“Who was that?”
“Harrison, and our niece is about to send him into cardiac arrest.”
He chuckles. “She’s getting feistier by the day. I love it.”
“You never answered about Mads.”
He lets out a frustrated huff. “She’s doing fine. A workaholic, which isn’t surprising. Linc might be giving her a hard time, but she’s tough, and he’ll get over it.”
I stop short and glare at him. “What do you mean bymight? Why haven’t you told me? What’s his issue?”
We hired Linc when we first started M-Squared. He’s talented, but equally cocky about it.
“Calm down. She threatens him because he’s no longer the smartest guy in the room, well, beside me, obviously, and has askill he doesn’t have. Don’t get your panties in a bunch over this. He’ll deal.”
I jam my finger into the elevator button. “No. You don’t let that prick deal about anything. I want to know every move he makes. If he so much as looks at her sideways, I want to know.”
“Jesus. Calm down. If HR could hear you now.”
“This is me calm.”
Leo crouches down and scratches Skye behind the ears. “Ask Lizzy to keep an eye out then. I’m too fucking busy.” He lets her lick her face. “Is our baby coming to the office with us today?”
I shake my head. “I don’t want Maddie to see her until we sort our shit out.”
He stands tall. “And how is that going?”
“Fine.”
“Sure,” he says, dripping with sarcasm. “She still engaged to another man?”
“Are you trying to get murdered today?”
My reaction only seems to amuse him more. “Meet you downstairs in thirty.”
“You’re early. Or late. I can’t tell anymore.” Amara, our head of the London office, turned good friend, answers on the second ring, yawning across the line.
I lean back in my chair, the glow of the city pulsing outside my office window. “Sorry. I owe you coffee. Or three.”
“By the tone of your voice, you might owe me some wine.”
“Fair enough.” I thumb through the plans on my screen. “I was reviewing your revisions for the rooftop layout in Shoreditch. The added green space looks good. But it’s pushing the solar array back further than we planned.”
“We were trying to get more visual relief from the street. The planning board wasn’t thrilled with the hard edges. Leo agreed.”
“Leo’s not on this project.”
“No, but we needed answers quickly, and you were on the plane and didn’t answer.”
“Got it. I just want to make sure we’re not sacrificing too much. I ran a quick model. Shade impact goes up fifteen percent.”
“That much?” Paper rustled on the other end. “What’s your suggestion?”
“I didn’t have time to think. I called you immediately when I saw the issue.”
“This project has given us nothing but issues.”
“That’s the truth, but once it’s done, it will be worth it.”
