Page 85 of The Silver Fox Brother

There's a pause on the other end.

"Oh. Okay. Is everything alright? You sound a little off."

"I had a personal emergency come up. Can you reach out to Mrs. Chen and see if we can push the meeting to early next week? Monday or Tuesday if she's available."

"Of course. I'll take care of it right away." Maya's voice is concerned now.

"Are you sure you're okay, Win? Do you need anything?"

"I just need today," I say quietly.

"I'll be back in the studio on Monday, but I need to take today to handle some things."

"Take all the time you need. I've got everything covered here."

"Thank you, Maya. I really appreciate it."

"Of course. And Winter? Whatever's going on, I hope it gets better."

I hang up and set the phone back on the table, staring at it like it might explode. This is the first time in five years that I've canceled on a client for personal reasons. The first time I've let my personal life interfere with my business.

“It feels like failure,” I say out loud.

Kate reaches over and squeezes my hand.

"You're not failing. You're human. And you're allowed to take a day to deal with something this big."

I nod, but I don't quite believe her. All I can think about is how much I have to do. How many decisions I need to make. How many pieces of my life I need to pick up and figure out how to put back together.

But for now, I'm sitting in Kate's kitchen with my two best friends, drinking coffee and trying to remember how to breathe.

The morning passes in a strange blur of forced normalcy.

Kate takes a client call in her bedroom with the door closed. Amy sets up at the dining room table with her laptop, headphones on, typing away at something work-related. I find myself at the corner desk in Kate's small home office, my own laptop open in front of me, trying to focus on the mundane tasks that make up running a business.

Emails. So many emails.

I answer the urgent ones first, the ones from vendors and contractors who need approvals or clarifications. I review budget spreadsheets for the Williamsburg loft project, checking numbers that all blur together because I can barely concentrate. I read through the specifications for the Chen project's custom millwork, trying to focus on the details even though my mind keeps drifting.

I need to keep busy. If I stop moving, if I let my mind wandertoo far, I'll start thinking about everything that happened last night and I'll fall apart all over again.

So I keep working.

Around one in the afternoon, I'm staring at a spreadsheet that I've read three times without absorbing a single number when I remember the business card.

Knox's business card.

I close the laptop and reach for my suitcase, which is still sitting in the corner of the guest room where I left it this morning. I dig through the front pocket until I find my portfolio, and tucked inside is the heavy card stock with embossed lettering.

Knox Sterling

CEO, Sterling Luxury Developments

His direct cell number is printed beneath his name. I carry the card back to the desk and sit down, turning it over in my hands. The paper is expensive, substantial, the kind of business card that announces success before you even read the name.

Eight to ten million dollars for three model units. Six months from contract to installation. The biggest project I've ever been offered, the kind of opportunity that could completely transform my firm's trajectory.

Yesterday, sitting in this exact position felt impossible. Yesterday, I was torn between the opportunity and what Rowan would think, how he would react, what complications it would create in our relationship.