Chapter 7 - Dylan
“Good morning, Dylan,” Linden said from his end of the video call. “I’m ready for your Monday morning progress report.”
I nodded and glanced at my notes. “Unfortunately, Connie only had three locations—well… four, but two were so similar we only toured one—and none were good. The first I rejected outright; it was an old bank with the vault still intact. Combined with a bad floor plan, I decided it wasn’t going to work. ”
“And the other two?”
“Potentially workable, but I’m holding out a little bit for a better option.”
“Talk to me.”
“One was a former cubical farm. There was a good spot for a small server room, and while there wasn’t fiber to the building, they had last-mile copper.”
“Ok…”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, when I went through the permits for the area, it looks like it’s infested with NIMBYs who flood the public comments, no matter what permit is requested.
I saw one where a bike rack was being held up, and another for a replacement awning for a building that already had one; it’s just old and needs to be replaced.
I think we could easily tack on another three to four months for anything requiring a permit, if not longer. ”
“Damn. And the other.”
“It’s not in the best neighborhood. Violent crime doesn’t seem to be an issue that I could find, but it’s a low-income area and does seem to have increased property crime over the cubicle farm. Permits seem easier. And the building itself is lovely…” I sighed.
“Go on.”
“It’s an old bakery. Even walking around, we kept disturbing dust that I couldn’t easily see.
Pests are probably an issue, but I have no idea how much cleaning it’ll take to get rid of the flour that’s probably embedded in every surface.
I don’t know if it can be thoroughly cleaned.
The former dry stock area is perfect for a server room, but that’s where the flour was stored.
And right now it’s only got coax upstairs, and fiber is not as close as in the other building. ”
“I’ll give you a bit more time, but if you had to choose today, which would it be?”
I rubbed my chin as I thought about it. “Honestly? The bakery. Get a few pressure washing crews in for a deep clean before sealing off the floor drains, then use an epoxy paint wherever possible to hopefully seal away any remaining flour residue. We’d still be fighting it and would have to be careful, but morale would be better.
The space is open with good lighting and high ceilings. ”
“Interesting…” he murmured as he turned to make a note on his end.
“Hmm?”
“With other things being close to equal, you defaulted to morale.”
“Umm…”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. It’s a good thing. We told you that we wanted to know what you’d prioritize, and you picked your people. It’s a leadership quality we thought we saw in you.”
“Oh.”
“Alan did say you might have trouble finding a location. He said that if it comes down to it, he can spare a few conference rooms on the top floor for a month or so.”
I grumbled. “That seems like an absolute last resort.”
“Agreed.”
“I take it you have the same hesitations about those buildings?”
“I do. We don’t want neighbors holding up permits, but flour is bad news. Not rushing was the appropriate response.”
“And if nothing else comes up in a timely fashion… or if whatever does come up is equally bad?”
“Go with your gut. Choose your people. Equipment is replaceable; good people… not so much. You’re building a talent pipeline out there, and I’d rather stare down the bill for a new server rack than lose a brilliant mind because they were stuck in a soul-sucking building.”
I chuckled. “I knew there was a reason I liked working for you.”
Linden laughed. “That and the pay.”
I echoed the laugh. “The pay does help.”
“So…” he said as he got himself under control again. “What’s next on your agenda?”
“Connie and I are meeting on Wednesday to look at the housing options so we can get a master lease agreement for the intern apartments finalized. She said it was a bit easier since the city has been working on housing for the past few years. It’s still tight, but there are a couple of new builds just coming onto the market that we can get into. ”
“Fantastic, and until then?”
“Hoping to hear about more office space options. I’ll probably take another couple trips to the permitting department so that I know exactly what I need as soon as I sign a lease. I’m meeting with Alan later this week to start looking over potential businesses for our interns to work with.”
I paused. “And I’m expecting a list of recommended architectural firms from Connie as well. I’ll cross-reference that with information I got from the permitting office.”
“Sounds good. And now that you’re in a sort of holding pattern, I’m authorizing up to eight paid hours per week to look for your own housing.
