The Auction House Deal: Bought by A Billionaire

Chapter 151: New Office: Hannah II

Before Roman left for work that morning, he encouraged me to continue with my research on starting a nonprofit charity, but he also told me to remember to take breaks. I could do that, right?

For starters, I grabbed a pen and notepad to keep me off of my laptop and away from the internet video rabbit hole that I had fallen into yesterday. Clicking the pen against my chin, I thought about the most important things I would need to focus on—filing paperwork and getting supplies for the office.

I could remember most of the paperwork I would need for the business, including various forms and licenses related to the building, which were still in the envelope next to my laptop.

There was also paperwork for my business license and permit, paperwork to apply for a federal employer number, and paperwork to register the nonprofit as a charity. I jotted those down and stared at my list. I would probably need to have a website. Did I need to hire someone to do that for me? I took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.

Roman had reminded me not to stress myself out. I needed a break from thinking about the paperwork.

On to the office supplies.

With the pen between my teeth, I tried to envision what I wanted my office space to look like. It needed to be inviting with plush armchairs and sofas, and a front desk that didn’t look so corporate or clinical. Something chic. But what colors? I didn’t want it to be too bright and garish, or dark and depressing. What style of furniture was classified as chic?

I dropped the pen on the counter and lowered my face into my hands. Figuring out office supplies was worse than thinking about paperwork! At least paperwork was concrete, one document or another to submit at a designated location. But outfitting an office with furniture and supplies was way over my head.

I jerked my head up when I realized that I basically had my own personal interior designer on call.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Lori’s number.

"What’s up?" Lori answered.

"I’m working on a list of ideas for the nonprofit charity that we talked about," I said to her. "But I think I’m stuck."

"What’s the hangup?"

"Office furniture and supplies," I said.

Lori laughed. "Sounds like you need an interior designer. I can recommend someone to you. She’s pretty great, and I think she’d love to help you."

"This great interior designer wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?" I asked sarcastically.

"You bet! Let’s go shopping!" Lori exclaimed with palpable excitement. After hashing out a few details we hung up and I found Nick tapping away at a game on his phone.He glanced up at me.

"My sister and I are going to the shopping center in a bit," I told him. "Can you take us?"

"Sure, I love shopping for clothes and handbags with women," Nick said flatly. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Actually, we’re going to the furniture outlet and craft store at the shopping center," I told him, "if that makes it any better."

"It doesn’t," he assured me and I laughed.

When Lori arrived, Nick pulled the car around and we hopped in. Lori’s face was bright with excitement and I remembered the countless hours that she and Lauren could talk about fabrics and designs and such. I was more than a bit apprehensive as Nick drove off toward the shopping center.

"What color scheme do you have in mind?" Lori asked me.

"I have no idea," I said. "Not too bright and not too dark. I want the place to be inviting."

"Vague, but I can work with that," Lori said as she tapped away on her phone. A moment later she showed me a picture of what looked to be a virtual office. She had chosen pale green and off-white for the wall paint, and a soft peach and gray for the armchair and sofa.

I was about to tell her that I liked the softness of the colors, but she swiped and showed me two variations of the same office space with combinations of blue, teal, and pink.

I groaned. How was she able to keep up with all the design combinations? It seemed impossible for me to choose one.

"We can also experiment with patterns, but I would keep patterns minimal since it will be a professional office space."

"I’m glad you know what you’re doing," I told Lori, wondering if I should have started with the paperwork instead of the office supplies.

She tried to give me a rundown of the types of furniture design that would qualify as chic when Nick pulled into a parking space at the shopping center.

"You don’t want sharp edges and angles," Lori said as we stepped out of the car, "because then it starts to get corporate, so stick with furniture that has curved and rounded edges."

"I know I’ll need a front desk and chairs," I said as we walked toward the furniture store. "Probably a coffee table and some side tables to make it feel homey and cozy. Do you think I should only have armchairs or a sofa too?"

"It depends on the size of the space," Lori said as we stepped into the store. I stopped just inside of the doors and stared at the sea of furniture on display. Some of it was lined up by type, like side tables, coffee tables, and various chairs while other displays had been organized to create an example of a room layout. An employee approached and welcomed our small group.

"Anything I can help you find?" the employee asked us.

"Office furniture," Lori said to him and he led us through the maze of furniture to the back where the desks and office chairs were on display.

Lori hurried over to an executive L-shaped desk made of oak with a hutch full of slots for paperwork.

"Isn’t this perfect?" She asked me. "We’ll make a note of the color so that we can find other furniture that compliments it."

"What about the white one?" I asked her, pointing at a cute, rustic looking desk that was also L-shaped with no hutch. Lori walked over and examined it.

"We can make it work," she said.

Lori guided us through the office section and then we meandered through the displays of tables and chairs. She pointed and conjectured, asking my opinions on various pieces of furniture before moving on.

I tried to stay focused and pay attention to her flow of thoughts, but it was difficult to follow sometimes. How did she have so much energy and enthusiasm for furniture?

By the time we left the furniture store, Lori had taken pictures and made notes about the furniture that we had decided would look nice in the office.

As we made our way to the craft store, a ball of dread began to form in the pit of my stomach. This was going to be worse than the furniture store because it would involve colors, patterns, and decor.

When we stepped inside the craft store, I could tell that Lori was in heaven. She didn’t even need to ask an employee where anything was before she led us over to a section full of pictures and wall hangings.

"This one looks fun," Lori pointed to a brightly colored painting. "Or how about that one? It’s chic and swanky," she smiled as she indicated a still image of two women seated together. The background of the image was blurred, but the women wore beautiful pearls and finery.

Before I could respond, Lori pointed out an abstract image in a wood frame. "This would be perfect if you go with the teal wall paint and oak desk. It can be hung up on the wall right behind the desk. What do you think?" She asked me, waiting for my response.

I believed her if she said it would look great, but I honestly had no idea. My brain felt foggy and fatigued from the furniture shopping.

"Maybe..."

I glanced around at the seemingly thousands of frames, pictures, and hangings that surrounded us. How were we going to look through them all? What else was in this store that we had to match with furniture and hangings for the office space?

"Hannah?" Lori prompted me to finish my thought and I met her concerned gaze. "What’s wrong? You look...nervous."

I sighed. "I’m in over my head," I told her honestly. "I had no idea that decorating an office for a nonprofit would be this overwhelming." Our outing was supposed to be fun, but I felt so overwhelmed by it all.

Lori took my shoulders and met my gaze. "You’re doing fine, Hannah," Lori said. "You really are. You already narrowed down the furniture pieces and that’s the important part. The rest is just minor details."

"But minor details are important too," I argued. "I need the victims that I serve to walk into warm and inviting surroundings and feel safe," I said.

"They will, Hannah. You’re not alone in these decisions. You have me, Roman, and Lauren to help you." She glanced over at Nick who was clearly not paying attention to our conversation. "You have Nick too," she said loud enough to get his attention. He turned to face us, oblivious.

"What?" he asked, and we chuckled good-naturedly. I needed the laugh and her encouraging words.

"Thank you," I said and Lori wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into a hug. "We should go. I think you did really well, hanging in there with me for this long." After our outing, I was more than ready to shift gears and tackle the paperwork.