I sank back into my chair, feeling deflated. My phone had buzzed several more times and I picked it up. Mom twice, my brother Jason, my hairdresser, and finally Enzo. I swiped away the first few without reading them and gave my hairdresser a thumbs up on what was probably an appointment reminder.
“Don’t you think the timing is odd?” I looked up at Oliver. “This has been a casual conversation between us for a few months, and you only told Jordan and Casey last week. Why are they calling now?”
“Divine intervention?”
“Only if you mean the devil.”
I caught Tabitha’s attention through the glass and waved her in.
“I’ve got to run to another meeting,” Oliver knocked twice on my desk, a familiar gesture that usually made me smile. “Are you going to be okay?”
“If we’re lucky, I’ll be done spiraling by tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” he headed toward the door as Tabitha entered.
“I need you to start a deep research dive on Titan,” I said without preamble. “Run it through Sherlock. I want everything recent, all their public annual reports, financial filings, investor documents. The works.”
“I’ll make sure to have it summarize key findings and put together a two-page memo as well,” she was already making notes on her phone. “Anything specific you’re looking for?”
“Patterns. Acquisitions that went wrong, employee turnover after mergers, creative control issues. You know the drill.”
She nodded and headed back to her desk. I finally checked the message from Enzo.
The relief was immediate. Enzo visiting meant comfort food, terrible movies, and someone who understood why I felt like the world was trying to reorganize itself without asking my permission.
I scrolled to Jason’s message.
Enzo:SISTER!! Can I crash at your place?? Got a thing in Park City.
The relief was immediate. Enzo visiting meant comfort food, terrible movies, and someone who understood why I felt like the world was trying to reorganize itself without asking my permission.
I scrolled to Jason’s message.
Jason:Got anything4 me? Could use some xtra work.
At least this was easy.
Me:we need to audit our current security protocols.
Me:can you handle that?
Jason:On it. I’ll grab specs from Jordan.
I hesitated before responding.
Me:ask Casey instead.
Jason replied with a thumbs-up emoji. Finally, I opened Mom’s messages. The first was from this morning.
Mom:I haven’t heard from you since you got back from LA! How are things?
Mom:Tony and I will be gone two more weeks. We’re having such a wonderful time!
A third appeared as I was reading.
Mom:Our neighbor David mentioned he’s ready to start dating again. You remember David, right? Such a nice man. Two adorable little boys.
I huffed and rolled my eyes just as Lennon appeared in my doorway with a take-out box.
