Chapter 4
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The morning was absolutely wonderful and he felt like he was a new person. David's expectations of the outcome of a good night's sleep were underrated. The actual experience was so much better than anticipated. He had never felt this good. The great feeling carried him from his house to the office, but as soon as he walked through the door he had to readjust to the intense mood. The client meeting is a two days away. David sat at his desk steadily working to prepare for the big meeting.
Tuesday's workday had went by great. So did Wednesday. It was all thanks to David's newly found strategy for dealing with his nightmares. He couldn't help wish that he had thought of this sooner. He still had the nightmares every night. But the nightmares were like they had been tamed. David would just bounce around from dream to dream until he woke up naturally. He still ended up with a splitting headache when he woke up, but it was getting better.
This morning's headache was pretty mild. Thursday had come pretty quick. The day of the big client meeting.
As David walked in the office, everyone present was in their best appearance and the office looked busy and productive. Even Jeff was sitting at his desk instead of walking about storytelling. All employees knew how important this meeting was for the small company. While everyone may not be directly involved, the fee for this project could cover operation costs for the firm for two years. The project was like job security for everybody.
Since David was the lead architect for the project, he would be one of the four firm employees in attendance. The others included the lead engineer the company Chief Executive Officer and the company Chief Marketing Officer. Two technical people and two salesman. Hopefully everything would go as smooth as rehearsed. The CEO and CMO would lead a presentation and David and the lead engineer would be around to answer any technical questions from the clients.
The meeting was scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., so they had two hours to review the notes as a group before the clients showed to the meeting.
At exactly 10:00 a.m., the clients waltzed into the building. The Carmine Corporation lived up to its reputation as a top class business organization. While the company had its hands in just about every industry, their main business sector was consumer products focused on the health and beauty.
In almost a reflection of their main business sectors, the four people walking into the office were specimens of human beings. The first sight was an abnormallly large man leading the way. He was very alert and looking around the office as if he were some sort of special agent. The two women that followed looked like goddess sisters. One of the sisters eyes practically glowed with intensity while the other looked around at the office in a very observational manner. The fourth and final person was an older man that had the presence of a king. William Carmine, CEO of the Carmine Corporation, surely had the appearance of one of the top businessmen in the country.
They filed into the room with the large man taking a seat away form the meeting table near the door. The other three walked forward and began their introductions.
"Hello, I am William Carmine. The CEO of the Carmine Corporation. I look forward to hearing your firm's presentation on the new Creatures of the Night exhibit for the zoo. The two exceptional women are my daughters. They are the two that are the main drivers for this project so I hope they will like what you have to present. I'll let them introduce themselves."
The tall beautiful woman with the cold expression steped up to the table and began, "My name is Karine."
There was a slightly awkward pause before the other sister began her upbeat response, "Sorry for my sister. She doesn't really like talking with strangers," she continued, "My name is Sonia Carmine. Nice to meet you all."
Oddly the man by the door never spoke and wasn't even acknowledged by the three Carmine family members.
"Must be a bodyguard. People with money have bodyguards", David pondered before realizing everyone had introduced themselves and it was his turn, "Hi, I am David Knox and I am the lead Architect for the project. I hope to have the chance do provide a great project with some innovations that make the exhibits world class."
The welcomes were warmly received by most of the room and the presentation quickly got underway. Almost immediately, David could tell that this group of people had sat through a lot of presentations before this meeting. The two daughters seemed to lack interest but sat there attentively. Mr. Carmine sat there with a look of disappointment in his eyes. Honestly, David also didn't think the presentation was anything special. They had presented before to clients but the scale of the projects were much lower. David felt bad for the two presenters from his company but they were totally outclassed by their clients.
As the presentation wrapped up, the firm's CEO opened the floor to questions. After thinking for a few seconds, Mr. Carmine spoke, "David, you had mentioned innovations before in your introduction but I didn't really see anything innovative in the presention. What sort of innovative ideas do you have?"