Whether you take a day because you have no other appointments or spread it out over the week, I don’t care.
Let me know if you plan to take a full day, so I know not to call, but that’s my only request on that. ”
“Really?”
He nodded. “We’d have given you several days outright if it weren’t for the fact that we needed you to get the ball rolling.”
“Thanks. It’ll help.”
“You’re welcome. Now, unless you have anything else to report, I think we’re good.”
“I shook my head. No. I think we’re good.’
“Great. Keep me updated.”
“I will.”
“Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
The screen switched to the software logo as he ended the call, and I slumped into the hotel chair.
He hadn’t said it, but I could tell that Linden had been looking for better news regarding a building. But he also knew that sometimes you had to give things a bit more time.
I sighed and tried to decide what I wanted to do that afternoon. Part of me was tempted to start looking for an apartment or house to rent. Another insisted I should go to City Hall and look at the fiber maps so I had a better idea of how close things were if another building was available.
I reached for my phone. I’d ask Connie if she had any residential realtor suggestions.
I blinked when it rang, and her name appeared on screen.
“Dylan,” I answered.
“Hey,” she started, a nervous tone to her voice. “Do you have time this afternoon?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I just got word from a broker at another agency. He’s got a building that’s just the size you’re looking for. Prime location, and it’ll probably go fast once it hits public listings. Can you meet me there around a quarter-to-three?”
“Send me the details.”
“I’ll email as soon as I hang up.”
“Great. Anything else you can tell me?”
“I’ll see what else I can get from him. He seemed annoyed about it for some reason.”
“Ugh. Well… It’s at least worth a look.”
“That’s what I thought. I’ll see you there.”
The phone went silent, and for a moment, I cursed myself for forgetting to ask about a realtor.
Then something in my chest fluttered—like it was ok.
I stood and crossed to the window. I had a great view, and as I looked out, an almost overwhelming sense that everything was about to fall into place washed over me.
As much as I wanted to work, I couldn’t seem to focus. I decided that I wanted a better idea of where I might want to live, so I spent a couple hours simply driving around the residential areas.
My heart insisted that I was home.
I pulled into a city-owned parking structure in a good area of town about twenty-to-three and met Connie at the pedestrian exit.
“It’s just down the street here,” she said as we fell into step. “It doesn’t have dedicated parking, but the city has good monthly rates for those who want a pass.”
“Good to know.”
She paused as we turned a corner. “There it is.”
I followed the line to where she was pointing, and a slow smile spread across my face.
The three-story brick warehouse had been beautifully renovated. It had a line of large windows along the street, and the upper floors also sported plenty of windows, with the ones on the third floor being arched.
Connie looked at her watch. “We’ve still got a few minutes.”
“What else can you tell me?” I asked, not wanting to tear my gaze from the door.
As if it were important somehow.
“Well… the bad news is that it’s a lease reassignment.”
“How is that bad?”
“Apparently the current tenant made several building modifications, and their broker told me that they don’t want to remove them yet. It’s been a source of contention with his own clients.”
“Do you know what those modifications are?”
“Unfortunately not. This just came across this morning, and I haven’t been inside.”
“Do you know what kind of business was here before?”
“Art insurance… I think.”
“Well, we’ll see if we can work with anything.”
Part of me worried that I was about to walk into another bank vault situation, but the building itself was already better.
“It’s time,” she said as she led me to the door.
Movement from inside, and I realized the windows had been treated in a way to obscure the interior.
Connie pressed a buzzer beside the door, and the door opened a crack.
“Connie Mathers?” asked a smooth voice from inside.
My cock twitched for some reason.
“That’s me!” she replied. “And this is Dylan Wall from Techspeed Consulting.”
The man inside—an omega—opened the door and ushered us in.
Cool, air-conditioned air hit me, then a scent that tugged on every instinct.
“Nice to meet you,” the omega started. “I’m Fl…”
His voice trailed off as my instincts latched onto his scent.
Mine.
I turned to him and watched shock spread across his handsome face.
Mine. My omega.
I took a step closer and noticed the slightest whiff of his slick.
My fated mate was right there… in front of me.