Wednesday morning arrived with Aurora already at her desk.
The Ravencrest project had officially moved into its early development stage, and she had spent most of the morning going through the architectural plans with her team.
The meeting with Mr Voss the previous day had gone better than she expected. He had been demanding, certainly, but reasonable.
At least, that was what she had thought.
That's when her phone buzzed. It was an email from Mr Voss's office.
She opened it.
Her eyebrows slowly lifted as she read through the message.
There were several new requirements.
She scrolled down.
Then further.
And further.
Aurora stared at the screen for a few seconds. "You have got to be kidding me."
Amaya, who was standing nearby with a folder, looked over. "Is everything alright?"
Aurora turned the laptop slightly towards her. "Apparently, Mr Voss has decided that the project needs another design review."
Amaya stepped closer. " Wait what! Another one?"
"Yeah, he wants three alternative concepts."
Amaya blinked. "Three?"
"Three."
"And when does he want them?"
Aurora checked the email again. "Tomorrow afternoon."
Amaya stared at her. "Tomorrow?"
Aurora nodded slowly. "He also wants the projected costs for each design, a revised materials list, and an explanation of how each option affects the construction timeline."
Amaya looked genuinely impressed by the audacity of the request. "That sounds like a lot for one day."
"It is."
Aurora closed the laptop.
"Apparently, Mr Voss doesn't believe in giving people free time."
Amaya tried not to smile."Should I tell him we'll need more time?"
"No."
Aurora stood and picked up the folder.
"If that's what he wants, that's what he'll get."
Amaya smiled.
"I'll inform the design team."
"Please do."
As Amaya left, Aurora looked back at her laptop. She wasn't going to lie, the request annoyed her. Not because it was impossible.
It wasn't. But because Mr Voss had already reviewed the plans yesterday. And now, in less than twenty-four hours later, he had introduced an entirely new set of requirements.
It almost felt deliberate. "I guess he wasn't lying when he said he was only being nice since it was the first day" Aurora mumbled.
She leaned back in her chair and stared at the screen "Alright, Mr Voss."
A small smile appeared on her face. "Let's see who gets tired first."
By midday, Aurora's office had turned into a small command centre.
Architectural drawings covered the conference table. Laptops were open, material samples were spread across the surface, and members of her team moved between discussions.
Aurora stood at the centre of it all, studying the first concept. "This one is too expensive."
One of the architects nodded. "Then we can replace the imported materials with locally sourced alternatives."
"Will that affect durability?"
"No. Not significantly."
"Good. Make that adjustment."
Aurora moved to the second design. "This one saves money, but we've lost too much open space."
Another architect pointed towards the plan.
"We could restructure this section."
Aurora studied it. "That could work." And marked the area with a pencil. "Do it."
The hours passed quickly.
By three o'clock, they had two strong concepts.
The third was proving more difficult.
Aurora stood over the drawing, arms folded.
"This one still isn't right."
"What if we reduce the upper-floor extensions?" one of the architects suggested.
Aurora considered it.
"That would reduce the cost."
"And construction time."
"But it would also change the entire appearance."
The room went quiet.
Aurora looked at the design again. Then she picked up a pen. "What if we move the extension here instead?"
She drew a quick line across the plan. "That keeps the original structure but gives us the space we need."
Her team leaned closer.
One of them nodded. "That could work."
Aurora smiled. "Then let's make it work."
By early evening, the three concepts were finally taking shape.
...
Aurora returned to her office and checked the time.
She had barely settled into her chair when her phone rang. It was from Candace.
Aurora answered the video call.
Candace's face appeared on the screen.
"Look at you."
Aurora raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You look exhausted."
"I've been working."
"That isn't an excuse."
"It is when I have a deadline."
Candace rolled her eyes. "Of course it is."
Before Aurora could respond, another face appeared on the screen.
"Hi!"
Aurora's expression immediately brightened. "Cora!"
