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“It’s not where the magic happens,” he counters.
I deadpan when I turn to face him. “I know that, but first impressions matter. This impression is terrible. We’re going to have to fix it.”
He chuckles. “Well, you have plenty of room in the budget now. I’m sure we can come up with something.”
I nod. “You’re damn straight. This is …” I shake my head, “sad. Just sad.”
“Glad we have that decided. Now, if you’d like to continue,” he suggests, pointing up the stairs.
I sigh, setting off up the stairs with our footsteps echoing off the bare walls. “No music, either? Nothing playing as they enter this new space to set the ambiance? I mean, it’s almost as if a guy got this whole thing started.”
“A guy did.” He laughs.
When we reach the top landing, I still can’t believe how terrible this impression is. “I know, but we can do better.”
He tips his head and grins. “I look forward to it.”
The door at the top of the landing isn’t locked, so he reaches out and simply opens it. I walk through, taking in the way the space invites a person to continue deeper into the area.
There are large, sweeping red curtains that drape from floor to ceiling, almost as if we’re entering a circus tent. The lighting is dramatic, just like the main hallways of the space and the other areas I’ve already seen.
“Well, this is better,” I say, walking beyond the curtains into the area I’m already familiar with. I’m already calculating where I’ll put the flowers and plants and hide some speakers.
“So, we meet your standards once we get into the space. Good to know,” London teases.
I turn on my heel. “You already know I like this space. But wow—” I shake my head. “Terrible.”
A lopsided grin lights up London’s face and it takes my breath away. My eyes travel to his chest, where I know his tattoo is, and I divert my gaze by spinning around. “So, uh—it’s kind of quiet in here.”
There really should be some background music playing to set the mood throughout the whole space. No wonder people aren’t as engaged as they could be.
“Yeah, it is,” he agrees, tilting his head, listening. “Come on. We’ll check things out. Just stay close. It’ll be best to stick to the sidelines. If people are here, you won’t want to inadvertently get mixed up in the festivities.”
He starts walking toward the main hallway.
My eyes widen as I follow him. “Yeah, no. That would be …”
I mean, I want to see how things work, but I sorta don’t know how to, either. Like, how do you witness something like that without being a total creep? And I certainly don’t want to inadvertently get mixed up in things.
“Normally there is staff up here. I’ll have to check with Cal. We should have at least one from his security team, as well as the servers. They must be in the kitchen since it’s so quiet,” he says, tipping his head that direction.
“See, I told you. Too early.” I grin sheepishly.
He stops walking and narrows his gaze. “I’m sure that’s not it. Besides, I got a notification that someone had arrived on the security app. They must be in a closed room.”
“Isn’t there, I don’t know, a hidden room or something where we can see things from a distance?” I ask, running my hand along the back of my neck. “You know, without interrupting anything?”
His eyebrows lower as he spins to look at me. “That would be illegal, Lily.”
“Oh, right.” I shake my head, embarrassed. “I’m just—”
“I know. It’s weird,” he says, wincing slightly.
“Kinda, yeah.”
He glances down the hallway.
“Well, it looks like whoever’s here has their door closed.” He points to the end of the hallway where one of the doors is shut.