Caught very off guard that the first question following the presentation was directed at him. While he had said "innovation" in his introduction he really didn't have any specific innovations prepared for the presention. In a bit of a panic, he decided to go out on a limb with an idea that he had been bouncing around in his project planning.
Closing his eyes, he started to imagine the scene he wanted to present.
"Imagine an exhibit that fullly captures the wilderness at night. The smell of dew drenched soil, the buzz of insects in your ears, the quiet of the night and the sounds of unknown creatures moving about in the woods," David paused,"Now imagine an exhibit that fully captures those experiences and others and incorporates them into the design. An exhibit that not only lets someone experience the creatures of the night but the night itself."
David opened his eyes and caught the now interested faces of the Carmine family so he continued, "The method of achieving this task is what is going to set the bar high on innovation. The presentation was really just the basis for the building itself but the actual visitor experience will be where the innovation of the design will occur. How do you capture the essence of the night in an exhibit that is meant for public viewing of animals? How do you instill the feelings that a night in the woods brings while inside a building? How do we make people see and enjoy the night? These are the questions that the design will answer."
"I have already started my research into the luminosity of moonlight, bioluminescent organisms and similar features. The main design problem is going to be making the creatures in the exhibit visible to the visitors. I believe with our firm's team and feedback from the Zoo and the Carmine Corporation that these issues can be solved for a very successful project.", David finished up.
After a quiet few seconds, Mr. Carmine broke the pause, "Thanks for clarification, Mr. Knox. You have really made this whole design a little clearer. A building is just a building, but the actual experience will be what defines the project"
"If my daughters agree, I would like to congratulate your firm on being authorized to proceed forward with the project. What do you think girls?", Mr. Carmine asked the two beautiful women.
"I think it sounds great. The idea of capturing the essence of the night in the exhibit really appeals to me. How about Sonia and I delve more into the design details over lunch with Mr. Knox and his associates. Since we are committing so much money, I would like to have some input on the way the final project will be achieved", said Karine Carmine revealing a smile.
Appearently, her comments and smile were unexpected because even the man by the door had an odd look on his face not to mention the other two Carmine family members.
After her moment of what appeared to be shock, Sonia agreed, " Great Sis! Let's go discuss all the details. I haven't been to lunch with you in ages."
"Alright girls. Enjoy the lunch. I will see you back at home this afternoon. I will send Charles with you," Mr. Carmine said before saying his goodbyes and directly leaving the office.
As the group was discussing the details of the lunch plans, David could help look across the room at the cold and quiet woman whom had sent a smile his way for a second. He couldn't help feeling a slight tingle in his heart.
"Damn, that woman can take your breath away when she smiles," David thought before leaving the room to head to lunch.
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The morning was absolutely wonderful and he felt like he was a new person. David's expectations of the outcome of a good night's sleep were underrated. The actual experience was so much better than anticipated. He had never felt this good. The great feeling carried him from his house to the office, but as soon as he walked through the door he had to readjust to the intense mood. The client meeting is a two days away. David sat at his desk steadily working to prepare for the big meeting.
Tuesday's workday had went by great. So did Wednesday. It was all thanks to David's newly found strategy for dealing with his nightmares. He couldn't help wish that he had thought of this sooner. He still had the nightmares every night. But the nightmares were like they had been tamed. David would just bounce around from dream to dream until he woke up naturally. He still ended up with a splitting headache when he woke up, but it was getting better.
This morning's headache was pretty mild. Thursday had come pretty quick. The day of the big client meeting.
As David walked in the office, everyone present was in their best appearance and the office looked busy and productive. Even Jeff was sitting at his desk instead of walking about storytelling. All employees knew how important this meeting was for the small company. While everyone may not be directly involved, the fee for this project could cover operation costs for the firm for two years. The project was like job security for everybody.
Since David was the lead architect for the project, he would be one of the four firm employees in attendance. The others included the lead engineer the company Chief Executive Officer and the company Chief Marketing Officer. Two technical people and two salesman. Hopefully everything would go as smooth as rehearsed. The CEO and CMO would lead a presentation and David and the lead engineer would be around to answer any technical questions from the clients.
