window remained mostly asleep, but on the horizon, a ribbon of pink began to stretch across the sky. I

out logos or distractions. Flats that made no noise against the hardwood floor. T

ssary, and I counted that silence as a form of understanding. Trust had not come easy in

res. One boutique client had flagged a morning interview where Alessia implied I was unraveling. She used wo

is. Fear makes peo

n. They had not yet removed Roman officially, but inaction spoke loudly. Th

re than sleep ever could. Today would be about laying foundation

s Julian nodded

r," he said, al

s Marco Daley. Tall, clean lines to his movements, eyes that catalogued without wasting time. He introduced h

he tablet with

ble in that corner," I said. "An

nced lighting. No shadows near stitching areas. It

equals credibility. Color dis

e listened but did not insert hims

ow. "The space matters. You breat

ubtle patronizing correction. Just

r different light angles. Charcoal, ivory, midnight blue. Shades that whispered confiden

. New designers. New leadership. He cloaked the plan in words like evolution and expansion. Alessia had alread

ully selected quotes. All the performan

it in my bones. Their timeline was too fast. The

er than a breath. "But they don't know i

ur edge," Ju

ataloging every movement of the studio. Every cable. Every drawer. Every bolt that held it all toget

he skyline. San Francisco glittered without asking permis

ere to beg f

re to rec

without substance was just noise. But substance, wi