"Only Chloe, when I was stuffing my face with the doughnut. I have meetings set up next week with more clients, and Friday I'm going with Gavin to the Boston Design Center. That should be fun."
"Gavin, or the design center?"
Her brows furrowed. "Is my guy jealous again?"
"Should I be?"
"No. Although he is cute, clean-cut, and knows how to dress, like all the guys at my office."
"You're not winning any bonus points, Supergirl. Maybe I do need to drive to Boston."
She giggled. "He's funny, too, but he has one glaring flaw."
He sighed, knowing she was just pulling his leg. Or at least hoping so.
"It doesn't matter how far apart we are," she said. "No man could ever be you."
Chapter Thirteen
"GIVING UP THE legwork makes me feel like I'll walk out of here half dressed," Serena said semi-jokingly to Laura and Spencer Friday morning. She'd gotten to know them over the last few days, and her earlier impression was right: They were eager and easy to work with.
"That could be interesting," Spencer said with a snicker. He leaned back in his chair, one arm hanging down beside him as he drummed a beat on the edge of his chair with his other hand.
Laura rolled her eyes. "He's trying to get fired for sexual harassment."
"Is that true?" Serena couldn't hide her shock. "You want to be fired?"
"No. I'm just a line crosser, and Laura's not, so she likes to point it out."
"You probably do have to be careful in big companies like this. We joked around all the time at my last job, but we knew each other really well." And now I'm sleeping with my previous boss, so there's that.
"You know I didn't mean it that way, right?" Spencer leaned forward, picked up a pen, and began doodling. "Seriously, though. You don't trust our abilities?" His eyes flicked up to hers. "The previous two senior designers tossed work on our desks and never looked back."
"Oh, no. It's not like that at all," Serena assured him. "I've looked through your portfolios, and you do great work. I'm just used to doing jobs from start to finish. If it seems like I'm micromanaging as we get moving on our projects, I'm really not. You can tell me to back off if it gets annoying. The client counts on us to get this right the first time. How can we do that if we're not all involved?"
Laura had a wary look in her eyes. "You mean, you actually care."
"Of course I care. Didn't the last person who had this job?" Serena asked.
Spencer scoffed. "They loved their lunch hours and client dinners. But like the long line of people who held the position before you, it was a stepping-stone to other opportunities or they got burnt out."
"You're in the hot seat," Laura explained. "As a senior designer, you get all the luxuries of corporate life, and you get to take credit for your team's work. But did the previous designers care about the work?" She shrugged. "They seemed too busy to care about much beyond their next opportunity."
"Well, that's their loss. Or maybe their clients' loss." Serena had known plenty of people like that. She straightened her spine, looking directly at the two of them, so they would know she had nothing to hide, and said, "I can assure you, I will give credit where credit is due, and if anything, you'll see me in the trenches with you, not looking down at you."
"Certain people won't like that," Spencer said under his breath.
"That's too bad. Consider me the rebel of KHB, because unless you want to see me lose my sanity, I can't be that hands-off. The very definition of team is a group working together toward a common goal. Do either of you have a problem with that?" Their eager smiles soothed the jitters in her stomach over possibly getting on the bad side of other senior-level employees. "Okay, then. Let's show the others just how awesome our team can be."
They discussed the budgets and interior elements for Muriel's offices, and Serena got the lowdown on how they usually handled projects. She tweaked their processes so they could work as a cohesive team rather than three separate entities coming together at a finish line.
Two hours later, Gavin peeked into the meeting room. "Ready to go on our BDC date?"
Laura's eyes sparked with curiosity.
"After a quick lesson in sexual harassment, I think it's more appropriate to call it an outing." Serena winked at Spencer. "Can you give me ten minutes to wrap things up with my teammates?"
Gavin's brows shot up in surprise. He checked his watch and said, "Uh, sure. I was hoping we'd get lunch afterward."
She glanced at the work before her and said, "I'm not sure I can afford the time for lunch. Can we grab something to go on the way back?"
Gavin stammered in agreement.
Serena purposely took her time wrapping things up with Laura and Spencer, making sure they were all on the same page. "I'd like you to go see Younger, Lynch, and Ryan's space Tuesday. Can you guys make time?"
They exchanged another astonished glance.
"We don't go see clients alone," Laura said carefully. "Only seniors do that."
"We can shadow you, though," Spencer said.
As much as that bothered her, she understood why the company worked that way. However, it didn't scream teamwork to her. If this were her company, she'd want the clients to be comfortable with any of the designers who were on their team. Although I wouldn't pit Muriel against either of these two. They were too nice to have to deal with her.
Heck, I'm too nice.
"Okay, then. Clear your schedules for Tuesday afternoon, and I'll make the time to take you over." Serena consulted her client notebook. "Actually, clear your morning and early afternoon. I have an appointment with the Wilkinsons for a library redesign. Shadow me on that visit, too. It'll shorten our lead time for the job if we do it all at once rather than two meetings."
"Suzanne's pretty firm about the initial meetings being only the seniors," Laura warned.
"This is my team, correct?" Serena paused as they agreed. "My team, my directions. I'll handle Suzanne. Younger, Lynch, and Ryan has us on a short leash with an even shorter turnaround time. If we're going to fit other clients into our busy schedules, we have to be efficient."
"Woman, you are fierce. I'm going to love working with you," Spencer said. "If they don't fire you before we get a chance."
"Mallerys fire things up," Serena said proudly. "We don't get fired."
As she gathered her things and went to meet Gavin, she hoped like crazy that was true.
THE BOSTON DESIGN Center was everything Serena remembered and more-designer eye candy at its best. Every showroom was more luxurious than the last. Her favorite designers had all their best pieces on display, with incredible selections of drool-worthy fabrics and textures. The fine designs gave off different vibes, breathing life into every showroom. She'd dreamed for so long of being exactly where she was today. She wished Drake, Mira, and Chloe were there to share this moment with her. She could rave to them about the designs and pieces, but she'd never do that with Gavin. She was supposed to be a cool, experienced senior designer, and she worried she'd sound like a novice. Not that Gavin seemed judgmental. He was good company, helpful, informative, and entertaining.
"Call ahead next time and I'll set time aside for you," a pretty brunette said to Gavin.
"Thanks. I'll be sure to remember to do that." Gavin slid her business card into his suit pocket as they left the showroom.
"You really are a woman whisperer."
He flirted with every saleswoman, but he was suave in his designer suit and purple tie, laying on the charm just thick enough to leave the women wanting more. And yet he'd been a perfect gentleman with Serena since she'd told him she had a boyfriend, which showed that he had at least some modicum of morals.
He smirked. "The Wheeler charm is a burden."
"I bet," she said sarcastically.
"Seriously. Just ask my brother, Beckett. He swears fending off women is a full-time job."
"And you?"
A puckish look sparked in his eyes. "A gentleman never tells."
"Ah, so you're a gentlemanly woman whisperer. Got it. Are you from Boston?" she asked as they headed for the elevators.
"No. I'm from Oak Falls, Virginia, where everyone knows your name and your secrets."
"That sounds ominous. I guess you had a lot of secrets to escape?" she said as they rode the elevator up to the second floor.
"I wanted more than Oak Falls had to offer," he finally said as they stepped off the elevator. "Not much has changed about how business is done here over the years. But the Market Stalls are pretty amazing."
She followed him toward the west wing. "Nice subject change."