Beach Side Romance

Chapter 7: Site Visits

Julian POV

The night before, I asked Lizzie to text Olivia for me to just remind her of today. Liz did so without question and after a while my phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number.

“See you @ 8AM tomorrow, Client - O”

I smiled at the message, and looked at Lizzie who was snooping around. I stared at her “she asked for your number so she could reply directly. I’m not your messenger, so do it yourself! I already introduced you to one who seems to be an amazing girl, so your welcome.” She said curtsying. “It’s a client meeting, Lizzie,” I said rolling my eyes at her. I honestly don’t know how Luca keeps up with this woman.

Deciding to take the Z4 for a spin, here I am driving into her porchway 5 minutes before 8. I got out to wait out front and texted her “I’m out front, Consultant. ” By the time I hit send, it just took a little while before she emerged from her front door. “Good Morning, Client. Here” she said offering me an insulated mug. “I didn’t know how you liked your coffee but that’s with a splash of sweetened creamer.” I took the mug from her and said, “let me take that for you,” grabbing her bag and opening the door before placing her stuff inside the boot. She was shocked to say the least, but brushed it off quickly. When I got in the car, she was already settled and buckled up. I quickly did the same and headed for the road. 

As we were driving, I told her a bit about the history of the project, why it was there, why it was modern by design, and how I ended up with that project. “If you noticed, it’s all open, floor to ceiling glass, spacious and breezy, balconies in every unit. But it needed a modern touch without being too out of place because of where it was located.” We were on the foot of a mountain driving by the sea when she pulled out her sunglasses and started asking questions about the common areas of the complex, she continued and went on about her questions when I interrupted. “You seem to be quite a freelancer just noticing your conversations with Liz. Do you also do hands-on? Or is it really just consultation?” I asked turning to her while reaching for the glove compartment to get my own glasses. “I’ve done part time hands-on design, just small spaces. Sort of a hobby if you ask me since it’s just all certificates from short courses here and there. I majored in Employee Relations and Structural Design back in college. When I started in the firm I was with Human Resources, but the promotion I got led me to the consult on structural designs and doing some ER along with it.” She said as she looked at the view. “I did mostly apartment rooms of friends and referrals who requested a curated space when I had the time to accommodate. I designed Andrea’s room before she was born but that was mostly it.” She added.

We went to a local diner just about 5 minutes away from the site. “Let’s grab some breakfast, and we’ll do an inspection of the site after. Yeah?” I asked, and she nodded. I quickly unbuckled and opened my door and ran to open hers. She was caught by surprise, “you really don’t need to do that you know” she said. “I don’t but I insist, if you don’t mind.” I replied with a smile. She nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was in a loose white shirt that was half-tucked into her acid wash jeans that she wore with a braided brown belt and black Chuck Taylors. We dined outside as it gave a good picture of the sea and the mountainside. As we settled down, a middle-aged woman approached us to take out orders. “I’ll have some strawberry buttermilk pancakes please and some orange juice and a bottle of water.” She requested. “And I will have some bacon and eggs with buttermilk pancakes and the same drinks as she’s having” I ordered.

“The site isn’t too far from here, probably just 5 minutes away.” She nodded as I sipped my coffee from the insulated mug she gave me earlier. It wasn’t my usual, but it was a good brew. “So, Client. What’s the agenda?” She asked as our food arrived. “Breakfast, Site inspection, Late Lunch, and if you’re up for it, site seeing?” I mapped out. “Sure. So do you agree that we are Client and Consultant only during the Site Inspection? Or are meals included?” She inquired. “I say, let’s keep breakfast casual, you know just Julian and Olivia. Lunch we can discuss later as we go through the site inspection.” I answered. 

