Impress Me Not: The Architect

Chapter 2

Busy, busy, busy. That's how Valentino always wanted to be. Anywhere he could work his mind and get left alone was absolute paradise to him. Way much more so than this talkative town. He hated how everyone got all up in his business all the time. It was either about his car, or his drawings.

They all acted like he just did it for fun. It was his passion, and he took pride in being the only architect in the city that drew everything by hand. But it wasn't like his works were going to be put in a museum. No. They'd be gorgeous buildings, capable of standing the test of time. He had worked hard through college to get his classes done and graduate as fast as he could. He thrived to be the best of the best, and he wanted to achieve that goal as quickly as possible. The money was only a slight motivation for him.

He was just an apprentice right now, working in a company that designed and built businesses along with community buildings. They were a great company, and had offered him a spot on their drawing team right out of college. A lot of the old buildings in downtown were designed by this company, and they intended to keep that trend going for as long as possible.

The only thing he disliked about it were some of his coworkers. They loved to talk way too much. And some of them absolutely hated that he drew everything by hand. They didn't think it was necessary. That it was just a waste of time.

They didn't matter. His drawings were how he got the job in the first place. It wasn't his fault that they couldn't draw. They probably hated him now, because he never wanted to talk to them unless it was work related. And he always found a way to hide from them on their breaks. He didn't like socializing at work. It distracted him too much.

One of these days, though, all this annoyance would be worth it. He'd be independent, and famous. He truly believed that. His older brother always said that if you could see yourself doing what you really want to do in life, and try your hardest, you'll get there.

He just had a long way to go until then.

"Excuse me," Valentino looked up from what he was doing to see a man with short black hair that flipped on the top. It was really those eyes that fascinated him, though, taking all feelings of annoyance away. They were an entrancing light blue. The man had a rather bulky look to him and broad shoulders. But his face was kind and polite as he looked at him.

"Yes?" he shook off the fascination for this man. He was more annoyed that he had been interrupted. And no pretty set of eyes could make that go away. Not when he was this close to finishing it.

Don't people know when to leave others alone?

"My apologies," the man put a hand to his chest, his silky voice wafting in the air again. "I don't mean to bother you. I just had to say that you're drawing a very beautiful building."

"Thanks," he gave him a polite smile. He would have told him that it would have been closer to being finished if he hadn't come to bug him. But the man was too polite. He couldn't find it in him to be an ass to him. At least, not completely.

"Did you draw it all by hand?" he sat next to him, using that dazzling smile to keep him from stopping him. It was blinding in the sunlight.

Great. Now he was never going to make progress on it.

"Yup," he answered, trying his best to act polite. Even though he really didn't want to. "I'm probably the only one in the state that still does it the old-fashioned way."

Most architects used computer programs to truly get their drawings and blueprints. While they called it state of the art technology, he called it lazy. Because of those programs, anyone could be an architect. All it took was a degree and they thought they all had as much skill as Filippo Brunelleschi.