Thursday morning arrived with the kind of dreary overcast sky that seemed to mirror James's mood perfectly. He'd been counting down the days since Monday's elevator conversation with Victoria, and the realization that he was actively missing someone especially Victoria Sharp was both disconcerting and oddly thrilling.
Three more days, James thought as he adjusted his tie in the mirror. Today it was a deep forest green that Victoria had selected and sent from her presentation of gifts, and wearing it felt like carrying a small piece of their connection with him. Just three more days until dinner.
The problem was that Victoria had been incredibly busy this week, and so had everyone else at the company. There seemed to be a sudden rush of innovative projects and initiatives that had the entire office working at an accelerated pace. James had been assigned to a series of external meetings that kept him out of the office for most of each day, client consultations downtown, site visits to potential expansion locations, and yesterday, an entire day spent reviewing acquisition targets with the financial team at their satellite office across town.
James understood the important value of each assignment, and he'd executed them flawlessly, but he couldn't help wondering about the sudden urgency behind all these initiatives. Still, he was glad to help, and the challenging work was exactly the kind of thing he thrived on.
Maybe she's swamped with whatever's driving all these new initiatives, James mused as he gathered his briefcase and prepared for another day of external meetings. The whole company seems to be moving at double speed this week.
The thought made his chest tighten with something uncomfortably close to disappointment.
James's phone buzzed with a text from Victoria's assistant: Client meeting at Morrison Industries moved to 10 AM. Car service arranged for 9:15.
He sighed, checking his watch. Another full day away from the office, another day of professional efficiency masking personal frustration. At least the Morrison Industries meeting would be challenging, they were looking to restructure their entire supply chain management system, and James had been preparing detailed recommendations for weeks.
The drive across town gave James time to review his presentation materials and try to push thoughts of Victoria to the back of his mind. Professional focus had always been his strength, and he wasn't going to let personal complications compromise his work quality.
The Morrison Industries building was one of those sleek glass towers that spoke of serious money and serious business. James spent three hours in their conference room, walking their executive team through supply chain optimization strategies that could save them millions annually while improving delivery times by thirty percent.
"Impressive work, Mitchell," said Rebecca Morrison, the company's CEO, as they wrapped up the presentation. "I can see why Sharp Innovations has such a stellar reputation for strategic analysis."
"Thank you," James replied, packing up his materials with the satisfaction that came from a meeting that had gone exactly as planned. "I'll have the detailed implementation timeline to you by tomorrow morning."
The drive back to the office took him through the business district during lunch hour, and James found himself wondering what Victoria was doing. Probably in back-to-back meetings, wielding her particular brand of controlled authority with the same precision she applied to everything else.
Including keeping me at arm's length, James thought, then immediately felt ridiculous for the pang of longing that accompanied the observation.
When James finally made it back to Sharp Industries, it was nearly two o'clock. The familiar bustle of the office felt like coming home after days of external meetings, and he was looking forward to spending the afternoon catching up on internal projects and maybe, if he was lucky, running into Victoria in the hallway.
That hope was immediately dashed when he checked his messages and found another assignment waiting for him: a four o'clock meeting with potential investors downtown, followed by drinks with the Henderson Industries team to discuss their ongoing partnership.
She must be incredibly busy with whatever's driving this company-wide push, James thought, then immediately felt a familiar pang of anticipation for Saturday evening.
Before he could contemplate this further, Marcus appeared in his office doorway, looking uncharacteristically frazzled.
"James, thank God you're here," Marcus said, running a hand through his usually perfect hair. "I need your analytical brain for about five minutes before you disappear again."
"What's wrong?" James asked, genuinely concerned. He'd never seen Marcus look anything less than completely composed well except from his breakup.
"Ms. Sharp dropped a project on me Tuesday that's due tomorrow afternoon," Marcus said, collapsing into the chair across from James's desk. "And not just any project, she wants me to come up with an innovative technological product that will 'help mankind greatly.' Her exact words."
James blinked. "That's... specific."
"Isn't it?" Marcus laughed, but there was an edge of hysteria to it. "I've been living on coffee and determination for three days, and I think I'm starting to hallucinate. Yesterday I spent two hours researching whether we could create a device that translates dog thoughts into human language."
"That's actually not a terrible idea," James said thoughtfully. "Though the technical challenges would be..."
"James," Marcus interrupted, "I need practical suggestions, not encouragement for my caffeine-induced delusions."
James leaned back in his chair, his analytical mind automatically shifting into problem-solving mode. This was the kind of challenge he thrived on, taking an impossibly broad mandate and finding a way to make it both innovative and achievable.
"What have you considered so far?" James asked.
"Everything," Marcus said dramatically. "Clean energy solutions, medical devices, educational technology, environmental monitoring systems. The problem is that everything good is either already being done by someone else or requires resources we don't have."
"Show me what you've got," James said, glancing at his watch. He had an hour before he needed to leave for the investor meeting.
Marcus pulled out a tablet thick with research notes and started walking James through his ideas. Clean energy storage systems that could revolutionize rural electrification. Medical diagnostic tools that could bring advanced healthcare to underserved communities. Educational platforms that could provide personalized learning experiences for children in developing countries.
"These are all good ideas," James said after reviewing Marcus's work. "But you're right, they're either too complex for our current capabilities or they're incremental improvements on existing technology."
"Exactly," Marcus said miserably. "And Ms. Sharp made it clear that she wants something that will make a real difference. Something that could genuinely help people."
James found himself oddly touched by Victoria's mandate. It revealed something about her values that went beyond business success, she wanted Sharp Innovations to create something meaningful, something that would have a positive impact on the world.
"What if we're thinking too big?" James said suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"All of these ideas are trying to solve massive, complex problems," James explained, his mind starting to work through possibilities. "But sometimes the most innovative solutions are elegantly simple. What if we looked for smaller problems that affect millions of people?"