Chapter 10: Love Interrupted

The following week I had finished up the final edit for the Tuesday paper when I got a phone call from Charlotte.

"You'll never guess what happened today," she said, her voice betraying her excitement.

"Go ahead, tell me," I chuckled.

"I have another client maybe, and it's a big one."

"Congratulations, Charlotte. Is it a good size job?"

"Yes, it's for a new house at Willow Point near Campbell River. Right on the water, too. An architect has designed it and the couple that own it had met me at the home show. They are interested in my working with them to do the interiors and some of the exterior for the whole house. I'm meeting them on Saturday to discuss the project. That's exciting. It's a first for me."

"I can hear the excitement in your voice. I'm happy for you, Charlotte. I'm sure you're going to get this job. This is just the start of a great career for you. Make sure you take lots of pictures. You'll want them for your website."

"Website?"

"The one you'll want to promote your skills and accomplishments," I said, surprised she hadn't thought of it.

"Oh," she said quietly, momentarily puzzled. "I should have one, shouldn't I?"

"I highly recommend it. I saw some statistics about how people look for products and professional services today and the Internet seems to have completely taken over from the yellow pages. You can give potential customers so much more than you can with a brochure or just a name in a phone book."

"I hope it doesn't cost a lot of money?"

"Not if you choose wisely and work with someone who will listen carefully to your wants and needs."

"Do you know someone?"

"I do, but you should talk to him first and look at his work before you decide. He's a young guy, fresh out of the Emily Carr school in Vancouver. I like what I see and he's not horribly expensive. Meet with him first and decide for yourself if he's right for you. He lives in West Vancouver and works out of his house."

"Okay, I can do that. I know that's an important way to advertise my business."

"Absolutely. The statistics don't lie. It's how people find services and products these days."

"Okay, what's his name and how can I get in contact with him?"

"Just google Terry Yashimura Designs. It will give you all the info you need. You can e-mail him or phone him, whichever. Get him to give you some cost estimates when you look at his reference work. That will give you some idea of what you can expect."

I spelled out Terry's last name for Charlotte as she copied it down. I was pretty sure he would be able to help her without it costing her a lot of money. Just to be sure, I would call Terry myself and tell him that I would underwrite any cost overruns as long as he didn't tell Charlotte. I wanted her to succeed, but I didn't want her to settle for something less than an effective site if money became a barrier.

Charlotte was still on a high about the potential contract in Campbell River when we talked on Wednesday evening.

"I phoned Terry Yashimura and we set up a meeting for next week. I'm going to take a day off and go over to West Vancouver to see if we can agree on a website design. He gave me some estimates based on the samples I saw on his website and the prices weren't too outrageous. He also manages websites and updates them as needed. I didn't think about that, but I can see that as my portfolio grew, I'd need to add and subtract from the site. I'm not sure I'm ready for it yet, but I'm thinking about it."

"When do you plan to go?"

"Wednesday is the best day for me."

"So you wouldn't mind if I went along as well? It would be a learning experience for me too."

"No, not at all. I want you with me."

We agreed that I would pick her up at her apartment at eight-thirty on Wednesday morning, with a plan to catch the ten-thirty ferry. I made a reservation, even though I thought it would probably be unnecessary. Our appointment with Terry was for one pm, indicating he thought that would give us enough time. I called him and let him know I would be accompanying her and he was happy to hear that. We had met a year ago at a communications seminar that my boss insisted I attend.

"How did your meeting with your prospective clients go?" I asked when Charlotte called me late Saturday afternoon.

"It was great. They've agreed to hire me after we went over the plans and their thoughts about how they would like to see the interior design. We weren't very far apart on ideas, so I think we can work well together. They were willing to listen to my ideas and for the most part, they agreed. And ... I got a nice retainer, too. I'm really pumped about this, Nolan."

"Congratulations, Charlotte. You should be very proud of yourself."

"I'm going to have to spend some time on the construction jobsite as the work progresses, but for now, they're just in the framing stages and I even got to make a couple of small changes to their rooms to make them more effective. They agreed and we talked to the contractor. He didn't seem to think it was a big deal."

"What about your day job?"

"That's a good question," she sighed. "I wish I could quit and spend my time on my real career. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle both it and the project."

"Let's talk about it on Wednesday before we meet with Terry," I suggested.

"Okay, that will give us enough time. I'll have to think about how I can do this."

I pretty much knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to sponsor her. I had the funds and the desire to see her succeed. In the old days, I would be a patron. Today, I was trying to bring my new ladylove closer. But how was I going to convince her? Undoubtedly she would resist. I was going to have to give this some thought.

On Friday, I got a surprise visitor. Greg Chandler, my boss and publisher of the local Clarion, dropped in to see me.

"Hello, Greg. What brings you all the way up here?" I asked, shaking his hand and inviting him in.

"Hello, Nolan. My, you've really done some nice work on your home. I really like the look of it," he remarked.

"Thanks. I've had some help from a professional interior designer ... who also happens to be my girlfriend."

"Well, that's a change. I was beginning to think you were a confirmed bachelor," he chuckled.

"No ... it just took a while for the right one to come along."

"So, you think this lady is the right one?"

I nodded. "I know she is for me. It's a case of whether she thinks so too. We're pretty new in our relationship, so I'm being patient."

"Good for you, Nolan." His smile was sincere and once again I was reminded why I liked this man.

"Did you come all the way up here to see the house and say hello, or is there business to discuss?"

"Business, I'm afraid." The tone had quickly become sombre. "We're going to cease publishing the Clarion at the end of May, Nolan. The red ink has become too much to allow it to continue. Between the cost of newsprint, ink and the declining advertising revenue, we can't sustain the paper. I'm sorry, Nolan. You did a very good job for us here."

"Oh ... that's not a huge surprise I guess," I said, looking at my boss. "I kind of guessed when I saw the paper shrink and the ad space as well. But ... don't worry about me, Greg. I've known for some time this wasn't going to be my long-term career. I've been thinking about looking at other opportunities. I just hadn't decided what those opportunities might be."

"Are you going to be okay ... financially, Nolan. There will be a severance, of course."

"Don't worry about that, Greg. I'll be fine. I have some reserve cash, so I won't be out on the street. I own this home outright thanks to Lew's generosity. I'll be okay once I figure out just what to do with my working life."

"I'm relieved to hear that," he sighed. I had told him about my inheritance from Lew, but he knew nothing about my lottery prize.

For that matter, neither did Charlotte. I was going to have to tell her about my job disappearing and I wasn't sure how she would react to that. And what would she think when I told her about winning a lot of money that was paying for finishing this home? There was a lot to consider and some decisions to make about Charlotte as well.

I gave Greg a tour of the house, showing him the changes and explained our plans for the fireplace, the trim, and the great room furniture. He was nodding and smiling as I did so. He seemed to agree it would be a handsome home when it was finished. He agreed to stay for lunch and I made some sandwiches and opened a beer for each of us. Greg was a man of simple pleasures and although he was my boss, I thought we had a very good relationship as friends.

I was glad I had been able to make his announcement of the unhappy decision easier on him. I wasn't worried and I think he finally bought into that. I didn't envy him having to deliver that message, but he did without any bafflegab or couched language. It was another thing about him that I liked. Greg Chandler was someone I would continue to think of as a friend.