Chapter Forty Five

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The Tour of Homes didn't go as planned. All the houses in the neighbourhood were decked up, decorated and designed; the Governor had visited with many government officials and clerks. He had personally roamed about each and every house, and finally decided on one.

Enigmatic Homes hadn't won. Richard sighed, seeing a hoard of journalists flashing their cameras at him, asking him how he was feeling after losing from his rival company, Jameson Interiors.

He smiled, "Winning and losing is all part of the profession. I don't mind losing from a worthy competitor." excusing himself, he trod towards all the other houses, and then noticed his team waving at him.

Henry dipped his head at him. "Sorry, Mr. Hamilton, we put the best effort we could-"

"You don't need to explain yourself, Henry. All of you did great work." He eyed all the team members and gave them a genuine smile. "Thank you so much, guys."

He saw House D for one last time. Seriously, his team had done a magical job. The house had been barren before this, the walls crumbling like anything. After their work, the green shine was back in the walls, with a luscious glow and lustre. The interiors, as his lovely team had designed, was promising and true to the core of the project. The inside walls were painted in that same, light green shade, and the decor was done beautifully.

To be able to describe it would need talent, he mused. The living room was spaciousness, with wooden furniture set aside in taste, there was a deeply embroidered carpet that hugged the floor in awe. The second floor had two bedrooms which were differently designed; one was spiritually designed with ancient scriptures in walls, false ceiling with drawing of yellow, vanilla flowers. And the other one was a fun room, loaded with a big TV, classic movie cassettes, and CDs, song playlists, games and what not.

The Governor had two sons, and Richard had intentionally thought a great deal about the house, which could provide both comfort and recreation. He smiled at the work he and his team had done, and at the people who were seeing the house and clicking pictures of it. Jean's marketing had worked, the public liked it but the Governor, however, had other views.

Jameson Interiors' House A was much more decorated and shiny. It looked like a festive house, and apparently the Governor's wife liked it. Not even a high government official could talk back to his wife, he laughed internally.

"Mr.Hamilton, is it?"

Richard turned around, his thought pattern breaking. "Oh, Mr. Governor, it's a pleasure." He wrung the old man's hand with enthusiasm.

The old man nodded. "Oh, call me Patrick. I'm so much impressed with your work. Your house was the only one which had a lot of thoughtfulness behind its designs. You've thought about every family members' needs."

Richard sighed, "Ah, thank you so much, Mr. Gov-- sorry, Patrick."

"I wanna talk to you about something."

Richard held his breath. "Yes, how can I help you?"

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Jean waited for Richard to arrive. It was almost evening when she trod downstairs to see Ben and Vivian sprawled all over the couch. Ben noticed her, his face in a line of concern. "Hey, what's up? Are you alright?"

She nodded her head, "Yes, thank you."

"Jean, missed you." Vivian hugged her the moment she stood in front of them.

"God, let her breathe, Viv." Ben remarked, and just after that, Vivian pulled out from the hug and made her sit beside him.

She looked around to see Alex helping out Faith through the stairs. By the time Faith had sat beside her, she began to feel overly concerned. Where was Richard? He had told her yesterday that he'd come by four. It was thirty minutes past four and everyone had already arrived. She began to feel a sickening kind of fear at the pit of her stomach.

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