“Morning, Maddy!” Alicia calls, waving a stack of envelopes like a bouquet.
“Hey. Did you survive the printer migration?” I take the envelopes from her, flipping through the corporate mail.
She groans. “Barely. IT says it’s fixed, but it still only prints one-sided. I’ll keep working on it. By the way, you got a note from Adrian. He needs you at eight-thirty.”
I laugh. “I think he always needs me at eight-thirty.”
“Well, you know, I guess he’s worried the VP of operations might forget or something,” she giggles at me, shaking her head. “It’s like you’re not the most punctual person in this place.”
“Right?” I make a face. “But thanks for letting me know and don’t be scared to come and get me if you need reinforcements.”
Alicia beams. “Got it. You’re the best, Maddy.”
“No, you are.” I tuck the envelopes under my arm and then head for the regular morning meeting. As if we don’t wake up in the same place every morning these days. Riley took over our apartment at half price, under the agreement that she would stay there long-term.
Of course, she accepted.
And construction starts next week to actually knock down the walls between all the penthouses. It’s going to be a clusterfuck.
But the good kind.Just like our commitment ceremony.
I duck into the conference room, spotting my men, already there and ready to work.
Beck is sprawled in his seat, sleeves rolled and tie loose, looking like the only kid in detention who enjoys it. He spots me and waves me over, patting the seat beside him.
“Morning, VP,” he says. “You look like you’re ready for a mid-morning snack.”
I snort, swatting his shoulder as he grabs for my ass. “Stop projecting.”
“Yeah, whatever.” He winks, then drapes his arm across the back of my chair, as I take a seat.
Caleb has his glasses on, seated at the far end. He’s wearing black, per usual, and is flipping through a legal pad, pen tapping on the table. He glances up at me, nods once, and gives me a big smile.
He’s so adorable.
Adrian is at the head, posture knife-straight, eyes on his tablet. He barely looks up as I enter, but the slight lift of his chin tells me he’s clocked my arrival.
Adrian finally sets the tablet down after a few beats, probably finishing whatever email he was sending. “Thank you all for being on time,” he says, voice calm. “Let’s begin.”
For the next twenty minutes, it’s the standard update carousel. We run through sales goals, construction updates, andthe new luxury residential opening in three months. But there’s a new edge to the room—a restlessness, because we all know what happens this evening.
But still, we stay focused on business, and Beck drives the conversation. “Are we really putting a climbing wall in the gym, or was that just a fever dream from the vision board meeting?” He looks at me, then at Adrian, eyebrows up.
Adrian doesn’t miss a beat. “It’s in the renderings, but budget review is pending.” He turns to me. “Maddy, can you walk us through the alternatives?”
He’s giving me a chance to show off, and he knows it. I open my laptop, tap into the slides Alicia made, and pull up the summary.
“We did a user survey last quarter,” I say, projecting the slide with a click. “Top requests for new amenities were a pet spa, a meditation room, anda climbing wall. Though the pet spa came out ahead by a mile.”
There’s a ripple of laughter, but Beck pounces. “So, dogs beat out fitness bros, huh? I guess I’m not surprised.”
Adrian’s mouth turns upward into a smirk. “Well, we cater to all demographics, Beck.”
I catch Caleb’s eye at the other end of the table. There’s a glint of amusement as he takes a few notes.
I run through the pros and cons, flipping through slides with one hand while jotting down follow-up points for each question. When Adrian tries to pivot to the next agenda item, I already have the supporting doc up, the right cell highlighted, and a sticky note ready with his next three talking points.
I’m clearly cut out for this.
