Liam arrived at the office with a small list in his notebook. It wasn’t complicated—just the points he wanted to bring up with Caleb before they met with Miranda later in the morning. He sat down, opened his laptop, and pulled up the outline he had finished the night before. The more he looked at it, the more he felt it was just enough to keep things moving without overpromising.

Caleb walked in at his usual time, holding a bagel wrapped in thin paper. “Morning,” he said. “How’s the brain?”

“Functional,” Liam said. “Not fast, but functional.”

“That’s enough.” Caleb sat at his desk and tore the bagel in half. “We have a quick prep session in fifteen minutes. Miranda wants the first readout before lunch.”

“Got it.”

They pulled up their notes together, checking that their points didn’t overlap too much. Caleb read Liam’s outline quietly.

“This works,” he said. “Straightforward. No extra fluff.”

“That was the goal,” Liam said.

“Good. Miranda hates fluff.” Caleb leaned back. “You’d think she’d eat it for breakfast just to get rid of it.”

Liam smiled. “Anything else we need?”

“Just confidence,” Caleb said. “Pretend we’ve done this ten times.”

They reviewed the agenda again, and when it was time, walked into the small conference room across the hall. Miranda was already there, standing near the screen.

“Let’s start,” she said.

The meeting was shorter than Liam expected. He went through his points calmly, kept everything clear, and didn’t try to dress anything up. Miranda nodded through most of it. No interruptions. When he finished, she simply said, “Good. Keep developing this line. Add examples next week.”

Caleb’s portion went smoothly too. Miranda ended the meeting with a few quick instructions and left for another call.

Caleb exhaled. “See? No flames.”

“That’s a relief.”

Back at their desks, Liam checked his inbox. The client had sent a new email with next week’s schedule. It listed the time for the kickoff call with Ridgeway Design Studio and included a short agenda. Nothing dramatic—introductions, goals, next steps.

He read it twice, then closed it.

Caleb noticed. “Still thinking about the meeting?”

“Just going through the details,” Liam said.

“It’ll be fine. They’re small, but they’re good at what they do.”

Liam nodded again. “Yeah.”

The rest of the morning passed with light tasks. He reorganized some files, added notes to the outline, and checked a few small questions with Caleb. The office stayed busy but steady, the kind of day when nothing big happened but people kept moving anyway.

At noon, Caleb asked, “Lunch?”

“I’ll grab something downstairs,” Liam said. “Need to stay close.”

“You got it. Don’t starve.”

Liam went to the café on the first floor, bought a sandwich, and ate at one of the small tables by the window. He looked over the schedule again, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. The name Ridgeway stared at him from the top of the page, simple and plain.

He wondered if he had heard of them before. Probably not.

After lunch, he went back upstairs and spent the next hour drafting a few lines that he might use next week. Nothing final, just a couple of options to help himself later. At two, Caleb waved him over for a short check-in. They went over parts of the campaign to make sure they were aligned.

By four, Liam felt the kind of mental tiredness that wasn’t heavy, just steady. He finished up a few tasks, closed the tabs he no longer needed, and shut down his computer.

He left the office earlier than usual, walking to the bus with his hands in his pockets. The day wasn’t special, but it had gone cleanly, and that was enough.

The bus ride home was slow, backed up behind a few long lights. He looked out the window, watching the buildings shift from office blocks to smaller shops and apartments. When he got off, the air carried the quiet end-of-day sound he was beginning to recognize.

He reached his building, pushed the door open, and started up the stairs. On the second-floor landing, Zoey was locking her door with her shoulder pressed lightly against the frame to keep it steady. She had a tote bag hanging from one arm and a water bottle tucked under the other.

She looked up. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Liam said. “Heading out?”

“Just a quick grocery run,” she said. “I forgot to restock milk again. It’s becoming a pattern.”

“It happens.”

She stepped back from the door. “How was work?”

“Pretty even. Meetings. Some small things.”

“That sounds like my day.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “We’re prepping for something next week. Early-stage stuff. Lots of guessing until the emails come in.”

Liam tried to keep his voice even. “For a new project?”

“Yeah,” she said. “We’re meeting with another team soon. Haven’t worked with them before.”

He hesitated for half a second. “Local?”

“I think so.” She shrugged. “Boss didn’t say much yet.”

He didn’t ask more. He didn’t want to steer the conversation or make it weird.

Zoey shifted the tote bag. “You get your kitchen any closer to usable?”

“A little,” Liam said. “I unpacked a pan.”

“That’s the start of cooking actual food.”

“Hopefully.”

“I mean, unless you burn something. Then it’s back to takeout.”

“I’ll try not to burn anything.”

She gave a small laugh, short and quiet. “Well, if you need basic stuff, let me know. I’ve done the move-in mess before.”

“I appreciate it.”

A short pause settled between them, not uncomfortable.

Zoey pulled her keys from her pocket. “Okay, I should go before the store gets busy.”

“Yeah. See you.”

“See you.”

She walked down the stairs, and Liam watched her go for a moment before turning up toward his floor. He unlocked his door, stepped into the apartment, and set his bag down near the table.

He didn’t turn on the TV. Instead, he opened his notebook and added a few lines about the meeting next week. He didn’t write anything about Zoey, or Ridgeway, or the possibility that the two might overlap. He didn’t need to. The thought stayed on its own without ink.

He cooked something simple—pasta with whatever he could find—and sat at the table. After eating, he washed the pan he had just unpacked, dried it, and put it away.

The apartment stayed quiet. He didn’t mind it as much now.

Before going to bed, he checked his email one last time. Caleb had sent a short message: **Kickoff confirmed for Monday. Prep session Friday.**

Liam replied with a quick acknowledgment and closed his laptop.

He lay down, the room dim except for a streetlight coming through the blinds. The day had been normal. Nothing surprising. Nothing new.

But he knew that next week would be different.

He just didn’t know how yet.