“How much time will that take?” and “Don’t you already have everything you need?” and “Is that going to delay the project?”
As the presentation ended Olivia stood and adjusted the lights in the room and Quinn requested that the casino staff open the packet in front of each of them. He took the group through the implementation plan, the timeline, the resources we would provide, the cost; suddenly he surprised me, and I guessed the rest of our team, by adding:
“These budget numbers are initial estimates. We’re planning an overhaul to our billing structure in order to provide corporate clients with a greater level of granularity. The next time you see the cost estimates and- for that matter- the invoices, they’ll have line item detail.”
Mr. Northumberland nodded with what I guessed was appreciation because he said, “That’s good, that’s good- just as long as it doesn’t hold anything up.”
Quinn assured him the changes would not preclude moving the project forward and then Quinn was discussing networking and wiring requirements of the space and the subject changed and I could only watch him with mystified incredulity.
I felt Steven’s foot tap against mine under the table and swung my gaze to meet his. He had this ability to enlarge his grey eyes and narrow them at the same time; it often impressed me. This was the look he administered; it was meant to dually convey surprise and suspicion. I shook my head, a very small movement, hoping he understood my silent communication: I had no idea why Quinn chose that moment to mention my idea about billing changes or why or when he’d one hundred percent decided that Cypher Systems was going to commit to the new software.
I did know that Olivia was also watching me; the daggers she was throwing with her glare were difficult to overlook, even in my peripheral vision. Instead of focus my attention on her knife wielding propensities or Quinn’s continuing recitation of the deal’s details or Steven’s sideways glances, I stared unseeingly at the two dimensional, top view diagram of the club space within my packet.
It was such a small thing, the new billing technique. It really was such a small thing. I doubted Mr. Northumberland or any of the lackeys presently really cared about line item detail on billing invoices.
But why had he done it? Why had Quinn even brought it up?
It was nothing. It meant nothing. Stop obsessing about it.
My eyes followed the lines of the AutoCAD derived blue print. I distracted myself by studying the digitally rendered topical design and comparing it to the tour we’d taken of the space earlier. This, as it turned out, was a very effective distraction.
I frowned, blinked, rechecked my examination. My frown deepened.
The schematic in the packet did not match the actual size, layout, or features of the club we’d toured that morning.
I must have sighed loudly or made some other overt outward sign of displeasure because the room became quiet; somewhere to the right a throat was cleared. I glanced up. Everyone was looking at me, including Quinn.
“Ms. Morris…” Quinn was very Mr. Sullivan in his expression and tone, “Is there something you wish to add?”
I looked from Quinn to Carlos to Steven to Allen- or Alex or Andrew or whatever his parents had named him that was so forgettable- to the client, Mr. Northumberland. I was on a precipice. It was my first client meeting, I was the most junior member of the team, I didn’t even know if I deserved the job or if my zebra print stilettos had been the deciding factor. I should have smiled politely and apologized or coughed wildly to try to cover up the unintended sound. I could also feign Tourette syndrome.
Or, I could publically announce that all the team’s cost estimates had been based on a grossly inaccurate rendering of the space due to an oversight or, more alarming, potentially purposeful deception by the client.
Well… what do I have to lose?
I licked my lips then placed my hands, folded, on the table; “Yes. I do. Before we move beyond the AutoCAD rendering I wanted to clarify why the space we toured this morning doesn’t match the plans sent by the casino last month, included here in our packet. We based all our cost estimates on the AutoCAD rendering.”
There was a slight pause, the group apparently absorbing this information for a moment, before all eyes swung to the nephew- AllenAlexAndrewAiden. I followed their stares.
He looked decidedly… uncomfortable. The man’s eyes bounced around the conference room then settled on Mr. Northumberland’s before he issued a small, nervous sounding laugh; “The differences are minor, really. It’s basically the same.”
I frowned severely as several sets of eyeballs ricocheted back to me but I focused my attention on the nephew, “I must respectfully disagree. Some examples: there are two partitions- non weight baring walls- which are not present on the digital design rendering; the current space has west facing windows and an outside patio while the design depicts no windows and no patio; additionally, the square footage of the actual space is at least eleven hundred feet larger-” I shifted my gaze to Quinn’s as I added, “not including the patio.”