Do I handle this with some level of control?
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling for a second before looking back at my desk.
Nah.
I’m not about to crash out. Not over him. I learned my lesson. If he wanted to make this business only, then I’d treat it like business only. And I’d do it better than he expected. I didn’t waste time.
I stood, grabbing a box and starting with the nearest stack of files. If he wanted me out, I’d be out.
The third buildingwas exactly how I expected it.
Dust lined the windowsills, and the air had that stale feeling of a place that hadn’t been used in a while. But structurally, it was solid. Open layout. Good light. Enough space to build something.
I set the box down on the nearest table and looked around.
Okay.
We can work with this.
“We deadass?” Hartland’s voice came from behind me as he stepped inside, looking around.
“Very,” I said. “Welcome to marketing.”
He blinked. “Marketing… as in us?”
“As in us,” I confirmed, walking further into the space. “Don’t look at me like that. We gonna figure it out.”
He let out a short laugh, shaking his head. “Aight then. What you need me to do?”
I turned to him, already shifting into work mode.
“I need a list,” I said. “Everything. Desks, chairs, computers, software, whatever we need to actually run this like a real department.”
He nodded slowly, pulling out his phone. “You want top tier or budget?”
“Both,” I said without hesitation. “Give me options. I’ll decide where to cut and where to spend.”
“Got you.”
I paced the room, already mapping things out in my head. First we need a cleaning crew. Workstations along one wall. A central table for meetings. Maybe a small content area for photos and videos.
If I was doing this, I was doing it right.
“I’m ordering everything today,” I added. “I don’t want us sitting in here looking stupid.”
Hartland smirked. “You just got kicked out your office and already spending money.”
“Reallocated. Let’s use the right language.” I shot him a look. “And I got money of my own. My father has a way of cutting me off when I’ve upset him so I learned to have funds set aside for a rainy day. I have enough money set aside to pay my debt three times over. I just didn’t feel like giving it to Marlon.”
He laughed, but started typing anyway.
Good.
I needed that energy.
Because if I stopped to think too hard about why I was here—I’d get distracted.
And I didn’t have time for that.
