Holly wasin the café kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the special baked treats I had designed.
The cookies were interactive puzzle pieces. Some were parts to a drone that the eater could piece together for a little cookie model. Another set was little gear pieces that you could rearrange in various ways and would actually move each other.
The puzzle piece cookies, when put together, would spell out, “Blockchain. A creative way to manage your security and logistics from Quantum Cyber.”
“Do you think it’s too much?” I wondered, suddenly concerned as I inspected the array of cookies. “I thought it was a fun idea, but maybe it’s too childish.”
Holly shrugged. “Even if they think it’s dumb, who doesn’t like cookies?” She handed me one of the spare gears, and I took a bite. The sugar cookie dough melted in my mouth. The royal icing on top had a slight crackle with a hint of almond and vanilla.
“They’re definitely good cookies!” The sugar was making me feel much more confident.
“Let me know what Beck says!” Holly told me as I helped her package the cookies in the custom box with special compartments for each cookie set.
I carefully transported the box upstairs. Beck was in his office, and I pushed the door open. He looked slightly haggard.
“No good news at the meeting?” I asked him carefully.
“We’re in a holding pattern.” He pressed two fingers to his temple and closed his eyes.
I smoothed his hair down and leaned over to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around me then let me go.
“On a good note, the package for Mark is done,” I said, opening the top of the container.
“The cookies are like little puzzles,” I explained, “to give some oomph to the brochure we’re sending over.” I handed that to my boss as well.
“This is what you were working on?” he asked, frowning as he inspected my offerings.
I puffed up. “Yes,” I said, “and I’ll have you know, I put a lot of work into it. People like cookies, and these are interactive.”
“Oh, you put them together!” He shook his head. “I just thought they were a bunch of really odd shapes.”
I pointed to the little cards with a drawing of the final cookie puzzles for reference.
Beck picked up the card for the cookie drone model and said, “That is pretty cool!”
He reached for a cookie.
I slapped his hand away. “You can’t eat one of the pieces! Now, I have a cover letter written, but you should review it and sign it, along with Owen and Walker. Then cross your fingers that Mark and Finn love the proposal!”
An hour later,I was in a town car with the box of cookies, the cover letter, and several copies of the brochure. I could have sent the cookies over with a courier, but if they dropped or manhandled the box, the whole presentation would be ruined. I had to take it myself.
I had carefully packed the box with tissue paper, and I was a nervous wreck imagining all the things that could go wrong as the car made its way slowly through traffic to the AstraDrone office across town. We could get in a wreck, there could be a sinkhole, or Godzilla could suddenly appear and ruin the cookies.
When I walked through the main lobby of Frost Tower, where Mark had his office, I tried not to act too antsy. I was afraid someone would jostle me in the elevator, and I let multiple people go ahead of me before I was able to snag an elevator all to myself.
“I have a contract proposal and cookies,” I told the receptionist at the AstraDrone office, “but they’re special cookies, and they all belong together so please don’t put them out for the office.”
“Okay…”
I realized I must sound like a lunatic. Maybe the cookies were a bad idea.
“They’re like little puzzles,” I said desperately, feeling like I was only sounding crazier.
Maybe I should have also brought cookies for their whole office.
The receptionist took the box. I was not filled with confidence that the cookies were going to make it to their final destination.
I was feeling a bit down when I arrived back at the Quantum Cyber office. Beck was still on a phone call.
