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Converting the old barn into a jaw-dropping office had been a challenge. It had taken many long hours and quite a few of her hard-earned dollars. When it was done, it was exactly as she envisioned it. A floor-to-ceiling window spanned one end of the barn. The old barn door was replaced with a rolling door heavy enough to look original. The floor got a major upgrade. It had been redone with slate tiles. The heated kind that kept her toes warm in the winter.
There was no more hay upstairs. Gone were the thick, uneven boards. They had been scraped and sanded within inches of their lives. Gleaming polished wood glowed in the morning sunshine. Reshaping the loft into a U left the downstairs open to the dark metal and wooden beams crisscrossing the ceiling. It wasn’t the creation that got her name in magazines, but it was the one that held her heart.
“What do you have for us today?” Gary asked.
Angelina would guess Gary and his brother were in their late sixties. They were close enough in looks to be twins with their salt and pepper hair and similar facial features. They owned a variety of resort-style properties. She had become their go-to for new building ideas. Their latest hunting property was revealed today.
Angelina turned her display toward them. Gary and Mack stood staring at the rendering for a long time without saying a word. The way they were looking at each other, it was almost as if they were having their own conversation without words. It wasn’t the first time they had done something like this. Each time they did, it meant more work for her.
“If you spoke out loud, I could join the conversation,” she reminded them.
It made her nervous about revealing new concepts to clients. Even if she did work for them before, it was still nerve-wracking. What if they didn’t like it? What if they took their business somewhere else?
“It is amazing as always,” Mack nodded at Gary.
“It is uncanny how you can take what we tell you and create the picture we envisioned.”
“But,” Angelina sighed.
“I want this one,” Gary told her.
“You want that one.” Relief coursed through her.
“But I need to make a few changes.”
“I can do that.”
“This building, just like you drew it, will look perfect against the sandstone arches on the property we looked at yesterday.”
“I didn’t think we were buying that place,” Mack teased.
“Think we could get a swim-up pool with a bar on the other side of the lodge?”
“Couples retreat?”
“With the option for singles mingle weekends,” Gary confirmed. “The sun setting against the arches with lights in the pool and a bartender keeping the drinks flowing. It will turn into a goldmine. This is the building for it.”
“True. It was like she was with us yesterday and designed it just for that spot.”
“Just so I understand, you want this design.”
“Yes.” They said at the same time.
“Okay,” she nodded. “What about the hunting property?”
“Would getting more than one option be a problem? We can’t agree on what we want,” Mack admitted.
“You want two options?”
“Three,” Gary answered.
“You want three completed renderings.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Gary confirmed.
“It is going to cost you,” Angelina warned.
“Send him the bill,” Mack grinned. “And the one for this one too.”
