Yours, Forever

f i v e

The meeting ran for an hour long.

The main objective of this project was to remodel one of their older hotels located in Santa Monica, next to the beach. Although fancy looking, the hotel seemed to be a little outdated. Xavier had mentioned that it had been constructed during the time his father was CEO. He thought that if their older hotels looked more modern, it would bring in more customers.

Throughout the meeting, Xavier had barely said a word. His face held no expression, but Aurora felt his eyes occasionally glance at her.

"Any ideas on how to begin?" Asked Liam, looking around the conference table. One thing that Smith Architects encouraged was that everyone had equal opportunity to present their ideas. However, nobody spoke up, afraid to present in front of the rumored ruthless CEO. "Aurora?"

Everyone's heads turned to look at her at the mention of her name, causing her face to slightly redden. Even Xavier's eyes were on her.

Taking a deep breath, Aurora reminded herself that the people looking at her were just her colleagues.

"Well I was thinking since it is right next to the beach, we should lean towards a more open concept." Aurora said as she accidentally made eye contact with Xavier.

"Can you elaborate?" Asked Xavier, as he held her gaze.

Aurora nodded, pushing back a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she got up from her seat. She felt eyes, or more specifically a pair of grey eyes, follow her as she made her way to the front. On the board were photos and diagrams of the hotel. Plans, elevations, and sections were scattered across the surface.

Aurora began pointing to the photos, her nails slightly tapping the board. "I mean of course I'll have to go down there to see the hotel for myself, but as a suggestion to begin, I was thinking maybe we can tear these walls down at the entrance and have some sort of an open lobby. We can choose furniture that is contemporary to create a more modern and chic vibe. Maybe use colors that stand out more as well."

Aurora's head was slightly tilted to the side as she continued to survey the images. "Yeah, we will definitely have to go see the hotel for ourselves. We also should check out the surrounding buildings to see what the vibe is in order to attract more customers. "

When she finished, she turned back around to face the room. There was a proud glint in Liam's eyes and everyone seemed to be nodding in agreement to what Aurora had said.

"I like that idea," acknowledged Xavier.

"Me too," added Liam. "I think with that approach, people will want to stay at the hotel more. When will be a good time to go see the hotel?"

"I have meetings all day tomorrow. Friday will be the most convenient time for me," said Xavier just as Aurora sat back down on her seat.

"Alright Friday sounds good," confirmed Liam added before dismissing everyone. "I will be letting you all know the details of Friday tomorrow. I don't think all of you need to be there, since I know there are other projects you are working on."

Aurora stood up from her seat and began to follow the trail of people out the door before Liam stopped her.

"Grace you can head down first." Aurora handed the iPad to Grace. "Can you please place this on my table?"

"Of course, I'll see you in a bit."

Aurora turned to look at the three remaining men in the room. Joshua seemed to have been taking notes throughout the meeting.

"Is your schedule free for Friday?" Asked Liam.

"I think so, I'll have to double check with Grace again," Aurora felt Xavier's eyes on her as she replied to Liam. "But I'll definitely be there. I want to check out the site before we start."