Page 114 of Until Now

“Woah, someone must really like you.” Anna points towards the bouquet.

“Who are those from?” Alex asks.

“Secret admirer,” Elizabeth chimes in. The way she says it, I know she has an idea of who this “secret admirer” is.

“Do you have something you wanna share with the class, Nina?”

“There’s no card,” Michaela searches the bouquet.

“There wasn’t one,” I shrug. “Probably just a good luck bouquet from the organization. It’s nothing special.”

“Some bouquet,” Alex pushes. “They must be glad you came.”

“Are you hungry?” I ask Anna intentionally avoiding Alex’s stare. I can feel his eyes on me, but I still refuse to meet his stare as I finish packing up my bag. “I can see if we can move our reservation up at Davio’s.”

“Starving!” Anna seems oblivious to the knowing looks of the other three people in the room. That or she is good at ignoring them.

Chapter Sixty-Six

The moment Iwalk into the space, I know. This is it. DV Designs: New York. Twenty stories above Columbus Circle, the empty floor has a breathtaking view through floor-to-ceiling windows — panoramic views of Manhattan below my feet. In the reflection, I watch the realtor pace the elevator bank on his phone. Michaela and Elizabeth stand inside a corner office overlooking Central Park. Wren, my new assistant and intern, types furiously on her phone nearby. A small sense of pride overwhelms me. Somedays, I still can’t believe I’ve made it this far. After a moment of taking it all in, I join Michaela and Elizabeth. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“This is incredible!” Michaela gawks. “Do you see this view? I’d kill for this office. You’re going to have the best views in the city.”

“He was right about this one,” Elizabeth says as we walk out of the office. We’ve looked at five other locations, but this is the first one I liked.

“What would you do with the space, Michaela?”

“Me?” Michaela has helped me design hundreds of projects, and has even given input on the Denver office, but this is different. I’m opening the floor for Michaela in a way I haven’t before. “Well, I uh…I would make this your office and I would…” I motion for Wren to take notes as Michaela describes wall placements, light fixtures, paint colors, and other decor.

“You think she’s caught on, yet?” Elizabeth asks when we leave them to join the realtor.

“Nope,” I laugh. “You were right, this is the best one. It was a bit deceptive online.”

“You know how that goes,” the realtor says. “I’ll draw up the papers.”

“Can you give us just a few more minutes?”

“Of course, take your time.”

I stare out over the city again. This has been a long time coming. A New York office was one of my biggest goals when I started DV Designs, but I have one thing left to do. “Hey, Mic,” I call from my place at the window. Michaela stops her directions. “Do you want it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want to run the New York office?”

Michaela laughs, but my face doesn’t change. I’m serious. Michaela’s face falls, she doesn’t think she is ready to run an office. She doesn’t have the same experience I do or any of the other office directors. I know that, but I know she can handle it. “You’re not serious, Nina.”

I only smile.

“Nina, I can’t just move to New York. What about you? What about David? What about Denver and—”

“You have been with me for the past five years, Michaela. You can do this. You’ve been doing it.” I can see the struggle inside Michaela. “You’ve always wanted to move here, this is your chance. I already talked to David, just say the word, he’s ready.”

“You talked to David?” A swell of energy bubbles inside Michaela’s chest. “He said okay?” A delighted squeal fills the office, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“You’re so oblivious,” Elizabeth says with a small laugh.

“Does this mean I can have Michaela’s office now?” Wren asks.

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