The meeting was scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., so they had two hours to review the notes as a group before the clients showed to the meeting.
At exactly 10:00 a.m., the clients waltzed into the building. The Carmine Corporation lived up to its reputation as a top class business organization. While the company had its hands in just about every industry, their main business sector was consumer products focused on the health and beauty.
In almost a reflection of their main business sectors, the four people walking into the office were specimens of human beings. The first sight was an abnormallly large man leading the way. He was very alert and looking around the office as if he were some sort of special agent. The two women that followed looked like goddess sisters. One of the sisters eyes practically glowed with intensity while the other looked around at the office in a very observational manner. The fourth and final person was an older man that had the presence of a king. William Carmine, CEO of the Carmine Corporation, surely had the appearance of one of the top businessmen in the country.
They filed into the room with the large man taking a seat away form the meeting table near the door. The other three walked forward and began their introductions.
"Hello, I am William Carmine. The CEO of the Carmine Corporation. I look forward to hearing your firm's presentation on the new Creatures of the Night exhibit for the zoo. The two exceptional women are my daughters. They are the two that are the main drivers for this project so I hope they will like what you have to present. I'll let them introduce themselves."
The tall beautiful woman with the cold expression steped up to the table and began, "My name is Karine."
There was a slightly awkward pause before the other sister began her upbeat response, "Sorry for my sister. She doesn't really like talking with strangers," she continued, "My name is Sonia Carmine. Nice to meet you all."
Oddly the man by the door never spoke and wasn't even acknowledged by the three Carmine family members.
"Must be a bodyguard. People with money have bodyguards", David pondered before realizing everyone had introduced themselves and it was his turn, "Hi, I am David Knox and I am the lead Architect for the project. I hope to have the chance do provide a great project with some innovations that make the exhibits world class."
The welcomes were warmly received by most of the room and the presentation quickly got underway. Almost immediately, David could tell that this group of people had sat through a lot of presentations before this meeting. The two daughters seemed to lack interest but sat there attentively. Mr. Carmine sat there with a look of disappointment in his eyes. Honestly, David also didn't think the presentation was anything special. They had presented before to clients but the scale of the projects were much lower. David felt bad for the two presenters from his company but they were totally outclassed by their clients.
As the presentation wrapped up, the firm's CEO opened the floor to questions. After thinking for a few seconds, Mr. Carmine spoke, "David, you had mentioned innovations before in your introduction but I didn't really see anything innovative in the presention. What sort of innovative ideas do you have?"
Caught very off guard that the first question following the presentation was directed at him. While he had said "innovation" in his introduction he really didn't have any specific innovations prepared for the presention. In a bit of a panic, he decided to go out on a limb with an idea that he had been bouncing around in his project planning.
Closing his eyes, he started to imagine the scene he wanted to present.
"Imagine an exhibit that fullly captures the wilderness at night. The smell of dew drenched soil, the buzz of insects in your ears, the quiet of the night and the sounds of unknown creatures moving about in the woods," David paused,"Now imagine an exhibit that fully captures those experiences and others and incorporates them into the design. An exhibit that not only lets someone experience the creatures of the night but the night itself."
David opened his eyes and caught the now interested faces of the Carmine family so he continued, "The method of achieving this task is what is going to set the bar high on innovation. The presentation was really just the basis for the building itself but the actual visitor experience will be where the innovation of the design will occur. How do you capture the essence of the night in an exhibit that is meant for public viewing of animals? How do you instill the feelings that a night in the woods brings while inside a building? How do we make people see and enjoy the night? These are the questions that the design will answer."
"I have already started my research into the luminosity of moonlight, bioluminescent organisms and similar features. The main design problem is going to be making the creatures in the exhibit visible to the visitors. I believe with our firm's team and feedback from the Zoo and the Carmine Corporation that these issues can be solved for a very successful project.", David finished up.
