Other than the certainty of awkwardness with Bailey, Skye had been looking forward to the meeting to go through the exact scope of work and pricing on the spec suite this week with Ellie. One of her favorite things about real estate was watching a raw space, a complete blank slate, be transformed into something tangible and beautiful and getting to be a part of the process. She knew that, sometimes, she could come on a little strong, but she had such a clear vision of what a space could look like—and in turn, how much she could lease it for—that she wanted to make sure she laid everything out for Ellie. That was part of her duty as the owner’s agent for leasing.
But, God, it was going to be uncomfortable with Bailey. Skye still wasn’t really sure what had happened last week. Bailey’s reaction had been so bizarre. It wasn’t like Skye had insulted blue-collar workers. It wasn’t like she had anything against them, but regardless, she didn’t want Ellie to notice any tension, so she was determined to keep things friendly and light during the walk-through.
As if summoned from her subconscious, Bailey walked through the front doors into the lobby with the intern in tow. Shit, what was the intern’s name? Skye was normally excellent with names, but for some reason, she was having a hard time coming up with this one, and she couldn’t admit it. Especially not after the faux pas last week that she still didn’t understand.
Skye implored her subconscious to kick in. What words might she have thought about this girl? She closed her eyes for a brief moment and pictured herself two weeks ago, standing in front of her. Young, inexperienced, curly hair, college, amateur…wait that was is. Jennifa the amateua. It didn’t matter that it didn’t exactly rhyme or that neither word was an actual word. Her name was Jennifer. The tension slid from Skye’s shoulders.
She opened her eyes and grinned as they walked up. Bailey’s ability to rock the dressier-than-business-casual but not-quite-business-formal look was quite charming. Today she was in dark jeans with a white blouse and a pinstriped charcoal blazer, the sleeves rolled up her forearms again. It seemed almost too casual for their world, but the way Bailey carried herself and the way her clothes fit made them perfect for the occasion.
Before Skye could spend too much time staring, she forced herself to say, “Bailey, Jennifer, great to see you again.” They both looked surprised, though Bailey hid hers a little better, and Skye gave herself a mental high five on the name recollection.
It didn’t last long, however, as awkwardness set in when no one said anything other than hello. Luckily, Skye was an accomplished small talker. “The sunshine today is gorgeous, isn’t it? So much nicer than a couple weeks ago. I’d wished I’d decided to wear galoshes instead of heels in that freezing torrential downpour.” She laughed at the memory of her poor wardrobe choices that day, but neither Bailey nor Jennifer even cracked a smile. Tough crowd.
Finally, Bailey said, “Yeah, I wish our office was closer so we could’ve walked today.”
“Where’s your office?” Skye asked, trying to keep the conversation going while praying that Ellie and Ryan would hurry the hell up; this was bordering on physically painful.
“West Loop,” Bailey answered curtly.
“Oh, nice. In one of the new office buildings that have gone up or been renovated in the last few years?”
“No, we’re in an older warehouse a little farther west. A little outside the ‘trendy’ area.” She actually made air quotes.
“Oh,” Skye said. Given their reputation as one of the premier interior construction companies in the city, she had been expecting City Beautiful Construction to be in a newer loft. Skye was a little disappointed. Thinking of CBC in an old building tarnished their image, as it seemed in contrast to what they stood for as an interiors construction company.
The tension was still palpable, Jennifer still looked like a nervous puppy, and Bailey’s eyes were shooting daggers her way, almost as if she could feel Skye’s judgment. Skye wondered if she should offer to buy lunch or something to clear the air but dismissed it because Jennifer being there would certainly make a candid discussion all but impossible.
Skye was preparing to talk about the Cubs’ opening day in another attempt to make small talk, but thankfully, Ellie and Ryan finally walked into the lobby, putting an end to the painful moments—that felt like hours—of stilted conversation. Even better, Bailey smiled when she looked toward them, and her face finally lit up. Skye wished she’d been the one to put that expression on Bailey’s face, but her heart still tripped.
She sighed as they approached. She hugged Ellie and shook Ryan’s hand. “Shall we head up and see what Bailey and Jennifer have for us today?”
“Perfect,” Ellie said.
When they all stepped off the elevator, Skye was pleasantly surprised to see Maureen Browning and Bradley Schrock, the property manager and chief engineer, standing just inside the vacant suite. Bradley was a pain in the ass whose primary word was no, but Maureen was nice and did a good job steering things from no to maybe with Bradley. Maureen was also efficient and didn’t believe in making things harder than they needed to be.
Before Skye had a chance to speak, Ellie said, “Oh, I forgot to mention that I also invited Maureen and Bradley. I thought they might be helpful in talking feasibility of construction, possible tenant impacts, etc.”
“Great idea,” Bailey said and walked in the suite door. “Maureen, Bradley, great to see you both again.” Her face lit up again as she smiled. She hugged them, and Skye wondered how she had time to get to know them so well since she’d only been working on this assignment for a few weeks. And she really didn’t seem all that friendly. Apparently, she just wasn’t that friendly to Skye.
