The project consumed us. One afternoon, I accidentally left one of Lisa’s crayon drawings inside the main architectural blueprints. I panicked when Anna opened the folio in front of the board members, revealing a scribble of a crooked house.
The room went silent. I prepared my apology, ready to be reprimanded for unprofessionalism. But Anna picked up the drawing, studying it with a faint smile that didn’t reach the others.
“Organic lines,” she announced to the confused board. “We need more of this humanity in the lobby design. Keep it.” She looked at me, and for a split second, her eyes laughed.
We were dancing on the edge of a cliff. We spent nights analyzing steel beams and mornings sharing coffee, blurring the lines between work and life. I started to see the woman trapped inside the CEO role.