Chapter 44 - Everybody Knows #2
Because Adrian Vale had apparently woken up this morning, recovered from near death, bought my coffee, and decided the appropriate way to celebrate being alive was to destroy several hours of my work.
Absolutely not.
"No," I said again.
Adrian looked at me.
"You've said that."
"And yet you still seem confused."
"I'm not confused."
"Good. Then we're done."
I reached for my mouse.
Adrian put one hand on the drawing.
"We're not done."
I looked at his hand.
Then at him.
"Move."
"No."
"That's my desk."
"I'm aware."
"And my drawing."
"Technically, it's Vale Architecture's drawing."
I stared at him.
"You really want to use that argument?"
"Yes."
"Fine. Then Vale Architecture can redesign its own entrance."
Somewhere behind Adrian, someone laughed.
I didn't look.
Adrian did.
The office immediately became suspiciously quiet.
He turned back to me.
"Look at the approach."
"I have looked at the approach."
"Look at it again."
"I designed it."
"That doesn't make it immune to improvement."
My mouth fell open.
"Oh, you're brave today."
Maya made a sound beside me that was definitely a laugh disguised as a cough.
Adrian ignored her.
He pulled the drawing farther across my desk and pointed at the arrival sequence.
"If we shift this east-"
"No."
"Would you stop saying no before I finish?"
"No."
His jaw tightened.
I smiled.
"Shift it east," he continued, "and we can open the sight line from the drop-off."
"And destroy the relationship between the entrance and the courtyard."
"It wouldn't destroy it."
"It would weaken it."
"Not if the canopy turns with the approach."
I stared at him.
"You want to turn the canopy too?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely not."
"Why?"
"Because the canopy is doing exactly what it's supposed to do."
"It could do more."
"It could also grow wings and fly away. We're not asking it to."
Ben laughed.
This time Adrian looked over his shoulder.
Ben immediately looked at his monitor.
"Sorry."
"You're not," Adrian said.
"No."
Adrian turned back to me.
I pointed at the plan.
"The entire arrival sequence is built around this axis. You move the approach, you change the first view of the courtyard. You turn the canopy, you change the rhythm of the fa?ade. Then I have to revisit the lighting, the paving transitions, probably the landscape interface-"
"Yes."
I stopped.
"What do you mean, yes?"
"I know what would need to change."
"Then why are you asking me to do it?"
"Because I want to see it."
I stared at him.
There it was.
The entire reason.
"You want to see it."
"Yes."
"You don't think it's better."
"I don't know yet."
"You don't think the current one is wrong."
"No."
"You just woke up today and decided you wanted another one."
"I've been considering it."
"For how long?"
"Since yesterday."
I leaned back in my chair.
"So while I was making sure you ate breakfast yesterday, you were secretly planning to ruin my Tuesday."
Something changed in Adrian's face.
Very small.
But Maya saw it.
I knew because her head turned toward us.
Adrian lowered his voice slightly.
"I ate breakfast."
"Because I made you."
"You took me downstairs."
"Because you hadn't eaten."
"I was going to."
"You were not."
"What does this have to do with Solara?"
"Nothing. I'm reminding everyone that you're ungrateful."
"I didn't ask you to remind everyone."
"You're welcome."
His mouth moved.
Barely.
I saw it.
So did Maya.
And judging by the sudden silence behind us, so did half the office.
I turned toward them.
Ben was looking at his screen.
Nicole was looking at hers.
Daniel had somehow appeared near the material shelves.
Emma was sitting at her desk.
All of them were very obviously not listening.
Claire stepped out of her office with a mug in her hand.
She looked around.
Then at Adrian standing beside my desk.
Then at the enormous drawing spread across it.
Then at me.
"What happened?"
"He's destroying Solara."
Adrian looked at Claire.
"I'm testing an alternative."
"He's destroying Solara experimentally."
Claire took a sip of coffee.
"Ah."
That was it.
She didn't ask whether we needed help.
She didn't ask Adrian why he was standing at my desk arguing with me.
She simply walked toward the material library and started looking through samples.
Apparently this was normal now.
That was concerning.
Adrian tapped the plan again.
"Move the approach."
"No."
"Angelica."
"Adrian."
"Test it."
"No."
"You haven't even tried it."
"Because I have functioning spatial awareness."
"So do I."
"Debatable."
Daniel coughed.
Adrian looked toward him.
Daniel picked up the nearest material sample and examined it with extraordinary concentration.
I smiled.
Adrian looked back at me.
"I'm not asking you to replace the current scheme."
"Wonderful. Then we're keeping it."
"I'm asking for an alternative."
"Which requires me to redraw the approach."
