Heartbeats in Moonlight

Chapter 25

A week later Ella put the ten drawings on the desk and stood back to allow David an opportunity to look at the baseline diagrams. She was determined to keep things as businesslike as possible. She needed to stay in control of her emotions. She needed to prove that she could move on, that even if she loved him, it didn't have to dictate how she lived her life.

"Lise, take a look at these." He spread the diagrams on the desk, and beckoned Lise over with a welcoming smile, "You have a better eye than me, and decent style. I'd like your opinion. Your place is tasteful." Lise practically beamed.

Of course Ella knew Lise, she was the daughter of the local bank manager. Tall, blonde and built. Ella began to take her laptop out of the case.

Lise sashayed past Ella, leaned over to kiss David full on the mouth. David disengaged quickly. Ella missed his look of annoyance at Lise's antics, as she had turned away quickly. Once again she felt the lance of pain spear through her.

Lise glanced at the first sketch and frowned. "Oh, this is so bland, don't you think?" She turned to Ella, and without any hesitation asked, "I can be brutally honest can't I?"

Really, thought Ella, what do you think is brutal, if you consider telling an interior designer that your plans are bland! But Ella said nothing for two reasons. The kiss. And it wasn't her place to say anything.

She'd made these preliminary sketches for David as a starting point and she'd brought her laptop to show him various options based on the current bases and how they, in particular David, could change things to suit his requirement. Plus she would take down some of his ideas on the hard copies, tweak the diagrams on her laptop to reflect his sentiments, to try and get a feel for what he'd like. He'd given her so little information to work from, and she had started with pure clean lines, keeping everything simple. She was hoping to talk him through them, to ask what he'd like in each room, what sort of ambience, then she would add bits to the sketch by putting in some of the indicative pieces she'd programmed into her laptop and her scribbled notes from their discussion today. But neither David nor Lise gave her an opportunity to explain the situation or how she worked. Instead both were looking at the base line and shredding it.

"These aren't you darling." She looked at David, and shook her head, as if she was an authority on interior decorating and on David, she added, "They're cold and unfeeling. That's not you. The rooms are so empty. Not your style." She turned to Ella and with supreme confidence said, "You don't understand him. This isn't his taste." Lise rubbed up against David. Ella did her best not to flinch.

"I see." Ella kept her voice even, her tone balanced, but obviously not balanced enough as she added, "What would you say is his taste?"

"There's no need to be like that." Lise snapped picking up on the barbs within the question. "I told you I would be honest. In fact I told David earlier, that I would be honest if I don't like it. And I'm just saying that this, your sketch for his house, well, it isn't him. These sketches are dull and cold. David is warm and exciting, and well, actually.... "

Ella interrupted. "As I don't know him, as well as you, obviously, I'm asking you what is his taste?" Ella's voice raised a notch and the strain was starting to be heard.

David watched her carefully, trying to see behind that enormous wall she'd put up.

"As I started to say, Dave is warm hearted. He's a kind, strong, independent, generous, passionate guy. If you wanted to design something to suit his personality you should at least have spoken to him."

"I did." Ella was furious with herself. Why was she explaining herself to this woman?

"Dave said apart from your last visit you haven't been in touch."

True she didn't want to appear as if she was using this as a reason to see him every ten seconds. "I was told to go ahead." Ella replied coolly, waiting for David to confirm the statement.

"Yes, but the least you could have done was to actually find out about his tastes. These are hopeless. Not even the essence of the man." Lise was on a roll, "These are dull, dull, dull. He's exciting. Vibrant." Lise threaded her arm around his waist and brushed a kiss against his lips. David tried to put some space between them without making it too obvious to either woman. Lise turned and told Ella, "You've screwed up." Lise smiled as she leaned in to try and kiss him again.

Ella didn't bat an eyelash even though her heart squeezed painfully. Instead she simply stood and waited for the couple to disengage. David looked exasperated as he put a bit of distance between him and Lise. Ok, he acknowledged, inviting Lise was a big mistake. She was treating him like he was her property

"I'm sorry to be so harsh. But frankly a toddler could do better." Lise said, annoyed by the fact that David was being standoffish.

David kept his eyes on Ella and wondered what was going on behind those shutters. If someone had been rude about him, the way Lise was being rude about Ella's work, he'd be angry. More than angry. But Ella simply stood there, waiting, as if nothing extraordinary was going on. She had a poker face that gave nothing away. He wanted to shake her.

Still Ella said nothing, but behind her back her hands had curled and her nails were digging into her fleshy palms as she strove to remain calm.

David tried to stop himself from getting annoyed. But he didn't quite make it. "She has a point Ms Jones." He began in a calm voice that was never the less insulting, "I could have gone to the hardware store and picked up these shades of blue paint." Still Ella said nothing. He raised his chin and added with a touch more acid, hoping to force her to drop that poker face, "I'm paying for your creative services. Not bland nothingness."

"I hope you haven't paid yet, darling." Lise interrupted, sensing that David was finally going to go in to bat for her view. "I mean any three year old could have drafted this."

Still Ella said nothing. Instead she closed her laptop and put it back in her bag.

"So now what?" David challenged, even as he took note of what she wore. Her clothes were work clothes, a business suit and but she wore it with panache and subtle sexiness.

"Now you decide if you wish to continue with my services." She zipped up the bag, her actions suggesting she was merely giving him factual information, when in reality she was giving him an ultimatum.

He snorted, folded his arms and challenged with increasing ire. "That depends on whether I'm going to get more of the same." He gestured toward the drawings.

She told him coolly, "When we arranged this meeting, Mr Mackenzie, I hadn't anticipated company." Like last time. Ella added, "This is the baseline, our starting point. I layer it in different ways using a simulation on my laptop, see what you like, get a feel for what style you want and how you feel about each layer. A digital mood board presenting the vibe."

"So it's only half finished." Lise challenged before Ella could say anymore.

"It isn't half finished." Ella replied bluntly as she retrieved the diagrams and began to roll them up carefully.

Lise bristled, she found Ella's calm insistence aggravating to say the least. "Did you ask for references, darling?" Lise felt provoked, she glanced at David, "I'm not sure she knows what she's doing. Even I could do better, and I probably wouldn't cost you the earth." Ella stopped, took a breath to regain her composure, and then carried on putting her diagrams away. Lise grinned smugly at Ella and said pointedly, "These sketches are amateur and because we don't like them she's pretending they were just the foundation." Her accusations hung in the air for all of a second, before Ella decided that enough was enough.

"I'm sorry you feel they are amateur and that you don't like them. As your opinion clearly matters to Mr Mackenzie I won't take up any more of his or your time." Ella glanced around, checked to see if she had left anything that belonged to her and then she turned to leave.