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“My name is Helena, and I’m your interior designer.”
Glancing at Cleo, who had the same frown line on her forehead as I did, I shook my head. “I’m not sure you’re in the right place.”
“You’re Vanna Olysses?”
“Yes, but—”
She came inside, ignoring my protests. “Then I’m definitely at the right place.” She turned on her heels in the entrance and looked up. “Oh my, look at that chandelier. That should definitely stay. But you need to change the color scheme. It’s so old-fashioned.”
“This isn’t the best timing. I don’t really have much of a budget to work with.”
She raised her brows at me, then burst into laughter. “You’re funny.”
“What? No, I’m serious. I don’t know who sent you, but maybe you should come back in a few months.”Or years.
“Mr. Olysses said there’s no budget.” She winked at me. “And if Gabriel Olysses calls with those words, I’ll of course drop everything else.” She walked up to the staircase. “Now, let’s start with the rooms you’ll be spending the most time in. Getting this place sorted is going to take a while.”
Tripping over my own feet, unable to form words, I followed her. I shot a wide-eyed look over my shoulder at Cleo, who’d closed the door and was making her way back to the kitchen. She shrugged, and I rushed after Helena.
“We’ll start with your bedroom.”
My face flushed red at thoughts of the unmade bed and books and clothes covering the floor. I’d felt uncomfortable with Cleo cleaning up my mess and told her I’d sort out my room. She’d reluctantly agreed, telling me more than once that she didn’t mind and that it was her job, after all.
Helena made her way through the vast foyer, heading for the stairs. “Is it upstairs?”
I followed with halting steps. I wouldn’t mind getting a bed. And maybe a shelf for my books. “Yes. It’s the third door on the right.”
Her long steps took her to the master suite much faster than I would have liked, and I had to run to keep up. I was embarrassed about her finding out I slept on a mattress on the floor. But there was nothing I could do about it now.
Helena walked into the room with sure steps, looking at the bathroom and the wardrobe with narrowed eyes, taking notes the whole time. “Do you want to stay in this room, or have you found one that suits you better?”
I loved the room. It faced out to the backyard and was big enough that I could fit a few shelves to put all my books. “I’d prefer to stay here.”
“We’ll look at furniture today. The walls look freshly painted. And since it’s white we can work with it. If you want a different color, we can organize that too. But you’d have to sleep somewhere else for a few nights.”
She went back into the hallway, and I trailed her like a lost puppy. “We should get more than one guest room ready, though. Have you thought of a theme? Any particular colors?”
I didn’t answer since she obviously didn’t expect a reply. She continued talking, and I fought hard not to roll my eyes at some of her ridiculous suggestions. I didn’t need a zen garden, meditation room or dedicated dressing room.
The room next to mine was similar in size, but the bathroom and wardrobe were smaller. “I think gold would work for this one. You could have a different color for each room.”
We’d run out of colors fast. And who wanted a lime-green room? Or a pink room?
“I’d prefer to stick to one theme for the whole house.”
She halted her note-taking and nodded. “This house looks fit for royalty. I’m thinking a castle theme.” She glanced around the room, nodding to herself and taking notes once again. “Deep red curtains and a blue bedspread.”
We continued to walk around the house, Helena taking notes the whole time while talking through what she thought would work. The sheer number of rooms was overwhelming. Going through them and deciding what I wanted them to look like made my head spin.
I’d never cared much for color schemes and furniture, but apparently Helena had been instructed to run everything past me. She didn’t even decide on a floor rug without my input.
When she left five hours later, I collapsed onto a barstool. Cleo set a plate of cookies in front of me that I didn’t delay in stuffing into my mouth. “She’s coming back in three days. I don’t think that gives me enough time to recover.”
Cleo laughed, pausing from cutting strawberries in perfect halves. “You should be ecstatic. You’ll finally have furniture. And a proper bed.”
“I’m happy to get furniture. I’m just overwhelmed. This is going to cost more than most people make in a year. And we won’t even use most of the rooms. I’d have left them empty. Easier to clean too.”
The doorbell rang, and I tilted my head back, groaning. “I hope that’s not Helena again, remembering we didn’t go to the pool house.”
