man’s attention,” Mira says appearing at my side as I prepare the conference room for the meeting. “Her shirt is so low in the front I almost saw her nipples.”

I cringe at her words.

“The woman is relentless,” I say, placing portfolios in front of all the chairs at the table. “Did you look at her design ideas?” I flip open one of the folders in my hand to show Mira the mess Tess came up with. “None of these fit the aesthetic Basille Resorts are known for.”

Mira frowns as she looks down at the brightly colored designs Tess came up with. “Is that tartan on the lobby chairs?”

“Yes,” I say, flipping the folder close and putting it down in front of the head of the table where I’m sure Mr. Basille will be seated.

“We’re not getting this deal,” Mira says, her shoulders slumping. I have to agree with her.

After finishing setting up the conference room, I part ways with Mira. I head into the lounge to prepare the refreshments for the meeting.

“Oh, hey, Tiff.”

I turn at the sound of Russell’s voice. He’s one of our Civil engineers. He mainly works upstairs with the other engineers.

“Hey Russ.” I give him a genuine smile. When I first got here, Russ called himself having a crush on me. He asked me out once, but I kindly told him I had a boyfriend. Since then, he’s been polite, but professional.

“I think you’re the only female employee I’ve met that isn’t overly excited about having one of the city’s most eligible bachelors in the building.”

I chuckle, placing the fresh cut fruit into the pitcher of ice-cold water. “Did you forget I have a boyfriend?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

His tone lacks the playfulness from earlier, causing me to look up at him. He gives me a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“So,” he says clearing his voice. “Will you be joining us in this meeting?”

Shaking my head, I go back to my task. Placing cookies down on the platter, I rearrange them in a circle.

“I’ll be there, but my input won’t be welcomed.”

“I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this. If you want, I can talk to Mr. Paulson. I’ve been here long enough. I could call in a favor for you.”

I turn to look back at him and he’s standing a lot closer than he once was.

“It’s alright,” I say moving to the side placing a little more space between us. “I’m going to earn my spot. Eventually.”

He smiles, but again it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Alright, well I’ll see you in there.”

I nod. He winks at me before walking out of the room. It took me a total of twenty minutes to finish preparing the food and setting it out for our visitors. I’ve been preparing for the meeting since I walked in the door. I finally get a chance to take a potty break. After washing my hands and walking out the bathroom I go to my cubicle to grab a few things.

“Tiff, you better get in there,” Heather, one of the receptionists says. “Mr. Basille and his team got here early and they’re starting the meeting.”

“Shit.” I grab my tablet off my desk and rush to the conference room. I’m slightly out of breath when I reach the wooden door. I walk in but keep my head down trying not to draw attention.

“Nice of you to finally join us, Tiffany,” Tess says. I quickly take my seat at the back of the room. “As I was saying, Mr. Basille. I hope you enjoy the refreshments I prepared.”

Internally, I roll my eyes at her taking credit for my work. But it doesn’t surprise me.

“Everything is nice.”

That voice. There is no mistaking that voice. Even if I could forget it, I couldn’t ignore the flutter in my belly and the goosebumps on my skin. I look up from my tablet and my eyes land directly on dark brown ones. Mr. Tall and Handsome himself is here in the flesh.

His lips turn up into a slight smirk. I wonder if he can see the shock on my face. I look away, breaking eye contact hoping that will stop the racing of my heart. It does not.

“Well, let’s get started,” Mr. Johnson says. As the Director of Tess’s team, he always sits in on initial pitches.

“If you turn to the first page of your folder,” Tess says proudly. “You will find my overall color scheme and design.”

Although I hear Tess speaking and I should be paying attention, my gaze has somehow found its way back to Mr. Basille. He glances down at the first page and even though nothing on his face changes, I can tell he doesn’t like it. I don’t know how I know. I mean, I’ve met the man twice before now and each time I was only in his presence a few minutes, but I feel it in my soul he’s not happy.

However, he doesn’t speak. The woman beside him—that I’m only now noticing—speaks.

“Is this the only mockup you have?”

I fight the smile on my face as I watch Tess flounder under the woman’s question.

“Well, no. I have a team of designers that have also contributed. However, you haven’t seen all of my ideas yet. If you turn to—”

The woman beside Mr. Basille holds up a hand. “I’ve seen enough.” She shuts the folder.

Mira turns to me and gives me a quick look. I have to look down at my lap to contain my smile.

“The Basille Resorts are known for not only their luxury, but also their one-of-a-kind experience. Our resorts are designed to pique your senses. Locations and motifs that capture the imagination. Our rooms and hallways inspire innovation. From the lowest level room to the penthouse, Basille Resorts’ one-of-a-kind environments set the stage for romance, business, leisure, and celebration. And yet you want me to paint our walls light mauve.”

Damn, I don’t know who this lady is, but she is killing Tess.

“I’m sure the members of your team have designs prepared as well, Tess?” Mr. Johnson says, narrowing his eyes at her.

Tess clears her throat. She glances at a very displeased Mr. Johnson before turning back to the woman. “Yes, my team has other ideas that I have co-signed.” She looks to the table desperately.

Everyone starts to fumble around trying to come up with ideas. When Tess really wants to lead a project, her team usually sits back and lets her take the lead. Most of the time they won’t even design anything. Hopefully, this isn’t one of those times.

