“Mr.Rourke’s house is a half mile away from here.It’s private.Accessible by invitation only.”
Internally, she scoffed, how often did that happen?Models weren’t exactly lining the halls.
“Right there,” Franco said, excited.“Bet we have the same zip code.”
The guy was crazy.Had he always been crazy?Why was she only noticing now?
“Does everyone agree with the plan?”Mieux asked, sticking to the itinerary.Good.At least someone was doing their job.“There will be time for food and refreshments when the other team arrives.”
“Let’s get to it,” Helena said.“We want to know this place backwards, so we can hit the ground running on Monday.”
“Excellent attitude,” Mieux said, turning her back to march on.“Please follow me.”
Follow her.Follow the new team.Suck up Rourke’s ass.Hmm.Why did it feel like she was failing already?
NINE
THEIR TEAM.In addition to her, Helena, Franco, and Myles, Doctor Johann Ellis and Guillermo Hurst completed their squad.For two weeks, they’d been searching for a rhythm and hadn’t quite hit it yet.
Mieux was in and out, helping with admin and anything else they needed.She was a great liaison and took a lot of the daily grind from their plates.The assistant kept minutes, collated documents, sent memos and reports to Leon, their supervisor.
Not that he supervised.As far as she could tell, he wasn’t even on the premises most of the time.Whether he traveled independently or just kept his head down, his appearances were sporadic.They were based in a glass conference room on the symmetrical executive floor.The only time they saw Leon was when he passed by to go to his office or worked in the conference room opposite theirs.
Lunch was less than an hour old and already the debate was hot.
“That’s good.I’m glad you’re confident,” Roux said to Johann, their doctor.“But we can’t let Huddle Hope work that way.”
“It’s an established process.”
“That’s great, if it works for others.”
“We’re not reinventing the wheel.”
“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” she said without disguising her amusement.“Venturing into this arena on a digital platform gives us a latitude other forums don’t.We can erase geographical lines, social constraints, even break down economic and political boundaries.”
“Ah, that’s risky.”
“Good!That’s what we want to hear.We want to take risks for maximum rewards.”
“We can’t play with people’s lives.”
“How do we break down economic barriers?”Guillermo asked.“If people don’t have access to technology…”
“We’ll give them access,” she said.“Mosaic has charitable affiliations.”
“People don’t want to feel like charity.”
“If you’re struggling with mental health issues, a little kindness can go a long way.”
“You think a free tablet will cure mental health issues?”
“I think being noticed is a start,” she said.“Acknowledging the struggle is real.Showing someone they are worth the effort.There are so many reasons it would be valuable.We have to look at this from many angles, but we cannot lose sight of the people who will benefit from this.They are the driving force, the motivation here.”
“And I don’t think you understand the seriousness of this.There’s no way that—”
“Yes, there is—”
“In your opinion, Roux!You think because you shout louder you’ll win?”
