Seven Days: The Complete Story (16 page)

Inside the
building, I stop for a second taking in the space surrounding me.
Wow. It’s beautiful. I mean, like uber beautiful. The Blackwood
floor is so hard and shiny I feel like I could actually take off my
shoes and skate in my stockings to the reception. The walls are
painted in soft ivory tones that remind me of a milky cup of tea.
Vivid white trim decorates the architraves and skirtings. In a
small sitting area to my left, a gilt mirror the size of the
chimneybreast dominates the space. A coffee table is piled with
home and design magazines and though these are the only adornments
apart from sofas, it feels homey and somehow right. If this is any
indication of the level of work and expectation this firm has, I’m
up for the challenge. I walk to a large reception desk and put on
my bravest smile.

“Hi. I’m Sadie
Cooper. I’m to be an intern here for the next month. Can you point
me in the direction of Jill O’Halloran please?”

Wow. I sound
so confident I almost fooled myself.

Jill is my new
boss. She’s in charge of the landscaping arm of Hardwick and
Lawson. Even before she joined them she’d won awards for city and
park design. She’s a genius and I’m super stoked about having the
chance to be in her presence, let alone watch the way she works.
Hopefully, some of her brilliance will rub off.

The woman
behind the desk smiles at me. I note she’s wearing a white business
shirt and a tight dark skirt. I’m happy I seem to have made a good
fashion choice for my first day. It relieves one tiny stress.

“Hello, Sadie.
I’m Laura, Mr Hardwick and Mr Lawson’s PA. We’ve been so excited to
meet you. The placement officer from the Uni has told us about your
awards last year. I know Mr Lawson, in particular, wants to have a
chat when you’ve found your way around and settled in a little.
He’s always keen to support new talent and he wants to hear about
new developments in the industry.”

Nicholas
Lawson wants to hear my ideas? I have died and gone to heaven.

“Um.
Yeah.”

“Jill’s office
is on the first floor, first door at the top of the stairs. I’ll
let her know you’ve arrived so you can go straight on up.” Laura
presses an intercom button and speaks into it. She motions for me
to go up the stairs.

Oh god. I’m
going to crap myself.

The rest of
the morning flies by in a blur. I meet the small team of landscape
designers, including Jill, and am shown around the office. I learn
how they like their coffee and how to operate the photocopier,
which is as I expected. Then I’m sent to the local sandwich bar to
place the orders for lunch for everyone. I’m glad I wrote them
down, I’d never be able to remember the various combinations of
bread and rolls and fillings everyone likes.

As we sit
eating our sandwiches, Jill fills me in on what’s happening for the
rest of the day. “So we’ve got a full team meeting after this.
Everyone, right down to the plumber will be there as we’re about to
start construction on the new Iris project the guys have been
setting up for about six months now.”

This is
exciting. I’ve read about this online. I’d hoped to see something
of it.

“That’s the
rebuild of the old Art Deco apartment building up the street,
right? The one that got burnt out by fire a few years back?”

I hope I'm
impressing her with my knowledge of this. Plenty of the people I go
to school with would have no clue about the latest architecture in
the city.

“That’s the
one. Very ambitious, even for us. You’re welcome to come and blend
into the background. In fact, Nick specifically requested that you
come.”

I’m yet to
meet the mysterious Nick Lawson but I know how he likes his
sandwiches. He sounds slightly dictatorial and I hope he’s not. I
hope he lets me do something while I’m here other than traipse to
the shops and back ‘cause I’ve been honing that skill since I was
fourteen. I just never bought anything.

“What’s he
like? Mr Lawson?”

“Lovely. A
great boss and such a talented guy. I shouldn’t be saying this
because he’d totally have me for being unprofessional but Nick’s
adorable. They both are. Nick’s about the design process and the
creation whereas Joel likes to be hands on, like me. He loves
bringing the design to life, doing the little tweaks to perfect it.
He spends most of his time on site but he’s in the office today.
Everyone’s here when we have a team meeting. It keeps us on the
same page.”

I don’t know
why, maybe it’s the excitement of being here, but my mind actually
glosses over the fact that she just mentioned the names Joel and
Nicholas in one sentence. It’s as if I blotted those names from my
memory the morning I walked out on them. Or maybe I’m simply too
dim to connect the dots.

