Rivals

Chapter 6

~Jessica~

I walked inside the building with the blueprints tucked under my arm. The interior was very impressive with high ceilings, expensive leather sofas and huge windows through which sunlight poured into the room. I walked towards the elevator and pressed the button.

The doors of the elevator opened and I stepped in. I pressed the button which said 45 on it. The elevator stopped on the thirteenth floor and Richard stepped in waving at me. I smiled. "Hey Richard."

Richard Stevens was the interior designer. He was about six feet four inches tall with a light stubble and kind brown eyes. His brown hair was tied into a man bun. "Hi."

"How is work going on?"

"Work's fine. We're almost done with it, only a few things left. Although, we are facing a few problems."

"What is it?"

"Well Mrs.McCarty is asking us to change the roof design. She wants it to be a sunroof. I tried to convince her that it is already designed but she won't listen to reason."

"Sunroof?" I chuckled. "You know where she is now?"

"On the top floor waiting for you. She said she wants to talk to you."

I sighed. "Fine." I didn't like her. We already had to change the ceiling designs twice for her to fit 'her tastes'.

The doors of the elevator opened and I stepped out. On hearing the sound of the doors opening Mrs. McCarty turned towards me. She was a short and stout woman who always fur coats. She wore rings on each of her fingers and her blonde hair was always styled.

"Dear. I had a request. I just-"

"I'm sorry ma'am but we can't change anything. Because everything is already set now. If you want to change anything then we would have to break down the whole thing to redesign. It's a laborious process. We already changed it twice." I explained cutting her off.

"Well then I'll pay you twice to do it." She said wriggling her eyebrows and waving a bundle of hundred dollar bills in front of my face.

"I'm sorry but if you want to change it then you have to draft a different contract. In this case I can't really help you. I don't take bribes." I said.

"But..." She started angrily.

"I'm sorry." I said and turned to the workers. "I have the blueprints. Check it out I'll be with you shortly." I handed the papers to Richard. He nodded at me and and went to examine it.

I turned to Mrs.McCarty. "I intend to finish everything today so I'm sorry we can't make any changes."

"I'm already paying you so much, I can pay you more than a double of what I'm paying now" she started her face red with anger and frustration. "And first off, I'm the one who you're working for, I'm paying you, not the other way round".

"I'm sorry but it will cause disturbance to others. And then if I do it for you they will hate you for it. You won't be invited to parties and think about it. You'll be hated for breaking their houses. They will talk behind your back and your reputation will be ruined in society." I explained convincingly.

She sighed and then nodded. "You're right. Okay please continue with your work. And I'm sorry for what I said earlier" She admitted and walked away towards the elevator. I suppressed my laughter. I knew that this would work. I composed myself and went back to work.

We finished decorating the top floor by around six. I really liked the final outcome. And it was comparitively peaceful since Mrs.McCarty wasn't there.

I stood in the elevator with Richard. "Hey how did you manage to convince Mrs.McCarty?", he asked.

I put my index finger to my lips. "Shhh. It's a secret." I said laughing.

"Hats off to you." He said tipping his imaginary hat. I laughed and hit his shoulder lightly.

"Anyway you can go home now. I have to be in a meeting in forty-five minutes." I said checking my wrist watch.

"I swear you need to take a break. You're always working", he said.

"I like working", I said and shrugged.

"Yeah, so do I. But even I don't work as much as you", he said gesturing to himself.

"Hey I do take a break sometimes", I said defending myself.

"Oh really? When was the last time you actually did something fun?", he asked raising an eyebrow.

"There was that time when I... Or when I went.... Oh that time when I did....", I stuttered.

"Yeah?", He said his eyebrow still raised.

"Okay, I got nothing", I admitted.

"See? You need to do something fun. Why don't we go out somewhere? Bowling or just got to a club or something?", He asked casually but I could see the hopeful look in his eyes.

"Umm....why don't I tell you later? I just have to clear out my schedule a little", I said.

"A little?" He said with his eyebrows raised again.

"Okay a bit more than a little but still", I said grinning at him.

That moment the elevator doors opened and I stepped out. I turned around to say bye to Richard, when he said,"So I'll call you?" The hope still evident in his voice.

"Um.. okay. Bye Richard", I said, giving him a smile and walked towards my car.

I had just come out of the building and was about to walk towards my car when I saw none other than Noah Jackson standing in front of me.

Hey guys! Hope you liked the chapter. Please Vote, comment and share. And sorry if there are any mistakes.