When given the choice between following Sophie on her hunt for a decent furniture retailer or hitting the nearest Lowe's or Home Depot for some much needed materials, Eliot really didn't even have to think about his decision. What he hadn't counted on was having Hardison and Parker along for the trip.
Apparently, Hardison had already arranged for all of his massive, complex computer and technical equipment to be delivered as soon as the office suites were ready. And while the younger man probably had some preferences when it came to his desk and chair, the prospect of shopping with Sophie, who would qualify for the Olympic shopping team if there was such a thing, was far too daunting. Parker simply had no interest in interior design or office repair, but she chose to accompany Eliot and Hardison, leaving Nate to fend for himself with Sophie.
Grabbing a large dolly, Eliot considered what they needed for the office. The wood floors were in good shape, as was most of the woodwork and the walls just needed a coat of paint. The small wash room and the kitchenette were a mess though. They'd need new sinks, a toilet, new tile for the bathroom floor and a countertop for the kitchenette. Add to that all the necessary grout, adhesives and tools as well as hardware, paint and light fixtures…
With a shake of his head, Eliot began herding the other two toward the paint counter, figuring they could look for the rest of the supplies while the paint tech mixed their colors. Before they had left, Sophie had picked a color scheme off of the Behr paint website for the reception area and conference room and another for the offices.
As they approached the large paint section, Parker announced, "I don't want a strange pinkish office."
Hardison and Eliot looked at her and the hacker checked his electronic note pad for the list Sophie had given them. "Says here Sophie wants Lunar Lights for the walls of our offices," he read, then shrugged. "Not real sure what color Lunar Light is."
"I'd think kinda white," Eliot replied, but Parker shook her head.
"I saw the samples Sophie was looking at. It was pink."
This caused both men to pause as neither of them was too keen on the idea of a pink work place.
"Let's check this out," Hardison said, leading the charge to the huge sample wall.
Ten minutes later they had Sophie's paint schemes laid out before them. The colors for the conference room and reception were fine, a tan called Outback for the walls, off white Cotton Whisper for the ceiling and a nice green Pine Scent for any small accents. The choices for the offices however were not so palatable. Lunar Light was in fact a pinkish color and the ceiling paint Powdered snow also had a tinge of the color. The accent choice of Spring Hill, a colonial blue, wasn't so bad, and in truth the colors looked nice together. They just weren't colors Parker, Eliot and Hardison wanted on their walls or ceilings.
"All right, pick what y'all like," Eliot said with a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose before walking over to a selection of green samples.
Hardison had drifted over to the modern looking gray and slate paints, but he paused. "Should we get different paint for Nate's office?"
"No," Parker said as she perused the blues. "He saw what Sophie picked and didn't seem to have a problem with it."
Eliot snorted. "More like he didn't want to make Sophie mad at him."
"Then he's just gonna have to deal with a pink office," Hardison said rifling through the paint samples.
"I like these," Parke said, and Eliot looked over to the now ransacked blue paint area. The blond shoved her samples into his hand before taking off down the aisle. For a moment he was torn between worrying about the carnage she could cause loose in the home improvement store and wanting to finish up with the paint. Then he looked at the samples in his hand and had to smile. Parker, their fearless daredevil, wanted Elfin Magic blue walls, Sweet Smile blue ceiling and Fuzzy Elephant pink accents.
Selecting a muted green Herbal Scent paint for his walls, English Country gray/green for the ceiling and off-white with a hint of gray/green Sorbet for accents, Eliot walked over to where Hardison was still contemplating shades of gray. "Come on," he said, prodding the younger man while he craned his neck, looking down the aisle to where Parker was looking at paint rollers.
"Fine," Hardison huffed, handing over three shades of gray samples. Dark Smoke Signal for the walls, medium Dusk for the ceiling and pale First day for accents.
Armed with each of their color choices, as well as Sophie's list, Eliot approached the paint desk. A young man with close cropped blond hair and a name tag that read BILL smiled pleasantly and asked, "What can I help you with today sir?"
"Paint," Eliot replied, handing over all the samples and rattling off the number of gallons of each they would need.
To Bill's credit, the amount of paint and the variety of colors didn't phase him, he just took notes of the amount on each sample and said, "This'll take about an hour to mix."
"I got other stuff to get," Eliot replied, then cringed when he heard Hardison's voice echo off the metal shelves and concrete floor.
"Get down!" the younger man was saying urgently.
Eliot smiled tightly at the paint guy, then hurriedly dragged the dolly down the aisle to where Hardison was standing, looking up at Parker, who was climbing up the heavy industrial shelving.
"Parker!" Eliot hissed. "Down. Now!"
Standing with one foot on a shelf and a hand gripping a vertical bar, Parker leaned around to toss a fancy roller down to him. Thankfully, she then descended from her perch and hopped lightly to the floor. "What?" she asked as Eliot pulled her down the aisle, stopping only to toss brushes, rollers, paint pans and drop cloths onto the dolly.
"You do things like that, you're gonna get us tossed outta here," Eliot grumbled, turning the corner and entering the flooring department.
"Never been tossed from a Lowe's before," Hardison laughed, then cocked his head to the side. "Like that rug, Parker?"
The blond was rapidly rubbing her hands on a carpet swatch. Then she stopped, spun and touched Hardison's ear with one finger, causing the man to yelp and jump away.
Parker grinned and wiggled her fingers. "I have superpowers," she exclaimed, advancing on Hardison who retreated.
Watching them, Eliot sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.
"Hi! Can I help you with anything?"
Eliot lowered his hand and pulled out a smile for the young woman who had approached him. She was a cute, young brunette with a ponytail and a nametag that read MARY. "I'm lookin' to retile the bathroom at my office," he told her, attempting to keep half an eye on his two colleagues who were still running around like kids.
"Our heavy duty tiles are over here. Any color preference?" The girl led him to an isle filled with tile of all colors.
Eliot glanced up and down the aisle, then settled on a nearby display. "This looks good," he said, grabbing a box. "I'll need enough for a 6x10 room."
Hefting another box onto the dolly, Mary asked, "Do you need all the usual supplies or…."
From an aisle or two over there was a thump and a groan followed by Parker's exclamation of, "Sorry!"
Sighing again, Eliot said, "Sorry for whatever they're doing."
"S'okay," she said, "But maybe you want to do the rest of your shopping and I'll gather the rest of the tile supplies and have them waiting for you up front."
Eliot smiled at her. "That would be great." He then gave her his name and picked a grout color before heading off to round up his wayward.
Hardison was sitting on a box of wood flooring, holding a hand to his head, scowling. Parker stood beside him, bouncing on her toes and trying to look innocent but not really succeeding. It was almost enough to make Eliot wish he'd gone shopping with Sophie instead. Almost.
"Come on," he said, pushing the dolly off toward the bathroom fixtures. "Lots more to do."
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