“My supervisor
emailed you a copy of the assignment I have to submit after the
prac, right?” I ask.

“She did, and
we’re happy to help you with it where we can. Feel free to pick
anyone’s brain when they’re not up to their armpits in work. You
can learn a lot by sitting and listening too and by asking
questions about current projects.”

From what
Jill’s saying, it sounds like a lot of time is going to be spent in
the office. I’d hoped for more outdoors, but hey, I’m at Hardwick
& Lawson. Who’s going to complain?

“Do you go out
into the field much?” I ask. “You know, help with the practical
side of the hard and soft landscaping? I’d like to experience that
aspect of the work, if I can. I’m happy to tag along with anyone
who’ll have me if I can’t go with you.”

“Digging about
in the dirt is what I love most, Sadie. And that cute little
officey outfit you’ve got on today is fine when we’re working here,
but your going to need some overalls and work boots for site
visits. I like to help with the building and planting. It’s
satisfying to know you had a hand in actually making the thing
you’ve designed. It's a form of closure seeing it through to
completion. Well, for me anyway. I’m expecting you to get in and
get your hands dirty as well.”

I grin. This
is exactly what I was hoping to hear. “I can’t wait. I love being
in the garden. When my mum was alive we used to spend every weekend
doing a couple of hours in her garden. She had such a green
thumb.”

“And you
garden now?”

“Not so much
but I want to have my own garden one day, build it from scratch. At
the moment, I live in a tiny flat with my best friend. Our outdoor
space is a metre wide balcony with a few pots of herbs I planted
and two chairs.”

Jill nods. “I
started out the same way. Still don’t have that garden though. I’m
too busy building outdoor spaces for other people.”

While we chat,
I finish my lunch. Jill gives me a description of the new project
along with the plans for the landscaping she’s going to present at
today’s meeting. She also has a slide show of current jobs she’s
going to seek input on. Then, she glances at her watch and tells me
it’s time to go. I don’t know why but my heart speeds up as we walk
along the hall to a large back room flooded with sunlight. It’s
probably nerves. I mean, I’m about to be in the presence of two of
my idols.

We enter the
room and Jill sits at the back of a long mahogany table. I find a
chair and sit behind her against the wall, trying to make like a
curtain. Not knowing the protocol, I don’t want to overstep my
place — I’m an intern — even if they did ask me to come to the
meeting. Then Jill drags out the chair beside her. “While you’re
with us you’re part of the family. You sit at the table with the
rest of the staff.” She pats the seat beside her and gives me a
smile.

I’m about to
move when I’m stopped in my tracks by a deep, familiar voice.
“Couldn’t agree more.”

Suddenly, I’m
physically incapable of moving. My heart has jumped into my throat.
My pulse is racing like I've downed a dozen energy drinks in a row.
It can’t be. It can’t.

Slowly,
disbelievingly, I raise my eyes to see the man that matches that
voice. He’s standing in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling
the space like he owns it. Which he does, of course. He’s wearing a
pale blue business shirt, open at the neck with the sleeves rolled
halfway up his forearm. His black pants are clearly tailored to fit
his body because as he crosses one foot casually in front of the
other and leans on the doorjamb, my heart literally explodes in my
mouth cutting off my airway. He looks
that
good.

Nicholas.
Nicholas Lawson.

How could I
not have put two and two together? Well, obviously because there’s
a million Nicholas’ in the world and I am a complete idiot.

What do I do
now? Do I say ‘hi’ like he’s my friend? Do I look away like it’s
that awkward see-a-guy-you’ve-slept-with moment? Or do I pretend I
don’t even know him? It would be so much easier if I didn’t.

Unable to make
a choice, I keep staring and he stares back. He blinks slowly and
there’s a hint of recognition he’s trying to hide, a faint devilish
smile sent in my direction. I’m swallowing but my lungs can’t get
air because of my heart in my mouth. I try to move but my feet are
glued annoyingly to the floor, which is almost as bad as the fact
that my eyes are glued to his handsome face. I’m sure I’m making a
bad impression here but it’s impossible for me to know how I should
react.