Bailey pulled several folders from her leather messenger bag and handed them to Jennifer to pass around, pulling Skye from her thoughts before she could contemplate Bailey’s relationship with the building staff further. “Per our meeting on-site several weeks ago, Ryan drew up two separate plans on the most cost-effective location for the kitchen and the logical location for it if price were no option. If you open the folders Jennifer is passing around, you’ll see both drawings on either side of the folder and their respective bids.”
“Thank you,” Ellie said and tucked a lock of curly hair behind her ear.
Skye watched the group review the drawings. She didn’t need to review either as they were both crystal clear in her head, so she flipped to the important pages detailing how much each option would cost. She quietly inhaled through her teeth at the difference between the cost-effective plan and the one that she knew made more sense in the space. It was going to be a tough number to convince Ellie to take on.
Bailey said, “I wanted to meet on-site today to look at the bids and decide which layout makes more sense and see if there are areas to bring the price down by cutting nonessential elements.”
Skye suppressed her scoff. The “nonessential elements” had to be her additions to the plans.
Ellie whistled and said, “That’s a pretty large difference between both plans. Bailey, why is the number so much higher, and are there any places we could save?”
Skye wasn’t surprised to hear Ellie’s shock, but she hoped she could find a way to still convince Ellie to go with the costlier option.
Skye didn’t listen much to what Bailey said. She knew why it was more expensive. It wasn’t on the existing plumbing stack, and bringing plumbing to the other side of the space was costly. However, she was confident it was the right layout, so as soon as Bailey stopped talking, Skye said, “Ellie, I know the cost difference is more than what we’d like to see, but the kitchen makes so much more sense on this other wall. Envision, if you will, walking into the space and having an open reception area with room for a few guest chairs and artwork on this wall.” She gestured to her left. “Imagine the first impression of a bright, airy reception versus a closed reception with no room for seating.”
Skye hoped her words were making an impact. Ellie was nodding and seemed to be chewing on the inside of her cheek, which meant she was processing. Skye also chanced a glance at Bailey to see if the daggers were still coming her way and was pleased to see that they had been put away. For the moment, at least.
“Let’s keep walking and talking about tour impressions, Skye,” Ellie said.
Victory. Though Skye had a long way to go before she closed this deal, the fact that Ellie was entertaining this possibility despite the cost was a very good sign.
* * *
Bailey wasn’t sure why Skye kept glancing over as though trying to challenge her to disagree on the vision she was laying out. Bailey agreed that the more expensive layout would flow better in the space. That also worked out very well for Bailey, as a higher-cost buildout would mean more profit, both for her in-house crews and as the admin fee she tacked on each of her subcontractors’ contracts. She just wasn’t confident that, if she held the purse strings, she would be comfortable spending that much more on the space.
Skye was a marvel to watch. She had the entire group wound around her little finger with her vivid descriptions as she glided through the space, pointing and gesturing, creating a clear picture of what the space could look like. It really was no wonder that she was one of the top brokers in the city. Hell, Bailey was ready to lease the office before she was done, and she already owned her own building.
It also didn’t hurt that she had gorgeous blue-gray eyes that filled with delight as she talked about the views. Bailey could feel the excitement radiating from Skye’s lithe body as she moved gracefully and spoke about finishes. Watching her created a pleasant hum low in Bailey’s belly. Her palms grew damp. Everything about Skye in those moments was hypnotic.
Bailey realized she was zoning out, and the meeting was pretty much over as Ellie acquiesced, and Skye got everything she was asking for, even the glass wall she’d requested when she’d crashed Bailey’s subcontractor walk-through. Bailey really needed to focus. “Maureen, will you be drawing up the contract to get rolling on this?” she asked, eager to get the paperwork completed so she could start buying materials and contracting with her subs. She did a little internal cheer at the tidier profit, thanks to Skye’s persuasiveness.
“You’ll have it tomorrow,” she answered in her typical bouncy manner.
Bailey was gathering her things to leave as Skye asked, “Before we all head out, does everyone have a few minutes to run up to the seventeenth floor and look at the floor plan for the law firm that we’re getting close to terms with? Ryan has a tentative space plan, and it’d be great to get some feedback on feasibility and a ballpark estimate from you, Bailey. And Jennifer.” It sounded like she’d added Jennifer as an afterthought, but that was still progress as far as Bailey was concerned. And she’d remembered Jennifer’s name rather than referring to her as the intern as Bailey would’ve expected. Score one for Skye.
The detour only took about fifteen minutes, which was a relief as Bailey had a busy afternoon ahead. She had to get back to wrap up a few things at the office and then get home to get ready for the annual children’s hospital fundraising gala. It was a cause that she and her family strongly believed in, so City Beautiful Construction was always a sponsor. It was a little annoying because of the effort that went into getting ready, but it was also fun to get all glammed up. It wasn’t like she often had the occasion to wear a ball gown.
Working with Skye after their awkward wine date hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought. Wait. Not a date. Why had she called it that? Jesus. Definitely not a date. Skye seemed determined to put on a good show and pretend like nothing had happened, which was fine with Bailey and good for optics with Ellie. And Skye couldn’t really be expected to understand why Bailey was so sensitive on the blue-collar topic. It was possible that she might have overreacted. A little bit. But she really didn’t want to talk about it. And she still thought a little distance between them was better. They’d gotten entirely too comfortable over that wine.