Page 8 of Valentines In The Presidential Suite

Morgan left the dogs outside and went back inside to prepare to greet Isabel.

She’d just taken out her notebook to write down her first impressions when Isabel’s Mercedes pulled up.

Morgan opened the front door and waited for Isabel to reach her.

Isabel approached and gave Morgan a big hug. “Thank you, thank you for recommending me for this job. I’ve been dying to see the inside of the house, and to work on it will be pure pleasure.”

“I’ve put the dogs in the backyard and blocked the doggy door, as Mr. Hamlin wanted. I haven’t had much of a chance to look around, but what I’ve seen is lovely,” said Morgan.

She followed Isabel as they walked through the downstairs rooms of the kitchen, dining room, living room, den, and powder room. They discovered the master suite in one wing of the house and the laundry room, butler’s pantry, and workshop in the other.

The upstairs space contained two bedrooms, a Jack-and-Jill bath, and, in the front space of each bedroom, a large lounge area lit by the colors in the stained-glass windows as sunshine streamed through them.

Isabel turned to Morgan with a wide smile. “There’s so much to work with. It’s all in excellent condition. I’ll suggest changing the paint colors on several walls, and we can go from there. What do you think?”

“He definitely needs some furniture, and new wall paint would be nice. But, Isabel, I should warn you that I told him you were very clever but not overly expensive.”

“I appreciate it,” said Isabel. “Brad has given me an idea of his budget, and I’m confident I can make it work.”

“Fantastic,” Morgan said.

“I’m going to take measurements of the rooms,” said Isabel. “I have a handy little gadget to help me. I shouldn’t be too long.”

“Okay. I’ll check on the dogs,” said Morgan. “It’s a lovely day for them to be outside.”

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As Morgan walked onto the back deck, the two dogs trotted over to her, wagging their tails. She patted their heads and rubbed their ears, then took a seat in one of the comfortable chairs. Caesar immediately jumped into her lap, surprising her. Sid sat beside them and then, with a sigh, he flopped down on the wooden surface next to her.

Morgan leaned back and lifted her face to the sun. It was such a peaceful spot. In the distance, the sound of a bubbling brook caught her attention.

Isabel came to check on her.

“This is as close to heaven as I can imagine,” said Morgan.

“It’s beautiful,” Isabel said, smiling as the dogs raced to greet her.

“You work for Brad. What is he like as a person?” asked Isabel, sitting on one of the other chairs. “I need to determine what color schemes might best suit him.”

“He’s organized and easy to get along with. I’ve noticed that he wears a lot of blue shirts, which brings out the color in his eyes. I think dark gray and other somber colors wouldn’t be right for him,” Morgan said, remembering how his eyes had turned a gray color at his sadness.

“What ideas have you come up with?”

“Come inside. I’ll show you, and you can make notes,” said Isabel. “I saw your notebook.”

“I promised Brad I’d do that for him,” said Morgan.

They walked inside, and as Isabel moved from room to room talking about some of her ideas, Morgan wrote them down.

With Isabel’s encouragement, Morgan stated what she might do differently. By the time the tour ended, they were both in agreement about the larger projects.

As Isabel turned to leave, she gave Morgan a quick hug. “You’ve helped me tremendously. I really appreciate it. Tell Brad I’ll have an itemized report for him in a day or two. Then, he can decide what he wants to do.”

“Thanks. I will,” Morgan said. She showed Isabel out of the house, went out back to retrieve the dogs, and then left them inside before locking up the house.

As she drove back to the office, her thoughts turned to the man who owned the restored farmhouse. She felt as if she knew him better after seeing the house and meeting his dogs.

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