Cora smiled from the screen.
"Finally! I thought you two were going to talk without me again."
Candace laughed.
"She called me first."
"Because I was checking on her."
Cora's piercing gaze shot from through the screen. "Are you okay, Aurora?"
"I am."
"You don't look okay."
Aurora laughed. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Because you look terrible," Cora and Candace said simultaneously.
And you're very bad at pretending you're not tired," Cora added.
Candace nodded. "Exactly."
Aurora shook her head. "Both of you are impossible."
" You love us either way", Cora smiled.
Aurora leaned back in her chair. "So, how are things with you, Cora?"
"Good, actually" Cora said. "My husband is doing well, and the baby is keeping both of us busy."
Candace's face immediately brightened. "How is my little man?"
Cora laughed. "Your little man is growing far too quickly."
Aurora smiled. "I can't imagine how big he is. The last time I saw him, he was so tiny."
"You should see him now," Cora said proudly. "He's already trying to grab everything he sees."
Candace chuckled. "That sounds like trouble."
"Because it is." Cora nodded.
Aurora smiled. "I want to see him again when you come back."
"Same here," Candace added. "We need to see that little face properly, not just through a screen."
Cora laughed. "You two miss him that much?"
"Of course," Aurora replied.
"He's practically part of the group," Candace added.
Cora smiled warmly. "I'll make sure you both get to see him again."
Aurora looked at her. "By the way when do you plan on coming back?"
Cora hesitated for a moment. "Well…"
Candace narrowed her eyes playfully.
"That sounds suspicious."
Cora laughed. "Tory and I have been talking about staying abroad a little longer."
Aurora nodded. "I figured."
"The baby's settled here, and things have been going well. So we're thinking of extending the stay."
Candace smiled. "As long as you don't forget about us."
"Never." Cora smiled at both of them. "You'll definitely be the first people I call when we're back."
"You'd better," Aurora said.
The three friends laughed.
For a few minutes, the conversation moved between Cora's family, her baby son, Candace's fashion brand and Aurora's work.
Eventually, Cora noticed the drawings visible on Aurora's table. "Is that a new project you're working on?"
Aurora turned slightly.
"Yes. It's a huge project I'm working on with this company, Ravencrest Holdings. I guess I forgot to mention it in the chat"
"Forget about the chat, how's it going?" Cora asked exasperated.
Aurora sighed. "Ask me tomorrow."
Candace immediately laughed. "That bad?"
"Mr Voss gave us a ridiculous amount of work."
Cora raised an eyebrow. "Mr Voss?"
"Yeah, his name is Lucian Voss, he's the CEO of the company.
"Oh okay." Cora smiled. "So he's the difficult one?"
Aurora pointed at the screen. "Don't encourage Candace."
"I haven't said anything!"
"You were about to."
Cora laughed. "Okay, now I'm curious."
Aurora shook her head. "He's just very demanding."
"Are you going to let him push you around?" Cora asked.
Aurora gave her a confident look. "Absolutely not."
Candace smiled. "That's what I told her."
Cora nodded approvingly. "Good."
Aurora looked at the clock. "Okay guys, I should get back to work."
Candace sighed.
"I knew you were going to say that."
"I have a deadline." Aurora defended.
"You always have a deadline."
"And you always complain."
"Because you're leaving."
Cora laughed. "You two haven't changed."
Aurora smiled. "It's good hearing from you, Cora."
"It's good seeing you too."
"Call us again soon," Candace added.
"I will."
The call ended with Aurora placed her phone beside her laptop and for a moment, the office felt a little less quiet.
She looked at the three designs on her desk.
The day had been exhausting, but the work was progressing.
Aurora picked up her pen. "Alright."
She pulled the third concept closer. "Let's finish this."
...
Across the city, Mr Voss sat behind his desk, looking through the Ravencrest documents.
He had deliberately set demanding requirements with reasons best known to him.
I guess it'll take a while to know his real intentions.