Chapter 23\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
After returning from Wright Creatives, I found myself sitting cross\u2013legged on my worn couch, laptop balanced precariously on my knees. The financial problem might be solved, but a new challenge loomed: finding a job.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I scrolled through design job listings, each promising creative freedom but likely delivering the same corporate constraints I\u2019d just escaped. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitating between applying to established firms or striking out on my own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are you doing, Mommy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up to find Oliver watching me with those observant blue eyes. He climbed onto the couch and settled on my lap without waiting for permission, a\u00a0<\/p>\n
habit I was growing accustomed to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking for a new job, I answered, brushing his unruly hair from his forehead. \u201cI can\u2019t stay at Wright Creatives anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver\u2019s face scrunched into a serious frown. \u201cYou don\u2019t need a job,\u201d he declared with absolute certainty. \u201cI can take care of you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed, the sound surprising me with its lightness. \u201cYou\u2019ll take care of me? How would you do that, little man?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have money. He nodded solemnly. \u201cAnd I can make breakfast like you showed me. And I can be very, very good so you don\u2019t have to worry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart melted at his earnest offer. \u201cThat\u2019s very sweet, Ollie. But I love designing homes and spaces. It makes me happy to create beautiful things that help\u00a0<\/p>\n
people live better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His small fingers played with the hem of my shirt as he considered this. \u201cBut what if your new boss is mean like those people at Wright Creatings?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCreatives,\u201d I corrected gently. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why I need to be careful about where I work next.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver sat up straighter, his expression brightening. \u2018I know! You should work at Nest Design!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked in surprise. \u201cNest Design? How do you know about them?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes widened momentarily before he looked down. \u201cMy\u2026 my cousin worked there. She said they\u2019re nice and make pretty homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour cousin?\u201d I questioned, wondering about this convenient relative I\u2019d never heard mentioned before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUh\u2013huh. She said they let designers be creative and don\u2019t yell.\u201d He peeked up at me hopefully, \u201cYou could make beautiful things there, Mommy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed, stroking his hair. \u201cNest Design is one of the top firms in Chicago, Ollie. They work with elite clients and have their pick of designers from the best schools. I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d qualify,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the best designer in the whole world!\u201d Oliver exclaimed, bouncing on my lap with such conviction that my laptop nearly slid off. \u201cThey\u2019d be stupid\u00a0<\/p>\n
not to hire you!\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t help laughing again. \u201cThank you for the vote of confidence. I\u2019ll apply.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver beamed, wrapping his arms around my neck in a tight hug. For a moment, I allowed myself to enjoy the simple comfort of being someone\u2019s everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
3:51 pm D M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 23\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiden\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched Oliver and the woman\u2013Cedar Wright\u2013walk away across the plaza. Something about her troubled me in ways I couldn\u2019t articulate. The gentleness in her eyes when she looked at Oliver. The natural way she held his hand. The slight worry line between her brows that appeared when she called his name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated in my pocket, interrupting my thoughts. Father\u2019s name flashed on the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAiden,\u201d his voice was sharp, brooking no argument. \u201cMeeting in thirty minutes. Board room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Father,\u201d I answered automatically. \u201cI\u2019ll be there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The call ended without pleasantries. I glanced once more at Oliver\u2019s retreating form, torn between following him and obeying Father\u2019s summons. Henderson stood silently beside me, awaiting instruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll continue monitoring from a distance,\u201d I decided. \u201cFor now, I need to return to Sterling Group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the fifty\u2013sixth\u2013floor boardroom of Sterling Design Group, the executives had their attention fixed on Father as he systematically dismantled their\u00a0<\/p>\n
presentation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat in my designated corner chair, iPad on my lap, noting each criticism and failure point. Father stood with his back to the room, hands clasped behind\u00a0<\/p>\n
him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUninspired. Derivative. Lacking innovation.\u201d Each word fell like an executioner\u2019s ax. \u201cThis proposal offers nothing that differentiates Sterling Design from\u00a0<\/p>\n
our competitors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The head of residential development cleared his throat. \u201cWe believe the emphasis on sustainable materials will appeal to the target demographic-\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Sustainability is the baseline, not a selling point, Father cut in without turning around. \u201cEvery design firm in Chicago claims environmental consciousness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I want something revolutionary.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one spoke for several moments, the silence punctuated only by nervous shifting in chairs and the faint tapping of my stylus against the iPad screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 23 Chapter 23\u00a0 Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0 After returning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zero-stars-for-daddy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}