ANMELDENBy the time they stepped outside, the restaurant had become noticeably quieter. The valet brought George's car around.Queen stood beside him, slipping her coat over her shoulders. “I can't believe it's this late.”George glanced at his watch. “Neither can I.” “You know what that means?” “That we talked too much?”She smiled. “Exactly.” “I don't think that's possible.” Queen looked at him. “You say that now.”“I mean it.” He opened the passenger door for her. She paused before getting in. “You really don't get tired, do you?”“Of you?” Queen's eyes widened slightly. George's mouth curved. “I meant talking.” “You knew exactly what you were doing.”“Yes. She shook her head and climbed into the car. George got in beside her rather than taking the front.The door closed. The car pulled away from the curb. For a few minutes, neither of them spoke.The city moved past the windows in streaks of light. Queen rested her head against the seat.“I had a good time.” George glanced at her. “So did
George raised an eyebrow. “What?”“My Mom? “Yes. Queen stared at him as though he'd just suggested something completely unreasonable.“Why?” “Because you just spent the last hour telling me about her. That doesn't mean you have to meet her.”“Why not?” “Because… She paused. Then lowered her voice. George, you're my client.”He smiled. “Am I? Yes. Is that what I am? For now. For now? Queen immediately realized what she'd said.She looked down at her plate. “That came out wrong.” “I don't think it did.” She gave him a warning look.“Don't make this difficult. “I haven't done anything. “You're smiling again. Because you're cute when you're trying to argue with me.” Queen shook her head. This is exactly why. “Why what?”“Why I can't take you to meet my mother. George looked genuinely curious.“Why? “Because she will ask questions. Questions? Too many. He laughed softly. Such as?Queen started counting on her fingers. Who are you? How do you know me? How long have you known me? What exactl
George waited. He didn't push. That was what made her eventually continue.“I've worked at T&B for years.” “I started at the bottom. I wasn't given much.”She gave a small laugh. “I didn't complain. I figured everyone had to start somewhere. George nodded.“But after a while, I started noticing something. What? When I did good work, someone else presented it.”His expression changed. “Someone else?” Queen nodded.“I'd spend days working on a campaign, preparing the strategy, fixing everything that wasn't working. Then someone else would walk into the meeting and present it.” “And receive the credit. According to my boss, my body does not represent the office. It will scare our clients away.I was body-shamed and left behind the desk to do the heavy work while Melissa or any other slimmer person presented my hard work.”George's jaw tightened. Queen noticed. “Don't.” “Don't what? Make that face. What face? The one you're making right now.”George looked genuinely confused. What face a
The conference room was unusually quiet. Queen stood at the end of the table with the presentation remote in her hand, Daniel Mercer seated across from her, Richard beside him, and the rest of the team arranged around the room.Melissa sat with her laptop open, her expression composed. She had said almost nothing during the first few minutes.That was unusual for her. But there was a reason. Queen was leading. And Melissa knew better than to interrupt when Richard had already made that decision.Queen clicked to the next slide. “The development isn't competing on amenities,” she said. “It's competing on confidence.”Daniel leaned forward. Queen continued. “Our research shows that your target buyers already understand luxury. They don't need us to convince them that marble floors and private elevators are expensive.”The next slide appeared. “They need to believe the purchase will improve their lives enough to justify the price.”Daniel studied the screen. “And your campaign does that
By nine the next morning, Queen had already covered half the conference table with notes.The Mercer Living folder was open in front of her, surrounded by printed market reports, photographs of the development, competitor brochures, and a notebook filled with questions.She had barely slept. Not because she was nervous. Because the project had gotten under her skin.Daniel Mercer had been clear about what he didn't want. He didn't want another campaign that simply called the apartments luxurious.Queen understood why. Luxury was easy to photograph. Convincing someone to spend millions on a home required something deeper.She studied the development's existing brochure again. Beautiful photographs. Expensive typography.A rooftop pool. Private parking. A concierge desk. Everything was polished. Everything was also forgettable. Queen crossed out the headline on her draft.LIVE ABOVE THE ORDINARY. Too predictable. She wrote another. COME HOME TO A LIFE ALREADY IN PLACE.She stared at it.
The conference room was already occupied when Queen walked in.Richard stood at the head of the glass table, one hand resting against the back of his chair. Beside him sat a man Queen had never seen before, dressed in a charcoal suit with the kind of quiet confidence that suggested he was accustomed to being listened to.Melissa was already there. So was Ava. Queen took the empty seat beside Ava, placed her notebook on the table, and waited.Richard looked around the room. “Good. We're all here.” Melissa straightened immediately.She had spent the last five minutes fixing her hair in the reflection of the dark conference-room window and checking her phone whenever nobody was l







