“Melody, I wanna see you there in ten minutes, too,” he called out after me.
“Yes, sir.”
I heard the phone ring as I opened my office door and walked quickly to grab the phone.
“Ryan?” I breathed out.
“Umm, hi Melody,” he chuckled.
“I asked Mr. Hawke and he wanted you all to be here in ten minutes,” I told him.
“Oh, great! I’ll gather the crew as fast as I can.”
“Yeah. Don’t make him wait. See you later,” I said, ending the call.
I noticed the post-it under the phone and thanked the previous assistant silently. Stacey’s number was noted there.
“Hi! It’s Stacey from Hawke Architecture,” she chirped to the line.
“Hey,Stacey! Can you send some snacks to the conference room in ten minutes max? Mr. Hawke is about to have a meeting with the design crew.”
“Consider it done, Melody. Also, congratulations on the new job. I knew you’d get it.”
“Thanks, Stacey! See you around,” I said, shutting the phone.
Grabbing my notepad and tablet, I walked out of my office at the same time the elevator door opened. Six people got out of the cabin and headed toward the conference room. One of the guys stayed behind and walked to me, smiling.
“Melody? I’m Ryan Derrick, we talked on the phone. Congratulations on your job,” Ryan said. He reminded me of Michael Scofield from Prison Break –buzz cut hair, clean shaven face, blue eyes. He had black glasses on as an addition.
“Thank you! Nice to meet you, Ryan.”
“Are you planning on joining us, Miss Crown and Mr. Derrick or are you enjoying yourselves over there?” Kellan scowled, passing us without a second glance.
Kellan was shooting daggers at me when I entered the room, why I had no idea.
“Okay, ladies and gentlemen… let’s start. We are at that time of the year again, Christmas is two months away and we need to find a charity to design and build for. This isn’t a conference, this is a brainstorming session and I’m expecting you to come to me with ideas. Five minutes… think, everyone! And at the end of that five minutes, I’ll hear different ideas from each one of you,” Kellan urged the crew, walking around the table.
For a few seconds people looked at each other with confused expressions, but my focus was on Kellan. He turned his back to the crew, but from where I was I could see the side of his face. His eyes were focused on the distance, his hands were in his pockets and his back was straight. He looked like the most powerful man on earth at that moment, it fascinated me.
Then, I remembered his speech. Was he designing and building for charities every year? How cute and thoughtful was that? Under that hot, asshole persona he had a big heart. That fascinated me more, causing tingles on my body.
“Five minutes up! Let’s hear the ideas,” Kellan turned to face the crew.
“How about a shelter for dogs?” Ryan started with the first idea.
“Good… next?” Kellan made eye contact with others.
“I was thinking of a mansion for homeless people,” a girl offered. Her strawberry blonde hair, freckles on her cheekbones and nose, she looked so beautiful and pure. Her suggestion showed how kind her soul was, but if that wasn’t enough her features were highlighting it.
“What was your name?” Kellan asked.
“Susan, sir.”
“Good, Susan. Very good… and the weather becomes colder,” Kellan nodded.
“A rehabilitation place for addicts, maybe?” another girl offered.
“There was a childcare in my street… a place that took care of the children who experienced violence in their family. But the building was so old the rain affected it badly a few months ago. Now, the children are staying in a big saloon because the ceiling leaks. This is a small charity so they don’t have enough funds. How about we build a new place for them?” a guy suggested. I was so touched with all the suggestions, but this one won me since it was about children.