Chapter 6 I Only Want Her... Design
"Remember the designer evaluation a month ago? Mr. Howard saw your design work and said he really liked it. So he came here today to ask you to design his villa's courtyard. Go meet him in the first conference room," Nadia said in a rush.
"Allie, this is a great opportunity. You should take it," one of her colleagues said.
"Absolutely. And once you seal the deal, Alpha Rhett can take you out to dinner," another colleague added, sounding envious.
Alicia tried to hide her surprise. She knew Mr. Howard wouldn't have come to her directly, considering her boss Mr. Rhett was even better than her. and an Alpha of the King of Rogues level should be in charge of the boss himself in Shinfancy.
However, she was shocked that Mr. Howard had found her workplace so quickly. Perhaps Alpha Ellis had something to do with it.
When Alicia entered the conference room, she caught a whiff of lavender emanating from Damian's skin.
Damian was already seated and flipping through the studio's design magazine. He didn't get up but stayed seated, admiring Alicia's clothes and dress. Then he offered a friendly smile. "Miss Scarlett? Nice to meet you."
He pretended he didn't know her. Alicia forced a friendly smile, "Yes, I'm Alicia Scarlett. Thank you for choosing Shinfancy Studio, Mr. Howard."
"Please, have a seat," Damian said, gesturing to the chair opposite him. It almost seemed as though he was her boss and she was a job seeker.
"I wish Miss Scarlett and I could be alone for a moment." Damian looked up at Lilith, who was still sitting across the table, with a tone that brooked no refusal.
"Sure. Behave yourself, Alicia," Lilith replied, reminding Alicia.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Damian complimented Alicia on her professional appearance. "You look beautiful. Really look like a professional."
Alicia blushed at his words."Stay focused, Alicia. This is just the effect of the mate pull. You're at work!" her mind reminded her.
"Thank you, Mr. Howard," she whispered, quickly sitting down on the opposite side of him and trying to compose herself.
"Shall we get started?" Alicia said, trying to steer the conversation back to the design project. "I hear you're planning to change the landscaping in your villa's courtyard."
Damian seemed more interested in talking about food and wine than design. "You know, there's a seafood restaurant on the next street. It's famous for its lobster pasta and white wine menu." he said.
"Is it? I didn't know that. Can I know what kind of design style you like?" Alicia tried to redirect the conversation back to design.
"The chef said the white wine he paired with the meal was airlifted from an Italian vineyard." Damian showed his clean teeth and seemed determined to talk about anything but that.
"Is there anything, in particular, Mr. Howard would like regarding the plants in the courtyard?" If he didn't talk about design again, Alicia would end this pointless meeting.
"Speaking of wine, you know I prefer reds. I used to love the reds from my winery in Barolo. But I realized I was wrong until last night."
Damian took a deep breath, smiled, and continued, "Last night I tasted the best red wine in the world. It made me realize that the ones I used to drink were grape juice."
Was he referring to her when he said the best red wine? The lingering memory of last night's affair reminded Alicia that Damian seemed to have complimented her on smelling like a fine red wine.
Alicia's cheeks quickly turned red, the red spreading to her earlobes. At the same time, she could clearly smell her favorite scent of lavender coming from Damian.
But she knew that the moment she signed the marriage contract, free love, and a fated mate had no meaning to her.
Alicia bit her lip and said, "Mr. Howard, please stop talking about things that have nothing to do with the design project. If you're here to tease me, you've succeeded. You may leave now,"
As soon as Damian realized that he had crossed a line in his conversation with Alicia, he swiftly changed the subject. "Actually, I've had a change of heart. I'd like to offer you an extension on our collaboration and bring some more projects into the mix. I own a few properties outside of Los Angeles – about eight or nine, to be precise – and I'd love for you to design their yards!"
Alicia's eyes widened as she heard Damian's words. As far as she knew, Shinfancy had never received so many requests at once. "I'm sorry, Mr. Howard," she replied. "I'm afraid I'm not equipped to handle so many orders. You'll have to consult with my boss, Mr. Rhett."
"Mr. Rhett?" Damian raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
At that moment, they heard a knock on the door. "Excuse me!" Lilith's voice called out. Alicia and Damian turned to see Lilith entering the conference room with a man behind her. Alicia recognized him immediately - it was her boss, Mr. Rhett.
Damian took stock of Rhett's appearance as he introduced himself. The brown-haired man was around six feet tall and had a pair of gray-blue eyes that looked suspicious as he glanced at them. After assessing Rhett's figure, Damian thought it didn't look as strong as he was.
"Are you Mr. Howard? I'm Rhett Boucher, the owner of Shinfancy Studio. Pleasure to meet you." Rhett extended his hand first to Damian, who was still sitting in the chair.
"Damian Howard," Damian said unfazed, standing up and shaking Rhett's hand even though he only said his name.
"Mr. Howard is here to find a designer for his courtyard. I believe Alpha Rhett is the best choice for the work." Lilith said with a smile.
"But I think I've told you the designer I want after I step into the studio." Damian said, not giving Lilith a smile before turning his head to look at Alicia, "That's Alicia Scarlett. I only want her...design." He paused for a second then finished his sentence.
He must have paused deliberately. Alicia thought and unnaturally avoided the glance of Damian as he met hers. But she had to admit that she was a little excited because this was the first time a client had assigned her to a design project.
Lilith, on the other hand, felt her smile falter for a moment. She had been a designer for five years. But she had never encountered an Alpha-level client when she was a newcomer. If word got out that a junior designer was chosen over her and Alpha Rhett, it would be a major blow to their reputations. She wouldn’t let it happen.
Lilith quickly regained her expression and put on a brave face. "Mr. Howard, I understand that you were drawn to Alicia's work on our website," she said. "But that design was done by Alicia under the direction of Alpha Rhett. I'm sure Alpha Rhett understands exactly the kind of design you want."
Lilith's reluctance to put her in charge of the project was palpable. Realizing this, Alicia couldn't help but feel disheartened as she looked down at the notebook she had brought along to jot down the client's preferences. Her heart sank like a stone thrown into a lake.
"Miss Scarlett was fired from your company? Or your beta never listens to the customer?" Damian's eyebrows furrowed as he glared at Rhett, his mood apparently soured by what Lilith had said.
Alicia lifted her gaze and focused on Mr. Howard's handsome face. He was hinting to her boss that he must want her to be in charge of designing his courtyard.
Could it be that he wasn't just here to toy with her?