After a quiet few seconds, Mr. Carmine broke the pause, "Thanks for clarification, Mr. Knox. You have really made this whole design a little clearer. A building is just a building, but the actual experience will be what defines the project"
"If my daughters agree, I would like to congratulate your firm on being authorized to proceed forward with the project. What do you think girls?", Mr. Carmine asked the two beautiful women.
"I think it sounds great. The idea of capturing the essence of the night in the exhibit really appeals to me. How about Sonia and I delve more into the design details over lunch with Mr. Knox and his associates. Since we are committing so much money, I would like to have some input on the way the final project will be achieved", said Karine Carmine revealing a smile.
Appearently, her comments and smile were unexpected because even the man by the door had an odd look on his face not to mention the other two Carmine family members.
After her moment of what appeared to be shock, Sonia agreed, " Great Sis! Let's go discuss all the details. I haven't been to lunch with you in ages."
"Alright girls. Enjoy the lunch. I will see you back at home this afternoon. I will send Charles with you," Mr. Carmine said before saying his goodbyes and directly leaving the office.
As the group was discussing the details of the lunch plans, David could help look across the room at the cold and quiet woman whom had sent a smile his way for a second. He couldn't help feeling a slight tingle in his heart.
"Damn, that woman can take your breath away when she smiles," David thought before leaving the room to head to lunch.
The morning was absolutely wonderful and he felt like he was a new person. David's expectations of the outcome of a good night's sleep were underrated. The actual experience was so much better than anticipated. He had never felt this good. The great feeling carried him from his house to the office, but as soon as he walked through the door he had to readjust to the intense mood. The client meeting is a two days away. David sat at his desk steadily working to prepare for the big meeting. Tuesday's workday had went by great. So did Wednesday. It was all thanks to David's newly found strategy for dealing with his nightmares. He couldn't help wish that he had thought of this sooner. He still had the nightmares every night. But the nightmares were like they had been tamed. David would just bounce around from dream to dream until he woke up naturally. He still ended up with a splitting headache when he woke up, but it was getting better. This morning's headache was pretty mild. Thursday had come pretty quick. The day of the big client meeting. As David walked in the office, everyone present was in their best appearance and the office looked busy and productive. Even Jeff was sitting at his desk instead of walking about storytelling. All employees knew how important this meeting was for the small company. While everyone may not be directly involved, the fee for this project could cover operation costs for the firm for two years. The project was like job security for everybody. Since David was the lead architect for the project, he would be one of the four firm employees in attendance. The others included the lead engineer the company Chief Executive Officer and the company Chief Marketing Officer. Two technical people and two salesman. Hopefully everything would go as smooth as rehearsed. The CEO and CMO would lead a presentation and David and the lead engineer would be around to answer any technical questions from the clients. The meeting was scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., so they had two hours to review the notes as a group before the clients showed to the meeting. At exactly 10:00 a.m., the clients waltzed into the building. The Carmine Corporation lived up to its reputation as a top class business organization. While the company had its hands in just about every industry, their main business sector was consumer products focused on the health and beauty. In almost a reflection of their main business sectors, the four people walking into the office were specimens of human beings. The first sight was an abnormallly large man leading the way. He was very alert and looking around the office as if he were some sort of special agent. The two women that followed looked like goddess sisters. One of the sisters eyes practically glowed with intensity while the other looked around at the office in a very observational manner. The fourth and final person was an older man that had the presence of a king. William Carmine, CEO of the Carmine Corporation, surely had the appearance of one of the top businessmen in the country. They filed into the room with the large man taking a seat away form the meeting table near the door. The other three walked forward and began their introductions. "Hello, I am William Carmine. The CEO of the Carmine Corporation. I look forward to hearing your firm's presentation on the new Creatures of the Night exhibit for the zoo. The two exceptional women are my daughters. They are the two that are the main drivers for this project so I hope they will like what you have to present. I'll