Joan, one of Tess’ favorite ass kissers, scrambles through the papers in front of her. “I noticed that your LA property was cited as being one of the favorites. Why not go in that direction.” I cringe. “We can just change the color scheme a bit.”

I snort, before I can catch myself. It’s sad how unprepared everyone is. But it isn’t all their fault. As I said, Tess doesn’t really allow anyone to put in suggestions on a project she wants.

I didn’t realize my mistake until I looked up and the entire room was staring at me.

“Can I ask what’s so funny?” his smooth-like velvet voice calls out across the room.

“You have to ignore, Tiffany,” Tess says. “She’s new and doesn’t know how things work. She’s very unprofessional.”

Usually, I allow Tess to say her bullshit just to keep the peace, but there is something about her calling me unprofessional in front of my mystery guy that has me seeing red.

“I’m unprofessional,” I repeat. “Maybe, if you would’ve followed my advice, you’d know not to offer to redo a design they’ve already done. Basille Resorts pride themselves on never replicating their properties.”

Joan sinks back into her seat. Tess folds her arms over her chest and glares at me.

“Seems like you’ve done your research,” that cognac smooth voice grabs my attention again. “Why don’t you pitch me a design.”

“I’m sorry,” Tess says. “As her boss, she’s not ready to—”

“Quiet,” his voice is like a whip cutting into Tess’s sentence. He delivers the line without even turning to look at her.

I glance at Mira and she’s giving me the thumbs up. Clearing my throat, I stand from my seat. Last night, before I went to bed, I played around with a few ideas. I had no idea this opportunity would happen, but design is my passion. I always make mockups of projects even if I know I won’t get them. I walk over to Mr. Basille and hand him my tablet.

“My first idea came from the district that you’re building in. I don’t know if you know the history, but that area was once thriving during prohibition. Some of the most well-known speakeasys in the city were on that river front.”

He swipes on my tablet, going over the few designs I put together. He hands the tablet to the woman beside him, and she swipes as well.

“I thought why not pay tribute to that period. My design is based off art deco with some neo classical elements. Geometric lines, rich and bold colors with gold accents. When someone walks into Basille Hotels and Resort North River, they should be transformed back to the bustling 1920’s.”

I finish my design pitch and take a deep breath. Glancing over to Mira she has a proud smile on her face. Just three chairs down, Tess is fuming at me. The woman beside Mr. Basille leans over and whispers something to him. Neither of them has said anything or even smiled. My heart is racing in my chest. For some reason, I really care if he likes my design. I mean, it’s a big opportunity either way, but his approval would be a big deal.

Mr. Basille leans back in his seat and steeples his fingers in front of him.

“I’ve made my decision.” He looks up at me and smiles. “We will go with your design.”

The entire room of designers’ gasp. My mouth falls open, but no words come out. His gorgeous brown eyes lighten as they stare back at me.

“So glad we could be of service to you, Mr. Basille,” Mr. Johnson says. He looks up at me and winks.

This is the first time since I’ve been hired that he has acknowledged me.

“This is great,” Tess starts, her tone not matching her words. “I’m glad you made your decision, Mr. Basille. I’ll make sure to take on this project myself to assure that it is done correctly.”

“No, you won’t,” he says glancing at Tess before looking at Mr. Johnson. “Ms. Best will be the senior designer on this project, or I’ll go somewhere else.”

“That won’t be a problem, Mr. Basille.” Mr. Johnson holds up his hands. “Ms. Best is highly qualified to take on the role.”

The man knows nothing about me, but I’m glad he’s publicly supporting me.

“What?” Tess says in disbelief.

Mr. Basille grins and my goodness this man has a gorgeous smile. “Yes, I like to work closely with my designers on my projects. Ms. Best, I shall see you at my office tomorrow at 8 am sharp to go over this project further and my expectations for it.”

He stands to his feet, and the woman with him does as well. The entire conference room starts to clear out. Mr. Basille stops in front of me, and I lift my head to look in his eyes.

“Beauty and talent. I’m going to enjoy working with you, Tiffany.” He walks away following Mr. Johnson out, leaving his incredible scent lingering behind him. I follow him with my eyes until he is no longer in my sight. Mira comes up and wraps her arms around me.

“That’s my girl,” she shouts, pulling back from her hug. “Congratulations, Tiff you earned this.”

“Don’t get too happy,” Tess says, swinging her hair over her shoulders. “When I finish talking to Mr. Johnson, there is no way he’s going to let you take the lead on one of the company’s biggest clients. I’ll have that job.”

“Maybe I should talk to Mr. Johnson. Tell him how the budget for that hospital job is going,” Mira says stepping in front of me.

Tess glares at Mira for a moment challenging her with her eyes. When Mira doesn’t back down, Tess turns and storms off.

“She’s going to be a problem,” I say as I watch Tess walk off leaving only Mira and I in the room.

Mira turns to face me. “If she knew all the shit I had on her, she’d keep her mouth shut. But, we’re not worried about her. You just got your first project. We should celebrate.”

She’s right. I’d just gotten my first big break at this job. Even if Tess convinces Mr. Johnson to change his mind, it’s my design that was picked. I should celebrate, but there is only one person I want to celebrate with. Hopefully, he isn’t still angry with me.