I kept this revelation to myself as we headed up a row of quartered off stairs, and through a door on the next story. The second it opened, I stopped dead in my tracks.
It was a miniature office. Wall to ceiling windows, desk in the corner, conference table in the middle. It even had the obligatory shriveled plant in the corner. I stood there in amazement as Thomas loosened his tie and took a seat at the table. A moment later, two coffees were set in front of him. Not coffees in the typical Starbucks cups, mind you. No paper and straws here. Both of these had been meticulously poured and garnished in heavy, thick-bottomed mugs. As I got closer, I saw that mine had a little flower design on top, sprinkled in cinnamon.
Thomas gestured me forward, and I took a seat by his side, taking the cup tentatively in my hand. “We don’t pay here?” I repeated it as a question.
“I own the Starbucks,” he said simply.
Despite the tension, I couldn’t help but laugh. “For that reason alone, my roommate would insist that I marry you.”
I had obviously said it as a joke, but the second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. An incriminating flush heated my skin and I dropped my eyes quickly to my briefcase, unloading the documents Michael and I had been working on before.
Thomas looked amused. “Is that right? Big coffee drinker, is he?”
“She,” I corrected automatically, wondering suddenly if the ‘he’ had been intentionally inserted. “And yes, we come here almost every day. It’s been prioritized above rent. Just smelling coffee makes me less stressed.”
He chuckled. “I love my coffee.”
While this lighthearted banter would have been relished by Michael and carried on for hours, Thomas got straight to work.
“So tell me, what are we looking at?”
I pulled out my computer and opened the file with the merger thus far. Although it had taken Michael and me several hours to write it, Thomas read through in only about ten minutes, frowning to himself and taking occasional sips of coffee. I waited on pins and needles for the verdict. Although I’d drafted mergers before, it was obviously nothing on this scale and I was suddenly worried as to the level of quality. Faint strains of early Christmas music floated softly from the speakers, and I had nearly ground my nails to a pulp by the time Jingle Bells started a second time around.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally leaned back in his chair.
“This...is good.”
I half-collapsed in my seat with a silent sigh of relief. Thank God.
“You started with Hong Kong?”
I nodded quickly, pulling out my notes. “That was actually Michael’s idea.”
“Michael?” He looked up in surprise, then shook his head. “That kid drives me crazy.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes, the only time he and his brother seemed like real people was when they were talking about each other.
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head again as he pulled my spreadsheet from the pile. “It’s a brilliant strategy—putting Hong Kong first. He’s smart. He’s really smart. But I swear, he doesn’t want anyone to know it.”
I smiled to myself. “Why would he? Admitting it only leads to added responsibility, and he’s twenty-seven. I know he wants to impress your father, but it doesn’t seem like this is exactly his cup of tea.”
Thomas looked up for a moment, staring at me like he had never considered that, before returning quickly to the spreadsheet.
“And who wrote this?” he said quickly, changing the subject. “Who went with Viacom instead of sticking to Northwestern?”
“That was me,” I said hesitantly.
He took another scalding sip of coffee. “We’re going to scratch that and go back to the original plan.”
I lifted my hands to type the changes but paused. “May I ask why?”
He frowned down at the papers. “Because in addition to having Senator Coalman’s endorsement with the fishing industry, NW has never dipped below a four point five.”
I ran my fingers back through my hair. “And if we were living in nineteen ninety-nine, I might agree with you. But if you look at the growth patterns for the last five quarters, Viacom has been consistent while NW is flagging in the wake of their new vice president.”