A Marriage Without Touch, A Goodbye Without Tears (Amelia and Ethan) novel Chapter 603

Chapter 603 Professional Alarms

Finished

Referred by someone they knew, clean background, aggressive on payment–on paper, it was a flawless project.

R

For any design firm, it was the kind of opportunity you didn’t turn down.

E

And Amelia really was tempted. Her last major project had wrapped at the end of the previous quarter, which meant her schedule had just opened up. From a creative standpoint and a resume standpoint, this project was genuinely attractive.

“All right, Mr. Clem. I’ll take it,” she said, nodding.

“Perfect.” Tim exhaled in relief. “I knew I could count on you. Get in touch with their point of contact as soon as you can. Tight deadline, heavy workload.”

Back in her own office, Amelia followed the contact information provided and added someone named Amy Burns on WhatsApp.

The request was accepted almost immediately.

a

Amelia went straight to the point. She introduced herself, confirmed the project, and asked Amy to send over more specific direction and reference material.

Amy’s response made her frown slightly.

It was a long wall of text, all of it impressive–sounding and totally empty. Lines like “we want the design to express the restraint and backbone of Eastern women,” and “we want to fuse traditional elements with the collision of modern tailoring,” and “we’re looking for an atmosphere where Zen stillness and tension coexist…”

It sounded lofty. In practice, it was so vague it was almost useless. For a designer who needed precise direction to lock in a style, it was effectively no information at all.

Amelia stayed patient and tried to steer the conversation toward something concrete. “Ms. Burns, I understand the concepts you’re describing. But in order for us to more accurately realize your company’s vision, would it be possible to get some specific references? Preferred historical periods to draw from, a color palette, any motifs you don’t want used?”

There was a pause on Amy’s side before the reply came. “We trust the judgment of a professional designer. We’d like you to have a free hand and surprise us.”

That kind of deliberate hands–off approach set off every professional alarm bell in Amelia’s head.

In her experience, the clients who said do whatever you want were always the ones who came back later with endless revisions.

To avoid an ugly stretch of rework down the line, and to give the project a real chance of going smoothly, she felt she had to push for a proper sit–down conversation.

“Ms. Burns, I’m concerned that relying entirely on online communication will cause misunderstandings that show up in the final product.”

She weighed her words and sent the invitation. “Do you have any plans to come to Eldoria in the near future? We could arrange a detailed face–to–face meeting and nail down all the details in person.”

Chapter 603 Professional Alarms

Amy’s reply came back was no.

1. st. And it

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Finished

“I’m sorry, Ms. Harlow. Our group is currently in the middle of preparing for the show, and all of our core staff are extremely busy. It of us to come to Eldoria right now.”

be possible for a

Just as Amelia was starting to feel stuck, a follow–up message arrived.

“However, if it’s convenient for you, you’re welcome to come to us. Getting a firsthand feel for our company culture and our brand philosophy would probably do a lot for your design instincts. All travel costs, of

course, would be fully covered and reimbursed bo

Travel to their office?

Amelia’s first instinct was to refuse.

our company.”

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