We chatted about mostly our college days and our current career choices and drifted to our sisters, and then relationships. While we were at that topic, she asked, “how did you meet your crazy ex girlfriend?”. I chuckled at her description looking back to a week ago where I was the one who told her that. “Met her at an officemate’s party. She was one of his good friends way back I don’t know when. Started dating a bit after that, and when things got more serious after about a year, I asked her how she wanted to move forward and she well-said that she wanted to keep her options open.. date other men, so I suppose. I wasn’t up for it. I know I’m just 26, but I want to actually be with someone who you know.. just also shares the same thoughts on what they look for when they date.” I said biting on my bacon. “You didn’t get to the crazy-ex bit. I’m disappointed” she rolled her eyes and giggled. “I thought you wouldn’t notice.” I joked, “but, well, when I called it off, that was when she started acting like she was my girlfriend. To the point where I bumped into her in a coffee shop one time I was meeting a contractor who happened to be a woman around our age whom she accused me of cheating on her with. When she saw us she went hysterical and fake cried. I ended up with a contractor soaked in iced latte.” I said with disgust. “I had to buy my contractor new clothes, and everything because of what she did. After that, she pops into my office almost everyday groveling at the front desk who wouldn’t let her in because I said so. She follows me everywhere. I had to block her everywhere for her to stop bothering me. My officemate was getting so tired of her that she stopped talking to her when she found out about the truth. Before I left last week, I still encountered her bugging the people in the office asking for me.” I was finishing off my juice and called for the waitress to take our insulated mugs for a quick coffee refill and the bill before heading out again. 

While we were waiting she had this disgruntled look on her face, I swear it was the cutest. “What are you thinking of?” I asked when I finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Oh, it’s just well. You know, I couldn’t imagine how much of a pain in the ass having someone follow you around is, especially when you’ve already put your last word out and say that you’re done,” she sighed and looked down. “Hey. If you want to let it out, let it out when you’re ready. Okay?” I reached for her arm to assure her and gave me a small nod. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll pay for this one.” I told her leaving some money enough to cover for the meal and tip when the waitress came back with our bill and our coffee before she could even protest.

Driving to the site was quick, I got her bag out of the boot and two hard hats for safety precaution handing over one hard hat to her. She was insisting on carrying her bag, but I didn’t mind doing it for her anyway. Saturday was painting and installation day, not much construction on the weekends since it required more manpower. I led her inside a small office to meet the supervisor and introduced her, “Olivia, this is Joe. Joe is the man behind the plan. He sees everything and everyone in the site.” She shook hands with him and gave him a spiel on why she was here. “Oh, I see. Well nice to meet you Miss Olivia. I thought Mr. Collins here, already had a girlfriend.” He chuckled heartily. “Well, Joe. Do you mind giving us a tour and updates? Olivia would be helping me finish some of the common areas.” I instructed as Joe took his own hard hat from the table and put it on, he gave me a knowing look. He knew where the area really was. 

Olivia POV

Walking around the site felt so open. It was all natural light in the units, the complex was fairly spacious, and true to what Julian said, it was a modernized classic beach house x mountainside lodge area. I was walking with my iPad open just jotting down where everything went and if anything changed from the plan I saw from the files. I tripped at a wire but thankfully Julian caught me by the arm. Nothing was changed from what I can see. Joe took us to the showroom where the model units were. The resort was well-thought of, theme of rooms included. I noted everything down, even what I saw in the unit.

Serviced Apartments and Hotel Room hybrids were usual in the city, but being this far away from there, it’s actually a smart choice. Mountainside view, and Beach view were also both at your disposal. We circled back to the lobby where the area was almost complete by construction, but no furniture yet. “We’ll bring in and finalize all furniture for the common areas as we complete the consultation piece for the whole complex” Julian said. “Would you guys know what people can expect if they wanted to go up the mountain to hike?” I asked no one in particular. “They’ll expect small wildlife, and a fresh welcome of greenery, Miss. The mountains are not too high for danger, and actually have several hiking trails they can try. Mostly squirrels, little furry friends and birds inhabit the area. But they also go to hike because there’s a cliff with a safe height you could go cliff diving in, and a cave where you can explore a bit of.” Joe answered. 

We stopped at the middle of the grounds where the beach was easily seen. “This is where I dreadfully need help, along with a few others.” Julian whispered. Joe nodded in agreement. “We planned for an elegant maze, with bushes around 8 feet tall and a fountain in the middle but, it was too out of place.” Julian gestured the estimated size from where we were, with Joe helping him by showing me a 3D model he had on his phone. Julian sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, clearly frustrated by the center piece. “How about a greenhouse atrium?” I suggested. Joe and Julian’s eyes went wide. “Open concept, gentlemen. Circular dome in white or clear panels and multiple gaps to act as entrances, with geometric accents of open windows. We can use vines that bloom little flowers crawling around the walls to connect with the grass around some stone steps. You enter the dome, with circular steps up a small platform. I suck at lighting concepts but maybe we could put LED around the entrance gaps so that at night it looks like it’s glowing.” Julian was running the idea in his head, and Joe was nodding in excitement. “That sounds perfect, Miss! It would also help guests still see the beachfront and bring back a bit of the nature of the mountainside.” Joe said. I drew a quick sketch and showed the two gentlemen my idea. “Yep, that’s it. You’re amazing Olivia,” Julian praised. The other issues weren’t as ‘dreadful’, they just needed a bit of calibration. There was a balance of connect and disconnect in the complex which actually made me realize how intricate of a project it is for Julian to do. Wrapping up for the day, Joe was excited to hear more about the plans as they come to life, but Julian and I both agreed that we needed to fix the little mishaps first, and then we’ll start doing the final concept of the dome. We said our goodbyes, and I promised Joe I’ll visit the site again soon.

