Liam reached the office earlier than usual. He stopped by the small convenience stand in the lobby and bought a plain coffee and a granola bar, eating as he walked toward the elevator. When he stepped out onto the fifth floor, the place was already more awake than he expected. A few people from another team stood around the kitchen area talking about weekend plans. Someone reheated leftovers in the microwave. The usual small sounds blended together in a way that made the space feel lived-in.

He sat at his desk, opened his laptop, and pulled up the shared folder for the Mitchell project. Their kickoff with Ridgeway Design Studio was set for Monday, which meant he and Caleb had two days to make sure they were lined up. He checked the notes he had written the night before and began sorting them into bullet points.

Caleb arrived fifteen minutes later with a breakfast burrito and a cold brew. “Morning,” he said between bites. “Today’s about prep. No big meetings, but we should make sure Monday doesn’t hit us like a truck.”

“Fair,” Liam said.

Caleb sat on the edge of Liam’s desk. “We’ll go through the kickoff outline first. Then maybe draft a few questions for Ridgeway.”

“Sounds good,” Liam said. “Do we have any new updates?”

“Client promised more info this morning,” Caleb said. “Should be in our inbox soon.”

Liam nodded and continued typing. He liked the pace today. No pressure, just steady work. He read through old notes, made a few edits, and tried to think of what questions a small studio would need answered before jumping in.

By mid-morning, a new email landed in his inbox. The subject line read: **Kickoff Materials + Ridgeway Lead Designer**.

He clicked it.

The document attached listed several items—timeline reminders, access to shared folders, a request for early sample directions. At the bottom, it confirmed Ridgeway’s point of contact for the design portion.

**Lead Designer: Zoey Mitchell**

He stared at the name.

He re-read it once, then again, just to make sure he wasn’t mixing something up. The text didn’t change. Two words, simple and direct.

Caleb noticed his pause. “Something weird?”

Liam tried to keep his voice even. “We have the name for their lead designer.”

“Finally,” Caleb said. “Who is it?”

Liam turned the screen slightly. Caleb leaned in.

“Zoey Mitchell,” Caleb read aloud. “Okay. Don’t know her.”

Liam nodded once. “Same.”

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “Just connecting details.”

Caleb shrugged. “As long as she’s responsive, that’s all that matters. Small studios sometimes juggle too much, but if she’s the lead, she’s probably organized.”

Liam kept his reaction small. He didn’t want Caleb to guess anything. He closed the email and added the name to their kickoff notes.

The rest of the morning moved normally. They worked through the agenda, cut a few points that felt unnecessary, and made a short list of questions they wanted to ask Ridgeway—file formats, turnaround expectations, preferred communication style. Standard things.

Around noon, Caleb stood up. “Lunch? I’m starving.”

“You go ahead,” Liam said. “I’ll finish this section then grab something.”

“Suit yourself.”

Caleb headed out with a couple of others. Liam waited until the room settled back into its usual rhythm before saving his work and going downstairs. He bought a salad and a soda from the café, then sat outside on a bench near the curb. The weather was mild, and people passed by in steady waves—dog walkers, office workers, a couple arguing quietly about whether they had locked their car, someone running for the bus.

He ate while watching the street. Nothing dramatic, nothing unusual. Just the city moving the way cities do.

After lunch, he returned upstairs and spent the next few hours tightening their notes. Caleb joined him after a while, going through each line carefully. By late afternoon, they had a clean version of the kickoff plan.

“This is solid,” Caleb said. “We’ll go over it again tomorrow, but I think we’re set.”

“Good.”

Caleb packed his bag. “You staying longer?”

“Maybe another half hour.”

“Don’t burn out. Monday’s going to be a long morning.”

“I won’t.”

Caleb left. Liam took a moment before closing his laptop. He wasn’t overthinking what he had read earlier, but he wasn’t ignoring it either. He didn’t know if Zoey worked at Ridgeway the whole time or if this was new for her. He didn’t know if she knew his company was involved. He didn’t know anything, actually. All he had was a name on a list.

He shut down his computer, grabbed his bag, and headed out.

The bus ride home was slow, traffic rolling at the speed of people who wanted to be off the road. Liam kept his eyes on the window, watching storefronts and stoplights pass by. He got off at his usual stop, walked the block to his building, and opened the front door.

On the second-floor landing, Zoey stepped out of her apartment at the same time, keys in hand, a lightweight jacket thrown over her arm. She seemed surprised to see him but not in a dramatic way—just a simple pause before she spoke.

“Hey,” she said. “You’re back early.”

“Trying to,” Liam said. “Needed a break from screens.”

“That’s fair.”

She adjusted the strap of her bag. “Long day?”

“Steady,” Liam said. “We’re prepping for something next week.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked. “Same here.”

He nodded. “You mentioned a meeting.”

“Yeah. My boss gave me more details today. We’re working with a new team on Monday.” She rolled her keys in her hand. “Never worked with them before.”

He kept his tone even. “Local team?”

“I think so,” she said. “Boss said they’re handling the strategy side. We’re doing the design work.”

His chest tightened for a moment, but he kept his expression neutral.

“That sounds like a clean split,” he said.

“Hopefully.” Zoey leaned against the wall lightly, adjusting her jacket. “How about your week? Anything complicated?”

“Nothing too bad,” Liam said. “Just a lot to prep.”

“Same here.”

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. It wasn’t awkward, just a small pause.

Zoey finally pushed off the wall. “Okay, I should head out. I’m picking up dinner before the place gets crowded.”

“Good plan.”

“See you later, Liam.”

“Yeah. See you.”

She walked down the stairs and out of sight. Liam watched the empty landing for a moment before heading up to his floor.

Inside his apartment, he set his bag down and filled a glass of water from the tap. The place still smelled faintly of cardboard, but it didn’t bother him as much now. He drank half the glass and then opened his notebook.

He didn’t write about Zoey. He didn’t write about the name on the list. He wrote a short reminder about the kickoff meeting, a few lines about questions he wanted to ask, and an extra note to review the shared folder again on Sunday.

When he finished, he made a simple dinner—eggs, toast, nothing that required effort. After eating, he cleaned up, turned on a small desk lamp, and organized a few loose papers from his bag.

He didn’t touch the kitchen boxes. Not tonight.

Before going to bed, he checked his phone. Caleb had sent nothing new. Miranda had not added any last-minute tasks. Everything was quiet.

He turned off the light and lay back.

Monday was coming, and names on lists were starting to matter. He didn’t know what it would look like when the pieces lined up, but he felt the start of something taking shape.

Not dramatic. Not heavy.

Just real.