Kent couldn't help but crane his neck to sneak a peek at the design rendering, and blurted out, "I may be a layman, but at first glance, I'm totally drawn in by it. Seems like a good fit to me."
Brandon was zoning out staring at the design for quite some time, but eventually, he gave a nod, "Let's go with this one."
Then he closed it and tossed it aside, clearly not wanting to dwell on it any longer. Kent watched his expression carefully, "Do we need to tweak anything, or are we good to call it final?"
Brandon's expression drifted off for a split second.
"Let's pencil it in for now," he finally spoke in a low-key manner.
"Alright."
Kent nodded in agreement, "Also, President Poe mentioned a school centennial event and would like to invite you to attend as a distinguished alum."
Kent briefly outlined President Poe's request to him. Brandon was inclined to decline, but memories of the past with Sophia back at the school made him lightly nod in agreement, "You handle it."
"Will do."
Kent acknowledged with a nod and went on to report some other work matters before he and Don stepped out.
Once the office door closed again, Brandon's attention slowly shifted from his computer to the design rendering Don had brought in. Staring at it for a good while, he forced himself to detach from his aversion to the draft and to objectively analyze it.
It was indeed like Don said - everything from the style to the vibe was a good match for Sophia and complemented the school's architectural aesthetic. It was a piece that wouldn't stir up any trouble or tarnish Sophia's image.
But there were also little imperfections, not really imperfections, just bits of his own personal bias.
He let out a long sigh, grabbed his phone, and dug up the designer's WhatsApp contact he had thought of deleting but hadn't the night before, and shot her a message, "Add a cultural gallery resembling a reading room in the garden that the science museum corridor leads to."
Sophia was sitting on the balcony sketching when Brandon's WhatsApp pinged on her phone, which was resting on a side table.
Puzzled by the notification sound, she glanced at her phone, picked it up, and opened WhatsApp.
Brandon's request for revisions caught her off guard.
Was this his way of saying he wanted to use her design? Or was he waiting to decide based on the revised outcome?
Sophia didn't feel it was her place to probe deeper. From their interaction the day before, she figured he was a rather stiff and aloof guy, someone with an aura of superiority, not the warm and chatty type.
So she simply replied with a polite, "Okay." After sending the message, she thought for a moment and then sent another one, "Any other requirements for the structure and style?"
"Nope." Brandon's response came quickly, "Just needs to have a strong cultural atmosphere, a place where students can study, read, and relax."
"Especially for students with nowhere to go after school or on weekends," he added.
Sophia paused for a second.
- "If only the school had a cultural gallery where we could chill after class or on weekends; just sit there, read a book, or daydream."
- "What kind of cultural gallery would you want?"
- "Just..."
Sophia's finger hesitated on her phone screen, trying to grasp the fleeting thought, but her mind went blank.
The girl's soft, slightly disappointed voice and the boy's deep, husky one seemed to echo from a distant memory, or perhaps it was an illusion from Brandon's request.
Sophia couldn't tell. She was spaced out, her mind a complete blank. Her eyes blankly stared at the phone screen.
Perhaps noticing her delayed response, Brandon messaged again, "Can you do it?"
"Sure can." Sophia quickly replied, "I'll get the draft to you tomorrow."
"Cool, thanks for the trouble," Brandon's message came back promptly.
"No problem," Sophia replied courteously.
There were no further messages from Brandon.