let them introduce themselves." The tall beautiful woman with the cold expression steped up to the table and began, "My name is Karine." There was a slightly awkward pause before the other sister began her upbeat response, "Sorry for my sister. She doesn't really like talking with strangers," she continued, "My name is Sonia Carmine. Nice to meet you all." Oddly the man by the door never spoke and wasn't even acknowledged by the three Carmine family members. "Must be a bodyguard. People with money have bodyguards", David pondered before realizing everyone had introduced themselves and it was his turn, "Hi, I am David Knox and I am the lead Architect for the project. I hope to have the chance do provide a great project with some innovations that make the exhibits world class." The welcomes were warmly received by most of the room and the presentation quickly got underway. Almost immediately, David could tell that this group of people had sat through a lot of presentations before this meeting. The two daughters seemed to lack interest but sat there attentively. Mr. Carmine sat there with a look of disappointment in his eyes. Honestly, David also didn't think the presentation was anything special. They had presented before to clients but the scale of the projects were much lower. David felt bad for the two presenters from his company but they were totally outclassed by their clients. As the presentation wrapped up, the firm's CEO opened the floor to questions. After thinking for a few seconds, Mr. Carmine spoke, "David, you had mentioned innovations before in your introduction but I didn't really see anything innovative in the presention. What sort of innovative ideas do you have?" Caught very off guard that the first question following the presentation was directed at him. While he had said "innovation" in his introduction he really didn't have any specific innovations prepared for the presention. In a bit of a panic, he decided to go out on a limb with an idea that he had been bouncing around in his project planning. Closing his eyes, he started to imagine the scene he wanted to present. "Imagine an exhibit that fullly captures the wilderness at night. The smell of dew drenched soil, the buzz of insects in your ears, the quiet of the night and the sounds of unknown creatures moving about in the woods," David paused,"Now imagine an exhibit that fully captures those experiences and others and incorporates them into the design. An exhibit that not only lets someone experience the creatures of the night but the night itself." David opened his eyes and caught the now interested faces of the Carmine family so he continued, "The method of achieving this task is what is going to set the bar high on innovation. The presentation was really just the basis for the building itself but the actual visitor experience will be where the innovation of the design will occur. How do you capture the essence of the night in an exhibit that is meant for public viewing of animals? How do you instill the feelings that a night in the woods brings while inside a building? How do we make people see and enjoy the night? These are the questions that the design will answer." "I have already started my research into the luminosity of moonlight, bioluminescent organisms and similar features. The main design problem is going to be making the creatures in the exhibit visible to the visitors. I believe with our firm's team and feedback from the Zoo and the Carmine Corporation that these issues can be solved for a very successful project.", David finished up. After a quiet few seconds, Mr. Carmine broke the pause, "Thanks for clarification, Mr. Knox. You have really made this whole design a little clearer. A building is just a building, but the actual experience will be what defines the project" "If my daughters agree, I would like to congratulate your firm on being authorized to proceed forward with the project. What do you think girls?", Mr. Carmine asked the two beautiful women. "I think it sounds great. The idea of capturing the essence of the night in the exhibit really appeals to me. How about Sonia and I delve more into the design details over lunch with Mr. Knox and his associates. Since we are committing so much money, I would like to have some input on the way the final project will be achieved", said Karine Carmine revealing a smile. Appearently, her comments and smile were unexpected because even the man by the door had an odd look on his face not to mention the other two Carmine family members. After her moment of what appeared to be shock, Sonia agreed, " Great Sis! Let's go discuss all the details. I haven't been to lunch with you in ages." "Alright girls. Enjoy the lunch. I will see you back at home this afternoon. I will send Charles with you," Mr. Carmine said before saying his goodbyes and directly leaving the office. As the group was discussing the details of the lunch plans, David could help look across the room at the cold and quiet woman whom had sent a smile his way for a second. He couldn't help feeling a slight tingle in his heart. "Damn, that woman can take your breath away when she smiles," David thought before leaving the room to head to lunch.
