"Little kitty" hit everyone at the table like a thunderbolt, and Ethan himself froze for a full second.
Little kitty...
"Ms. — Ms. Carter!" Ethan's voice cracked slightly, face full of disbelief. "You... what did you just call me?"
Ms. Carter smiled like a cat who had gotten exactly what she wanted, completely unbothered: "Little kitty~ How is it? Cute right? Very warm and friendly?"
She announced it proudly: "Decision made. That's what I'm calling you from now on. Little kitty~"
"Why though?" Ethan felt his scalp crawl and goosebumps scatter across the floor. "Little kitty sounds like something you'd call a pet. Or a... a little boyfriend."
Ms. Carter looked completely open about it, like she was stating something obvious: "No reason needed. It just makes us sound closer. More special. Doesn't it?"
Ethan wanted to dig a hole into the dining hall floor with his toes.
Closer. How close exactly?
Right now it was a completely normal teacher-student situation. As for the future... that was a whole other question.
...
The next morning.
Ethan was still half-asleep in his dorm bed.
His phone rang.
He pulled it out and saw the name on screen — Laura.
He was wide awake immediately.
Laura. Finally.
He answered right away, voice still rough from sleep but with real energy underneath: "Hello! Laura, I've been waiting on this call. How was the trip? Mountains and beaches treat you well?"
Not long ago, Laura had finalized her divorce, and Ethan had invited her to come on board at the company. She had taken some time to travel first, and apparently she was already in the city.
On the other end, Laura's laugh came through warm and full of energy — she sounded like a completely different person: "Stop it. I'm already in Midtown, sitting at a place called Blues Coffee near your office building. Where exactly are you? I'll come to you directly."
Ethan was caught off guard. He had expected her to call and say she was heading into the city today — not that she was already there.
"You're already here? Hold on, send me the location. I'm sending someone to pick you up right now and I'm heading over from campus immediately."
"Got it." Laura hung up clean. The location came through on iMessage seconds later — right near the Redwood Capital office building.
Ethan didn't waste a second. He called Diana immediately: "Diana, Laura's here. She's at Blues Coffee, basically right next to the office. Go pick her up and get her settled. I'm leaving school right now."
He hung up, threw back the covers and got moving fast.
Kevin was already at his desk, keyboard and mouse going hard — a tireless gaming machine with no concept of morning.
Marcus got woken up by the movement, hair going in every direction, eyes barely open: "Ethan... what time is it... no class today, why are you up..."
Ethan was already putting on his shoes: "Something urgent. Gotta go."
"Mm..." Marcus tilted his head and disappeared back behind his bed curtain. Silence.
Ethan brushed his teeth, washed up, ran some water through his hair. Much better.
He was almost at the door when Kevin pulled off his headphones, spun his chair around, and looked over with a hopeful expression: "Ethan... got one?"
Ethan almost laughed. Anyone who didn't know the situation would think something completely different was being asked.
He didn't say anything, just opened his drawer, popped a cigarette out of the pack, and tossed it over.
Kevin caught it clean, grinning: "Thanks man."
Ethan shook his head, smiled, and headed out.
The morning rush was already over. Roads were clear all the way in.
Just over ten minutes later Ethan's car pulled up outside the office building.
He went straight upstairs and into Diana's office.
He pushed the door open and saw Laura already sitting on the sofa.
She had on a well-cut off-white dress, complexion bright, eyes sharp and clear. She looked transformed — completely different from the worn-down version of her he had last seen. She carried herself with a grounded, quiet confidence that hadn't been there before.
"Laura!" Ethan greeted her with a big smile. "Finally. I've been waiting on you. Look at you — travel clearly agreed with you."
Laura stood up, elegant smile with just a hint of playfulness: "Mountains and good air do something for the head. Got things sorted out. Now I'm here, fully loaded, ready to work for President Ethan."
She put a deliberate weight on "President Ethan."
Ethan smiled and waved it off.
He turned to Diana beside him: "You two already know each other so I'll skip the formal intro. Diana runs the whole operation — she's the one who keeps everything moving."
They talked for a bit.
Then Ethan's expression went serious: "Laura, I've thought about your role carefully. Starting today, you're President of Nexus Social. Full authority over all strategic direction and day-to-day operations."
He looked at Diana: "Diana, get the official appointment notice out to Alex's team immediately."
"Got it, Ethan." Diana picked up her desk phone and started making calls.
The appointment was out within minutes.
Ethan walked Laura through the office himself, ending up at the Nexus Social workspace.
Alex's team was in the middle of intense final testing before the product launch.
Ethan clapped once, pulling everyone's attention: "Everyone, pause for a second. Let me make a formal introduction — this is Laura, and starting today she's President of Nexus Social. Laura brings deep experience in corporate management, strategic planning, and market growth. Having her here is a major step forward for where Nexus is going. Please welcome her."
Solid applause went around the room.
Laura stepped in with a brief, confident intro — clear, direct, no fluff. She immediately asked Alex several specific questions about key technical milestones and where the testing currently stood. Sharp and precise. The developers who had quietly been skeptical dropped it almost immediately.
Her office was right next to the main workspace, good view, good light.
Laura set her bag down and looked at Ethan with bright eyes: "So I start now, President Ethan?"
"Of course, President Laura. You've had a long trip. Anything you need, reach out to me or Diana directly." Ethan smiled and nodded. He already knew — this one was going to hit the ground running.
Watching Laura slide into the rhythm of things almost immediately, Ethan felt genuinely settled.
He walked back to Diana's office and pulled the door quietly shut behind him.
The moment the door clicked closed, the professional composure on Diana's face softened all at once, like something heavy had just been lifted off her shoulders.
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