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“That’s terrible. No wonder she had an interest in building failures.”
“And, get this—in almost every incident it was due to a faulty design or substandard materials. Politics and greed. Just to reassure herself, she asked the head of quality control of her company how things were going. Compliance. All that.” Yoko shaved the end of the last flower with her florist knife.
“That doesn’t seem like an unreasonable query.” Alexis began to put the stems in the water.
“No. But almost immediately she got transferred to a different department. Almost like a demotion. They let her keep her title, but it seems like they’re pushing her out.” Yoko ruffled the leaves. “Apparently she was looking into some invoices and two days later her access to the database was denied.”
“That’s one too many coincidences.” Alexis stood back and admired the lovely bouquet. “Stunning.”
“Yes. But there’s more. She got shoved on a subway platform last week.”
Alexis stopped in her tracks. “So, Zoe may have stumbled upon something that other people don’t want her to know about.”
“Correct.” Yoko nodded. “Here, take these into the atrium. I should check on what they are doing with my chicken.” Yoko made a quick dash into the kitchen just as Maggie was shoveling more gyozas onto a platter. “Weren’t you taught to share?” Yoko playfully tapped Maggie’s hand.
Maggie rolled her eyes. “These are for everyone.” She pouted. “Will it ever stop?”
“Never!” Annie, Myra, Alexis, and Izzie shouted from the other room.
Maggie begrudgingly handed the platter over to Annie, who picked one up with her chopsticks. “This is how you do it.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Maggie was licking her fingers.
“You didn’t touch anything, did you?” Izzie asked.
“I switched hands.” Maggie smirked and the others chuckled.
For the next half hour, the women chatted about their latest projects. From there they went on to a discussion about film, television, art, and music.
Zoe added her perspective. “What I enjoyed about traveling the globe was discovering different cultures and their artistic development.”
Maggie chimed in. “I don’t think we’ve had our renaissance in this country yet unless you call Real Housewives, The Bachelorette, and the remake of old game shows artistic development. One network bragged how they had the most game shows on television.”
Annie looked over at Zoe. “Maggie thinks we’re experiencing a cultural calamity. Can’t say I disagree.”
Murmurs of agreement passed through the room.
“Well, enough of that nonsense.” Charles stepped into the room. “Dinner is served.”
Alexis collected the sake cups and Izzie picked the last gyoza off the platter.
The group assembled around the massive oak kitchen table. It was large enough to seat twelve people comfortably. The dining room table could accommodate up to twenty when they had a special occasion. That usually took place after a mission was complete. And accomplished.
Everyone took their usual chair, and Myra indicated the one next to her for Zoe.
Once everyone was settled, they held hands as Myra said grace. “Thank you for this food. Thank you for our friends. Thank you for all the blessings in our lives.” A resounding “Amen!” ensued.
Myra handed the platter of skewered teriyaki to their guests while sounds of anticipation filled the room.
“Yoko, you outdid yourself tonight,” Alexis exclaimed as she dished some of the rice onto her plate.
Yoko bowed her head in appreciation. “Thank you. As I mentioned to Charles, the gyozas are an old family recipe.”
Everyone’s eyes went to Maggie. “What? I didn’t eat all of them!” Laughs and giggles from the others followed.
There was lots of lively chatter and more banter about Maggie’s voracious appetite. She kept trying to change the subject. “I don’t want to bring anyone down, but I’ve been working on an article about the increase in gun violence. It’s horrifying.”
“And there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight,” Annie acknowledged as she plucked a few more skewers onto her plate. “The news is horrifying. We’re trying to keep it top of mind at the paper, but there is so much other static filling the air.”
