Page 95 of The Silver Fox Brother

"Ready to see the penthouse level?"

"Absolutely." Winter gathers her camera and bag.

"Maya, you have everything you need down here?"

"All set. We'll finish up and meet you at the elevator in twenty."

Winter follows Tom out of the unit, her team dispersing to complete their documentation. I stand in the empty bedroom for a moment before heading back to the lobby. By the time I get there, Winter and Tom are already at the construction elevator, discussing the mechanical systems and where the shaft interfaces with the residential spaces above.

She's asking technical questions that most designers wouldn't think to ask. Tom is answering enthusiastically, clearly pleased to be working with someone who understands the complexities of the building systems.

The elevator arrives and Tom gestures for Winter to enter. She steps inside, then glances back at me.

"You coming, Mr. Sterling?"

I should get back to the office. I have calls to return, emails to answer, actual work that doesn't involve watching Winter Hayes walk through construction sites.

"Yes," I say, and step into the elevator.

The ride up is thirty seconds of close proximity and the industrial rattle of construction equipment. Winter stands with her arms crossed, looking up at the floor indicators, completely comfortable in the confined space.

The elevator opens onto the penthouse level. Winter steps out and goes completely still.

The space is raw—concrete floors, exposed ductwork, window openings with no glass. But the scale is evident. Nearly fifty-five hundred square feet of open space, floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, natural light pouring in from every direction.

"This," Winter says quietly, "is extraordinary."

She walks slowly into the center of the space, turning in a circle to take it all in. Her camera is forgotten in her hand. She's just experiencing the space, understanding it.

"The ceiling height up here?" she asks Tom without looking away from the windows.

"Eleven feet in the main living area, ten in the bedroom wing."

Winter nods, already calculating. She walks to the windows facing south, then to the ones facing east. Studies the views, the light, the way the city spreads below.

I watch her process it all, and something in my chest tightens. This is what I wanted. Someone who sees what this space can become. Someone who understands that buildings aren't just structures—they're where people live their lives.

Winter turns back to me.

"I'm going to need more time up here. This deserves careful consideration."

"Take whatever time you need."

Her team arrives from the elevator, and immediately they spread out across the space. Maya is already calling out measurements. James is photographing sight lines. Claudia is making notes about architectural details. Wintermoves through the space with them, directing, observing, contributing.I should leave.

Tom touches my arm.

"I need to check on the mechanical install in the basement. You good here?"

"Fine. I'll lock up when they're done."

Tom heads back to the elevator, leaving me alone with Winter's team working around me.

Winter walks over, her tablet in hand.

"I have preliminary questions about the penthouse layout. Is the bedroom wing placement fixed, or is there flexibility?"

"What are you thinking?"