KHB inhabited the top three floors of the fifteen-story building. Reception and administrative support was on the thirteenth floor, the designers inhabited the fourteenth, and the executives were on the fifteenth. One of the suited men stepped off the elevator with her and headed through the glass doors like he was on a mission. Too busy talking into his phone, the man didn't say hello to the receptionist, Carolyn, whom Serena had met during her interview.
Carolyn sat pin straight, a black headset at the ready as she efficiently and professionally answered several calls. She held up one finger with a practiced smile, but her eyes gave away her happiness to see Serena. Her professionalism coupled with the severe cut and the model-perfect shine of her black hair, expertly applied makeup, and French manicure gave off a slightly hoity-toity vibe. But Serena knew better. Carolyn had been leaving work when Serena had left after her interview, and they'd had coffee together downstairs. She was easy to talk to, and it had become clear that her prim persona was merely a front she put on as a representative of the company.
Carolyn ended her call and stood up quickly, leaning across the desk and waving her hands. "Get in here and hug me!" she said quietly. "I was so happy when they said they hired you. You look amazing."
"Thank you! I'm so nervous. I have no idea where to go."
The phone rang, and Carolyn held up her finger again as she answered it and settled back into her seat. After sending the call to its recipient, she said, "Don't be nervous. You'll do great. You're starting with Chiara Twain, our human resources coordinator." She pronounced the woman's name Chee-ar-ah. "She's relatively new, too. You'll love her. After you fill out a mountain of paperwork, she'll show you around the offices, and then she'll bring you down to meet with Suzanne. I'll let Chiara know you're here."
Carolyn answered another call, and Serena stepped back from the desk to wait, feeling a little more at ease. Several people came through the reception area. Some flashed tight smiles, but others were too busy on their phones to notice anything as they crossed the hardwood floors to the white marble reception desk.
"Serena?" An energetic blonde hurried across the floor in her sky-high heels as though they were flats, her hand outstretched. "I'm Chiara Twain, your go-to gal for all things human resources related. Everyone mispronounces my name, so just think of a cheering cheetah. Chee-ar-ah. Shall we get started?"
"Yes, thank you." She wished she could rush through the human resource part of her day and race upstairs to get started, even though she liked Chiara.
As they weaved through the elegant offices, their heels silenced by plush carpeting, the din of busy employees filled the air. Chiara spoke in a hushed tone as phones rang out around them and people hurried past. The thrill of it all eased Serena's nerves, and she tried to remember every face on the way to Chiara's office.
"I haven't been to the Cape, but it's on my bucket list," Chiara confided. "I'd imagine, though, that you might experience a little culture shock with the move. I know I did when I moved from Reno last month."
"It's definitely different. At the resort we wore whatever was comfortable, and there is no Boston Design Center, that's for sure." Boston Design Center was the region's premier destination for luxury interior furnishings and featured more than three hundred and fifty thousand square feet of showrooms. Serena had been there when she'd interned during college, and she and Justine, the owner of Shift, had also visited on occasion.
"I could get lost in BDC," Chiara said as they entered her office. "I went there once with Laura, one of the junior interior designers you'll be supervising, just to check it out. I have no idea how designers can choose from all the selections there."
Serena was still a little shocked that she was going to be supervising a team of two. She couldn't imagine not having her hands on every piece of the design process, but Suzanne had reassured her that she'd never feel like she wasn't in control.
"Let's get the paperwork out of the way first." Chiara set her up at a desk with a ton of paperwork, an employee handbook, and a designer's code of conduct booklet, which seemed to be the ABCs of ethics for designers.
That should come in handy on the nights she couldn't sleep.
Almost three hours later, after a not-so-brief orientation meeting and a tour of the fifteenth floor, they finally stepped off the elevator on the fourteenth floor. While the thirteenth floor, where clients entered, was decked out in calming and elegant earth tones, and the executive suites were even more luxurious, though a bit too drab for Serena's taste, the fourteenth floor was alive with color and activity.
"Welcome to your new home," Chiara said as she led her through the office. She pointed out the coffee room, conference area, and the resource room, which had catalogs, brochures, fabric swatches, and more. Light hardwood floors and glass walls on the exterior offices gave the space an open, airy feel. "As you can see, this floor is set up for collaborating."
"Yes. The work flow is perfect." Serena took in the U-shaped workstations, each boasting a splash of color on chest-height privacy screens. Designers were bent over their desks, talking on the phone, working on plans, or leafing through catalogs. Across the room, a woman and a man stood before a whiteboard, hashing out design elements. There was a vibrant hum of activity, just as she'd imagined.
"Your office is the second from the right." Chiara led her to a group of people gathered around a table discussing design elements. "Hi, guys," Chiara said. "This is Serena Mallery, our new senior interior designer."
Serena recognized three of them from the elevator that morning.
"I thought I picked up the scent of newbie in the elevator," one of the suited guys said. He was tall and handsome, with closely shorn brown hair and wily green eyes she bet probably opened a lot of bedroom doors. His lips quirked up in a coy grin. "Welcome to the mayhem. I'm Gavin."
"Nice to meet you," Serena said.
The thin blonde she'd seen earlier said, "And I'm Laura, a junior designer. Spencer and I are on your team." She motioned toward the bearded guy.
Spencer waved. "You can call me Spence. I'm looking forward to working with you."
"Thank you. I can't wait to get started." Serena followed Chiara into her gorgeous new sunny office.
"Why don't you set your things down, and I'll let Suzanne know you're here."
She stifled the urge to do a happy dance and glanced out the window at the streets below. She was so excited. She had to quell the urge to take pictures to send to Drake and the girls. She set her bag on the credenza behind the sleek light-wood, extra-wide desk, and as calmly as she could, she said, "Thank you so much, Chiara. Maybe we can have lunch one day."
"Are you under the impression you'll have downtime?" Chiara lifted her brows. "Seriously, lunches are crazy around here, and our senior designers often save lunches for client meetings. But maybe we can grab a drink after work sometime."
"Sounds great."
A few minutes later Chiara brought her into Suzanne's office, which was three times the size of hers.
"Welcome to KHB," Suzanne said as Chiara left the room. She waved to a leather chair across from her desk. "Sit down and get comfortable. Let's get you up to speed."
Serena guessed Suzanne to be in her late thirties. She had olive skin and sharp brown eyes. Her dark hair was pulled back in a sleek bun, and she gave off an aura of sophistication. Her finely fitted gray suit and expensive heels further underscored her business-savvy nature. But it was her confidence and assertiveness that Serena had first noticed during their interview. Suzanne didn't mince words, and Serena respected that almost as much as she admired her design abilities.
"Do you have any questions before we dig in?" Suzanne asked.
"No. I'm ready and excited to take charge of my first project."
"Great." Suzanne picked up two folders from her desk and handed them to Serena. "You'll be working with two major clients. Seth Braden, the president of BRI Enterprises, a major retail conglomerate, and Muriel Younger, a principal attorney at Younger, Lynch, and Ryan. We've worked with both of them before. All of the information you'll need is in the files. Seth has just taken on a partner, and he's doing a full-scale rebrand and redesign, and Muriel has expanded her offices and is taking over another floor in her building. You have a meeting scheduled to see Muriel's offices Wednesday. I assumed you'd want some time to get your head wrapped around that job before meeting with Seth. He's awaiting your call, but no pressure to get started yet. He's out of town until next week. Since your last visit to the Boston Design Center was some time ago, I've asked Gavin Wheeler, another senior designer, to go with you Friday to help you get acclimated to the way things are done there."