"I made that binder myself." I paused at my car door and looked at my watch. It was no use fighting bridge traffic at that time in the morning, so I would have to take the train into the city. "Who else have you seen this morning?"
"Oh." Amy's breathy sigh made my stomach clench. "There was this very handsome man about five minutes ago. I think he came in with Mr. Berger. He was wearing a tux, but his tie was all undone and his shirt unbuttoned."
My temp assistant melted on the other end of the line while I yanked open my car door and jumped in. "Let me guess: bright-blue eyes and a dimple when he smiles?"
"Ooh, I didn't see the dimple, but he had the yummiest stubble." Amy giggled. "He said he'd see me at the meeting."
"At the meeting?" I let my tires do the shrieking for me as I raced through my hilly neighborhood. "Why in the hell is Rainer Maxwell coming to my meeting?"
"Is that his name?" Amy asked. "Oh, here he is on your contacts roster. Junior Executive, Public Relations. I bet he is really good at his job."
"All he can do is wink and smile," I spat out. "He has no idea what it takes to manage a project from conception to launch. I bet he doesn't even know the server crashed and my team spent twelve hours straight fixing all the bugs. He probably thinks these apps appear out of nowhere, like plucking an apple off a tree."
I knew I was ranting, so I told Amy goodbye and then I stepped on the gas.
I strangled my steering wheel as traffic stopped again on the Bay Bridge. I really should have taken the train. I could see Hyperion Industries, the sleek skyscraper, standing out on the hilly streets of San Francisco. Everything about it was polished and new, always on the cutting edge of technology. The communications giant held the upper hand in everything from shared computer databases to bandwidth technology and internet applications. It dominated the buildings and companies around it, and was no less imposing from my vantage point on the bridge.
Finally, an opening appeared and I drove on the shoulder to get to my exit. It was strange to drive up to my office building rather than walk from the rapid transit station, but I didn't have time to over think it.
I did cringe as my old, economy sedan stood in line with Teslas and Porsches. The executive valet service was something I only ever used in an emergency. The astronomical numbers our product launch was showing explained my rush, but nothing erased the scraps and dents on my car. The valets raised their eyebrow as I pulled up.
"Ms. Nichols?" a valet confirmed, looking at my badge. "I'm sorry, we didn't recognize you and your, um, car. We'll take it right away."
I gathered up all my things and rushed into the lobby. Glossy was the only word that came to mind when I entered Hyperion Industries. The marble floor shone as did the tall columns that guided people to the first security checkpoint. The circular front desk looked like the dock out of a futuristic spaceship. The head security guard was surrounded by video monitors and computer directories. If he didn't recognize someone, his mountainous counterparts would detain them before they got to the elevator banks.
"Good morning, Otto," I said.
Otto folded his newspaper and stood up. "Good morning, Tasha. You took over the world yet?"
I laughed. "Not yet, but that's still the plan."
"Here, let me help you with that." Otto signaled for one of the large security guards to take his place. He shuffled around the front desk and took the stack of reports and files from my arms.
"Hi, Larry. How's your wife doing with her broken arm?" I asked.
Larry smiled, startling the two businessmen lined up behind me. "Cast comes off next week. Congratulations, Ms. Nichols, I hear your new app is—"
"Stop." Otto silenced him. "She won't talk about it until all the numbers are in."
"Am I really that bad?" I asked Otto as he walked me to the executive elevator bank.
The older man smiled and nodded. "But now that it's done, you're going to start coming in with details of real life. Dinners, dates, day trips, fun. You remember fun?"
"Nope," I said. "Must have slipped my mind."
"How about you find someone to help you remember?" Otto held open the elevator door and handed me my reports and files.
I pressed the number for my floor and shook my head. "Career first," I said.
Otto gave me a helpless smile as the elevator doors closed. He knew that as one of the few female junior executives at Hyperion, I had to work harder than my male counterparts. I couldn't afford to lose my focus or my foothold in the company would slip, and I would see my colleagues promoted ahead of me.
That thought still rankled me, no matter how many years I had strived to stay ahead of it. If I let go, even for sixty seconds, my career could stall. I couldn't let that happen.
So, when the elevator doors opened on my floor, I immediately punched the button for the Vista Cafe. The elevator rose to the highest floor and opened onto a busy scene. Long ago, the top brass of Hyperion had decided a sky-level cafe would help motivate their employees, and they had been right. Grabbing a cup of coffee next to panoramic views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the bay motivated everyone to work harder.
I didn't pause near the din of the coffee bar and kept going past the velvet-roped entrance to the executive dining room. I needed a quiet place to help me focus before our big meeting, and there was only one spot in the whole skyscraper that I knew would inspire me.
The exterior of Hyperion headquarters might have been shiny and new, but the building itself was erected right after the 1906 earthquake. It was that mix of history and evolution that made Hyperion an industry leader. When the newest incarnation of the offices had been installed, the tower had been left untouched. Only a few people knew that the original executive penthouse still existed, untouched. Otto had long ago told me the secret to finding it, and ever since then, it had been my haven.