I perked up. Over the last few days, I’d become obsessed with the park design competition. I’d brainstormed a few ideas that I knew Alan would agree with. They would add a lot to the project without increasing the budget. As Alan pulled out the drafting paper we’d used the week before, I jumped into my proposals.
“Alan, I know you weren’t in love with some of my ideas last week, but I think I’ve figured out how we could incorporate a few things without blowing the budget.”
I reached for my notebook, where I’d been scribbling down my ideas on the last few pages. The ones I thought Alan should hear were highlighted and circled so that they’d be easy to find.
“I think the changing rooms near the splash pad could fit into budget if we combine them with one of the park’s bathrooms. The building material could be sourced from the recycling facility downtown so that the cost would be nominal. Not to mention, using recycled materials would look really good for the city.”
Alan slapped his hand down on his desk, jarring me. “Cammie, I think you’re confused about your role in this competition. I want you here as more of a silent participant. Maybe you should direct this misguided enthusiasm toward the work I’ve given you, since you’ve had so much time to consider this competition design.”
My face burned with embarrassment. Peter tried to catch my eye, to ease the pain of being reprimanded in front of all of my table-mates, but I kept my eyes trained on my notebook. I had pages and pages of ideas for the park project. Some of them were wild and much too costly, but a lot of them would enhance the park and fit well with what the design committee had asked for in the first place. Despite all that, if Alan didn’t think my ideas were worth mentioning, then fine, I’d stay silent.
I bit my tongue for the rest of the meeting—if you could even call it a meeting. It was mostly Alan blabbering on and on to himself.
What gave him the right to treat me like that? I would have assumed he was a misogynist, but he wasn’t any nicer to Peter or Mark either. No, I think he was just a crotchety old man, stuck in the old way of doing things. He thought that his title as a senior associate meant that his word was law. I was all for respecting authority and learning from those with more experience, but Alan wasn’t a teacher. He was a dictator without a throne, and I was sick of putting up with him.
By the time our “meeting” was over, I’d decided to do something wild. No, actually, something insane. The decision would jeopardize my relationship with Alan, my career at Cole Designs, and potentially my future in the architecture world.
Despite all that, if Alan didn’t want my help with the proposal, then I really only had one choice. I’d just break the rules and enter the competition on my own.
Chapter Fourteen
“Hurry!” I yelled back at Hannah as I took the stairs two at a time.
“Oh my god! I can’t believe you’re actually getting to leave work on time. This is the best. We should go grab dinner for once,” Hannah said as I pushed through the doors of the Sterling Bank Building. Alan had a meeting with Grayson just before 5:00 pm, which meant he hadn’t had time to assign me extra work before the day ended. As soon as the clock struck five, I’d bolted out of the office with Hannah in tow.
“Yes! Let’s go, we deserve it,” I said.
We ended up finding a little bistro on the way home from the office. It was packed to the brim—as all good restaurants are in LA—but we managed to find two seats at the bar.
“Y’know I lied to Grayson the other day,” Hannah said with a little smile as we perused the menu. “Alan is the worst.”
I laughed. “Um, duh. I’m glad we can agree on that now. I thought Alan had hypnotized you for a while.”
She laughed and I went back to browsing the menu. The restaurant had everything from pasta to hamburgers so I knew I’d have a hard time picking just one entree. I glanced over to see if Hannah was having the same problem, but she was fidgeting on her seat and glancing around the restaurant. Either she was nervous about something or really hungry.
“You okay?” I asked with a chuckle.
Her eyes lit up. Clearly, she’d been waiting for me to ask.
“You’ll never guess what happened at work today,” she said, dropping her menu and glancing over at me with dreamy eyes. She looked like she’d just been struck by Cupid’s arrow.
“What?” I asked while simultaneously wondering if I was hungry enough for an appetizer or not.
“Grayson invited me to go to happy hour with him,” she said, her voice brimming over with excitement.