Driving out of the site, I put my shades back on and asked Julian where we were headed, “just a little detour on our way back home for some late lunch. I don’t think we’ll be able to sight-see today. You’re not allergic to anything are you?” He asked. “Apart from cheaters and liars, I’m all good.” I snorted which made him laugh. “You’re a feisty little thing sometimes too are you?” He teased. “Sometimes,” I rolled my eyes but smiled inwardly. 

We were at Santa Catalina Pier waiting on our Fish and Chips (which I now paid for) from a food stall. There were a lot of kids riding bikes, and families just strolling around or sitting down benches chatting. When we got our food we ordered some beer to go with the meal. It was already past 3 when we arrived here, but the site visit, being able to help on my first day in a new project was all well worth it. We strolled a bit further down the dock trying to find a vacant seat, but no luck. We settled to stand and put down our food on the ledge. “So, Client. How did I do on my first day?” I asked. “Pretty well, Consultant. I couldn’t believe you were able to solve my 3 months and running problem in one site visit, but I’m grateful” he answered popping a fry into his mouth. “3 months?” I asked. “Yeah, I guess the whole Karen fiasco got to me and held me back a bit. The office couldn’t do anything about it anymore because the CEO didn’t want to turnover the project to someone else, so he gave me time to figure it out. Nice guy, that man.” He shared as he looked out over the horizon. I took a sip from my beer hoping it would give me courage to share with him what I’ve shared to Mrs. Willis over brunch the other day. I wanted a guy’s perspective of things. “Hey, I told you. If you’re not ready to open up, it’s okay. I’ll be here to listen when you do. Okay?” He assured me again. I nodded my head, “I was with him for 4 years…”

Julian POV

Olivia opened up about what she went through with Drew and Eliza. I felt sorry that she went through this, but for some reason, I was livid too. Drew didn’t deserve Olivia, and Olivia deserves better. 

“I came here a few weeks ago when Marie, my mom’s boss offered for me to stay here for a while to get away from the city a bit. Drew’s trying to reach out to me through my colleagues, and even my family. Eliza dropped by the office the other day when people were all out in client calls. I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve being betrayed by the people who were closest to me…” She said, looking at the waters. She was no longer crying compared to when I first met her. “You know, we all go through s**t. But hey, a week ago I saw a girl, sitting down on the sand with her possibly 7th glass of Moscow Mule, watching the waves. She was crying, not because she was weak, but because she was strong, trying to get a move on.” I said, making her lift her head to look at me. “Really?” she asked. I nodded, “she’s facing this battle head on, without a doubt, she’ll win. Never let anyone make you feel less than beautiful, Olivia.” I told her firmly. She tilted her head to the side confused by something. “B-beautiful?” She asked. “Yes, beautiful. My dad told me he called you ‘sunshine’ the moment he met you. Lizzie thinks you're an amazing woman. And I think you’re strong as heck leaving him behind and all those memories so you could heal.” That’s when I saw it, her radiant smile. It was never the usual ones she consciously gave. It was a carefree smile, free from worry and doubt. “Thank you, Julian.” She said and hugged me as if she needed the comfort. “Your welcome, Olivia. I’ll be here for you.” I said, but making the last part a whisper because I didn’t know how she would react. Could I already be attached this much to her?

I gave her my jacket since by the time we finished up at the dock, it was getting chilly and I forgot to actually tell her to bring one. We walked back to the car, throwing our trash on the way there and sped up the road homebound. I dropped her off, and drove back to the house. Dad was at the resort, and Lizzie and Luca were out on a date. I was contemplating on how I’ve grown so attached to Olivia and today marks a week since I first saw her. Luca didn’t have much experience since he grew up with Lizzie, but he finds it not so odd to be attached to Olivia so quickly. My dad would’ve said something like, “just go for it,” and Lizzie would just agree. Maybe then, I should.