Nicholas.

I’m breathing
his name in my head. I’m trying not to smile or quiver or
something. Hell, I don’t know what I’m trying not to do. This was
one scenario I did
not
map out in my sleepless hours last
night.

Then I feel a
hand on my arm.

“Sadie? This
is Nicholas Lawson.” Jill’s eyes are on me and I know she knows
what I’m thinking because I’m pretty sure she’s thought it too on
more than one occasion. How could she manage to work with him all
day and
not
think it? He is one of the most talented
architects in the country and he’s hot.
Soooo
hot. “Nick,
this is Sadie Cooper, the intern.”

Gathering
himself, Nicholas strides the length of the table, stopping in
front of me. He holds out his hand and I take it, almost collapsing
at the familiar memory that surges into my brain and dances around
unbidden. God, how can I sit through a staff meeting when I’ve seen
this man naked? He’s been inside me! They must be able to see
it.

Oh, this is
hectic. My mind is spinning and nothing is making sense.

“Sadie.”

“Yes?” I
stammer and promptly drop my pen on the floor, which I follow by
unglamorously banging my head on the table while attempting to
retrieve it. “I, uh, I…”

Now I’m
tongue-tied. The entire office must be wondering what the hell
they’ve gotten into by taking me on. I’m going to be relegated to
coffee duty for the whole month. Assuming I last the month. After
this little performance, they might ask me not to come back at the
end of the day.

“I understand
you won an innovation award last year?” he continues. He’s trying
to ease this awkwardness; I know he is. Did he know I was coming?
Is that how I got to be here?

“Um yes.”
Thank God. My tongue has found its muscles. “It’s not usually
awarded to third year students.” I’m pretty proud of that fact.

“So I heard.
Glad to have you on board.” He moves past me to a seat and I’m
forced to sit between him and Jill which is utterly mortifying, but
only for me, of course. No one else seems to care. In fact, from
the way they’re tuned into their phones and iPads, I don’t think
anyone even knows I’m alive. Which is one small mercy.

Nicholas
plonks a large file of documents onto the table. He sorts them into
piles and squares each one off like he's ordering the meeting in
his head. He places his pen on the table in front of him, the smile
still on his face. A leather knotted bracelet slides to the edge of
his wrist and his fingers linger for a moment as he adjusts it. I
totally forget where I am; I'm so lost in the movement. His hands
are lovely.
Sooo
lovely. I want them to touch me again. No,
I need them to.

He looks
about. “Anyone seen Wonder Boy this afternoon?”

Someone
answers from the other end of the table. “He's on his way.
Traffic.”

“Amend that
statement. He's here,” says a second voice from the doorway. This
time I don't need to look to know it's Joel. I can smell the
distinctive smell of the soap he uses from where I'm sitting. It's
sending messages to my brain to retrieve those dirty memories I
have packed away for lonely nights. Parts of my body have begun to
tighten in ecstatic recognition. I may have an orgasm right here in
my seat… if I don't die of embarrassment first.

Joel's smile
is wide. He steps into the room bidding a cheeky good afternoon to
the assembled group. Then, he pauses. His eyes glance briefly in my
direction, a small crinkle forming between his eyebrows. He's seen
me sitting next to Nicholas and he’s not happy.

“Nick.” Joel
nods. “Jill.”

“This is Sadie
Cooper,” Nicholas says. I instantly deflate because he hasn't
acknowledged that he knows me. I mean, I can totally understand why
but it still hurts. At least I know where I stand now, that we’re
playing the ‘I don't know you’ game. I mean, what else could he do
in a situation like this. It's so weird.

Nicholas
finishes his sentence. “She's interning with us for the month.”

“Right.”
There's a faint look of displeasure on Joel's face. I've seen that
look before. I know that look. Clearly, this was all on Nicholas.
Joel knew as much about my arrival as I did.

The meeting
begins and plans and 3D mock-ups are projected onto a screen at the
end of the room. There's discussion about time lines and
contractors and heritage listings. It's impressive. Seriously. I'm
in awe of these people and their skill. I can't believe my luck at
being here.