"Yes."
"Rework the canopy."
"Yes."
"Revisit the paving."
"Yes."
"Coordinate the landscape edge."
"Yes."
"Check the sight lines."
"Yes."
"Probably adjust the lighting."
"Probably."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
"You understand that's several hours of work."
"Yes."
"And you still want it."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I told you."
"You want to see it."
"Yes."
"That is not a reason."
"It is to me."
"Of course it is. You're not the one doing it."
"I can do it."
I blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"I said I can do it."
"Oh, absolutely not."
His eyebrows pulled together.
"You just spent fifteen minutes refusing to do it."
"Yes."
"And now you're refusing to let me do it."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's my entrance."
Adrian stared at me.
Maya put her face in her hand.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Stop saying nothing."
"I'm trying."
Adrian pulled the drawing toward himself.
"Fine. I'll do it."
I grabbed the other side.
"No."
His eyes dropped to my hand.
Then returned to my face.
"Let go."
"No."
"You don't want to do it."
"Correct."
"You don't want me to do it."
"Also correct."
"What exactly do you want?"
"I want you to leave my entrance alone."
"That's not happening."
"Then we have a problem."
"We've had a problem for twenty minutes."
"That's because you're difficult."
Adrian went completely still.
Then-
"I'm difficult?"
"Yes."
He looked around the office.
Actually looked around.
Like he was searching for witnesses to this injustice.
That was his mistake.
Ben immediately looked away.
Nicole bit her lip.
Daniel suddenly became fascinated by the ceiling.
Maya didn't even bother.
She nodded.
Adrian stared at her.
"Don't involve me," she said.
"You just nodded."
"I was stretching."
"With your head?"
"Yes."
I laughed.
Adrian turned back to me.
"This is ridiculous."
"I agree."
"Do the alternate."
"No."
"Angelica."
"No."
"I'm your boss."
I smiled sweetly.
"There he is."
His eyes narrowed.
"You've been waiting to use that, haven't you?"
"For months."
"You're doing it."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
I leaned back and folded my arms.
"Then bribe me."
Silence.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind of silence that happened when an entire office suddenly forgot how keyboards worked.
Adrian stared at me.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I want to make sure I didn't."
"If you want that alternate so badly, bribe me."
His expression didn't change.
"What do you want?"
My arms slowly unfolded.
I hadn't expected that.
Behind him, Maya's head came up.
Nicole turned around.
Ben stopped pretending to work.
Even Claire looked over from the material library.
Adrian waited.
"What do you want, Angelica?"
I looked at him.
Fine.
If he wanted to play this game-
"Something expensive. Probably a diamond."
Nothing moved.
Adrian blinked once.
"For an alternate entrance study?"
"Yes."
He stared at me.
I smiled.
"Vale Architecture does not give away diamonds for doing your job."
"Then Vale Architecture is not getting another entrance."
His mouth twitched.
I pointed at the drawing.
"I'm still not doing it."
"You're still doing it."
"That's not how bribery works."
"That's unfortunate."
"For you."
"For you. You're the one doing the alternate."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
"Then fire me."
The words left my mouth.
And for one tiny second-
everything changed.
Adrian's face lost every trace of amusement.
"No."
One word.
Immediate.
Flat.
Something inside my chest shifted.
The office had gone quiet for a different reason now.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
Then I smiled slightly.
"Then I guess you're stuck with the current entrance."
His jaw tightened.
"Two options by tomorrow."
"One."
"Two."
"One."
"Angelica."
"Adrian."
He gathered the drawing.
I thought that was the end of it.
Then he looked down at me.
"Tomorrow."
"No."
"Tomorrow."
"Still no."
He walked away.
"I'm not doing it!" I called after him.
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
He kept walking.
I looked around the office.
Everyone suddenly moved.
Ben started typing.
Nicole turned back to her monitor.
Daniel walked away carrying a material sample I was almost certain he didn't need.
Claire took another sip of coffee.
Maya looked at me.
"What?"
She shook her head.
"Nothing."
I pointed at her.
"I swear to God-"
She laughed.
Across the office, Adrian disappeared into his office.
I looked at the Solara file on my screen.
Then at the entrance.
Then toward his office.
Absolutely not.
I was not doing it.
Not without a diamond.
By twelve-thirty, I had not touched the alternate entrance.
Not once.
This was important.
I had principles.
Adrian could walk across the office with his drawings and his CEO voice and his completely unnecessary architectural curiosity all he wanted.
I was not doing it.
I was eating lunch instead.
Maya sat across from me.
Nicole was beside her.
Ben had joined us approximately thirty seconds after discovering there was food involved.