Love to Hate You: Three's a Crowd

Chapter Thirty-two - Baptism of Fire

Lydia did want to be a managing partner. She even offered to invest in the business, suggesting that they ought to look into virtual reality technology so that clients could see their designs come to life by feeling like they were standing inside their build. She claimed it would reduce the amount of mid-build changes and set them apart from competitors. But only for a while, she insisted, because everyone was bound to go down the VR route at some point, and they could either be trend-setters, or followers.

'Would you expect to have your name above the door?' Chris asked.

'Not necessarily,' she replied. 'I think that's something we could review at a future point. I want responsibility and input but I don't believe that I necessarily need to be a named partner to achieve that.' Chris breathed a sigh of relief.

'The paperwork...' he told her, shaking his head. 'It would have been a nightmare. I have no problem having a female partner, of course, and a woman has just as much right to be named as a man. And a Scot, too, because Munro is clearly Scottish, and I'm not a little Englander. I believe in the Union.' He frowned. 'Although, I do of course believe in your... people's right to independence if they so wish,' he finished. Lydia gave him a withering look.

'I'm from Bristol.'

'But Munro –' Chris began, before Lydia silenced him.

'Is my father's name. He's from Bath. His father was a true Scot, though. His ancestors fought in the battle of Culloden, I believe.' Chris was not familiar with that part of Scottish history, however, because it was Scottish and not English. Barely even British. Besides, he hadn't seen Outlander; it contained too much nudity.

'Well,' he said weakly, because he felt rather foolish. 'Yes. Absolutely. As I was saying, the paperwork... You can of course be named, as a woman and as someone of Scottish descent, but the paperwork... Let's review the situation in one – maybe two, or three – perhaps five years?' Rafe could see that his friend was about to say something else pandering, so he quickly said, –

'I like your suggestion about virtual reality, though. I'm not sure what it would cost to set it up, but I can certainly see it being popular with residential builds.'

'It would be very helpful for the hard landscaping, too,' Lydia explained. 'A lot of people struggle to grasp how much planting they'll need. They tend to massively under-estimate – and baulk at the cost as a result – or they go to the other extreme because they can't grasp how big a plant will grow and how it can affect light. VR will allow us to show clients a room or garden as the sun moves throughout the day.'

'Mattie could help with fleshing out the designs – in the short-term, at least. It would be a 3D version of what she was doing for Oliver Thompson, wouldn't it?'

'Precisely,' Lydia nodded.

'But how will Mattie have time if she's cutting down to four days a week?' Chris asked.

'There's a chance she'd be willing to work on it during her day off. She finds art very therapeutic,' Rafe suggested, wondering if it would help his wife to feel zen – whatever that actually meant.

'Is it official, then? She's going part-time?' Lydia asked.

'She is,' Rafe nodded. 'If this year has shown us anything, it's that Mattie needs to focus on herself and make her own decisions. She's asked for this change, and I want to support her.'

'Well done,' Lydia told him. 'I approve. A little space from each other will help, too.' Rafe's lips twitched. He could well picture himself coming home from work on a Friday evening – having spent twelve hours apart. Mattie would be all over him. Practically rampant, and he'd actively encourage her.