ROCK GIRL
It was a quiet ride for the first 20 minutes as they both kept to themselves and enjoyed the uncomfortable silence. Reid considered starting the conversation but decided not to since Maria hadn’t been particularly warm towards him. Turning on the radio seemed to be the solution to ease the tension in the car.
Imagine Dragons “Believer,” a heavy base resonated within the car and Reid caught a glimpse of Maria, who was staring out the window, nodding and humming to the song.
Reid smirked and said, “I didn’t peg you to be a rock kind of girl.”
He judged according to the kind of music Athina tortured him with the first and last time they took a road trip to his uncle’s cabin upstate. It was all pop and heartbreak songs that made him groan all through the ride and made him regret not driving himself.
He assumed those were the kind of songs someone like Maria would like, or perhaps a touch of hip hop or whatever trended these days.
She shook her head. “How stereotypical,” She murmured to herself but he heard it. “That is why you don’t judge a book by its cover,” She said louder.
The car came to a stop as they approached a red light. Reid turned to Maria who was already staring at him. As his eyes met hers she looked away quickly, a tint of pink on her cheeks.
He smiled at that and asked, “So what kind of music do you like?”
She cleared her throat and replied, “That is none of your business.”
The traffic light turned into a green light and Reid stepped on the accelerator pedal catching Maria off guard as she gripped her seat.
“Where are we headed by the way?” She glanced at him as she asked.
Reid caught on to what she was trying to pull with him and nodded subconsciously. She wanted their relationship to be professional irrespective of what had happened to them in the past. He had thought they could somehow become friends since they’d be working closely together but he was wrong. Very wrong.
The least possible thing was them having a platonic relationship. There had not only been past drama between but more drama to come in the nearest future that Reid was expecting.
“To the top three locations, my real estate agent picked out. They are the most sought-after places for major businesses, the wealthy, and tourists.
We’re heading to the first location, Palaio, where the agent and my secretary are waiting for us.”
He stretched out his hand to the back seat to pick a file labeled TEAM and dropped it in Maria’s laps.
“That contains information on the agent, architect, and other people that will be working with us on this project. Once we have the location on lockdown with payments being made, we can carry on with the renovations,” He explained.
“And what is the time frame for the work to be completed?”
“Can’t say. It would rely heavily on our budget, workforce, and plan.”
Reid this was a big step for Maria so he attentively listened to all of her questions and answered in full detail. She went through the file and was impressed by the big personalities he had gathered for the project.
Maria was brimming with excitement as she began pouring ideas of hers she had ever since the creation of the restaurant headquarters. She had envisioned expanding her business but didn’t think it would be happening this soon and also going to be this extravagant.
“With our plans in motion and building on lockdown, you can publish teasers of the expansion on the restaurant’s social media pages and website. It is sure to quell the rumors of the poor services.”
“It’s not going to make the bad reviews disappear.”
“Yes, it would. I already have a plan for that.”
They soon arrived at the first location where they met Kate, and the real estate agent, Alan Gabor. Maria’s eyes widened seeing the most sought-after agent in Greece. She hit Reid in the ribs for not telling her or including his profile in the file he gave her a few minutes ago.
They made introductions before setting out to check the first building which they both didn’t like. The second building which is located in Thissio was the perfect building according to Reid but Maria disagreed. The building was large enough for their plan but the area was the problem.
The streets were too calm, barely anyone passing by and the few who did fit into a certain age bracket.
It was evening when they moved to the third building located in Gazi. Maria did not believe in love at first sight but the moment she set her eyes on the magnificent three-story building that looked newly built at the center of the city, surrounded by bistros, a shopping complex, and a park few meters away.
The perfect building at last and Reid couldn’t have agreed more.
The inside? Was a work of art that captured one’s mind and made everything fall in place. Maria took charge pointing out where each segment of the restaurant should be placed. The third floor was going to be an exclusive space with a rooftop bar. Cozy lounges for special guests and private butlers.
The team seemed to agree with the ideas and tabled everything out. It was going to be a huge project with an extravagant opening.
The talk of the town that was sure to take Maria’s career to the top and Reid’s dream to reality.
“So, what do you think?” Reid asked as he and Maria made their way down the stairs.
Kate had left about an hour ago to attend to other matters and the rest of the team had also left after concluding on the plan leaving two of them behind.
“I think we’re about to go broke,” She deadpanned. “The lease is freaking $3 million a year! I’m not even paying up to that for the HQ. How am I going to afford it?”
Reid was left confused as she was happy about the whole thing a few minutes ago and now she was panicking.
“Correction, “WE” so calm down.”
They arrived at the ground floor and Maria turned to him in a flash. “Calm down? Have you forgotten about the renovation budget? We need $30 million for finance. Fuck! 30 million! This was a bad idea,” She said and turned to leave the building.
Reid laughed to himself and ran after her. He blocked her away before she could open the glass double doors.
“Remember you’ve done this before. This is just a bigger project that is sure to bring plenty of money rolling in so it’s a good idea.”
She didn’t still look confused as she kept biting her bottom lip and rubbing her front scalp.
“How about I worry about the finance part and you focus on what you do best marketing and strategy.”
Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, “You mean that?”
“Of course, it’s why I offered to be a part of the business in the first place,” He said with his signature smile and walked out of the building.
Reid was just a few steps away when the sound of a cloth ripping reached his ears and he halted. He turned back to find Maria looking like a deer caught in the headlight and standing too close to the door.
More like in between the double doors with one leg in front of the other and both hands clutching her purse in front of her chest and an array of emotions displayed on her visage.
Reid glanced at her from head to toe wondering what was up until it finally hit him. The image was funny but the situation almost had him rolling in tears.
He had met many clumsy women but none like Maria, who got her dress stuck between doors and got it ripped. It was a moment he was never going to forget.