Page 1

chapter 1

Miami – Florida

Grace Michaels settled at her desk for an afternoon of creative work. On the other side of the thick glass walls of her splendid corner office, thunder rumbled over the streets of Miami. Inky black clouds simmered overhead, giving Grace the perfect vibe for the mood she wanted to achieve with her work today. Julia Raw (her real name), the hot Hollywood producer tipped to win big at the Oscars this year, had just acquired the old Pulse nightclub in town and given Grace carte blanche to re-design the interior. From top to bottom, all 10,000 square feet of space were hers to play with.

“Make it luxurious and classy,” Raw told her. “I want bold. Unique. I’ve seen some of your work, Ms. Michaels. I know what you can do. Amaze me.”

Grace excelled at amazing clients, even more so when they gave her free rein of expression. In the last couple of years, with a few key iconic creations, she had established herself as one of the country’s top three most sought-after architects and interior designers. Being who she was, she would not be fully satisfied until she reached the top spot, of course... But it was a good start. Her company, Brazen Inc., held offices in New York, Miami, and LA. She had firm plans to conquer Paris next. London, and therest of Europe. Business was booming. She put on her ANC headphones and selected a jazzy, moody playlist to stimulate the mind. With a few quick taps on her keyboard, she activated the holographic design software she used to perfect her projects. This, too, had cemented her reputation as a remarkable player in the field. When it occurred to Grace that current design tools were not good enough for her expansive imagination, she put her software engineering skills to good use and created her own. Why not? All it took was a bit of clever coding, which she had taught herself as a hobby, a dash of AI, andvoila!She had made herself a perfect weapon. On her desk was the latest copy of Time Magazine. She was on the cover, with a judicious title:Not just a pretty face.This was nicely tongue-in-cheek and had made her smirk when she saw it.You betcha.Smart, resourceful, and ruthless were the three words most often used to describe her in the press. And yes, she also did consider the last adjective a compliment. She rose from her desk after firing up the program. Thanks to the advanced software, Grace could walk inside the holographic representation she had created of her new canvas. And play.

“Marble floors,” she mused, causing the program to make them appear under her feet. “Hmm. Add layers of shimmering lights, like underwater reflections. Think Santorini party on a hot summer’s night. That kind of vibe.”

She shook her head as the program gave her exactly what she’d asked for.

“Actually, scrap this.” Yeah, it was too much. “Return to a blank canvas.”

Now then, what to do with this? Julia Raw wanted bold and unique—tall order in a city like Miami, where this tended to be the norm. It was a worthy, exciting challenge. Grace almostpurred as the perfect idea began to emerge in her mind’s eye.

“Give me thick rubber flooring,” she ordered. “Yellow lines on the floor. Think hard and edgy. Space? Spaceship. Yes.” She let her mind riff on the concept. “Space station, Blade Runner vibe. Hmm. Maybe.”

A ray of unwanted light pierced through the holographic scene, breaking the mood and shattering her concentration.

“Save and exit,” Grace instructed. “Program off.” She removed her headphones and turned to face her PA, who stood at the door, looking apologetic. “Yes?”

Grace did not even try to sound warm. Her staff knew not to disturb her when she was in creative mode. She had fired one recently for failing to comply with the directive twice with no valid reason. So this had better be good.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Ms. Michaels.” The woman winced, clearly aware of the stakes. “But there is an urgent call for you I think you should take.”

“Who is it?” Grace demanded.

“Zachary Wills from the Excelsior.”

It was a good call, actually. Grace would fire anyone who did not alert her that the CEO of the Excelsior chain of hotels wanted to speak to her.

“I’ll take it,” she nodded. “Thank you, Libby.”

“Yes, Ms. Michaels.” The assistant flashed a relieved smile. “I’ll put him through.”

Grace stood in front of her panoramic wall, staring at some spectacular lightning going off in the distance as Zachary Wills’s gravelly voice sounded on the speaker.

“Hello, Grace.”

“Zachary. What can I do for you?”

“Ah, yes. Well…” He sighed, prompting her to turn around with an irritated frown. The man was usually as straight as an arrow, always quick and to the point. Being allergic to bullshit and inane chit-chat herself, it was something Grace appreciated a lot about him. Now, his uncharacteristic hesitation hinted at some bad news.

“What’s the matter?” she prompted.

“Look, Grace, we just received an attractive counter-offer to yours,” he admitted. “I must admit it’s one to consider.”

The Excelsior group had recently issued an open invitation to the best designers in the land to submit their proposals for the renovation and revamp of all forty of their US hotels. It was a juicy contract and would be awesome for reputation as well.‘Ours for the taking’,Grace had announced to her team. And so, this bid had entirely consumed the past eight weeks of her life. She was no stranger to hard work and being All-In for the win. When adding natural talent and skills to the mix, it was no wonder the Brazen Inc. offer had come off as the winner. Only the day before, Wills and his board of directors had agreed on a deal in principle. So convinced was Grace that no one could better what her company had to offer in terms of financials, originality, and quality of the work, that her first reaction to the news now was to chuckle.

“Oh yeah?”No way!

But Wills’s voice held no trace of amusement.

“Quite so,” he let her know. “They’ve quoted us cheaper on the work, with faster turnarounds, and the designs are similar to yours. So…”

“What?” Grace barely avoided choking on the wordsimilar. She’d built her company from the ground up. Made a name for herself on the strength of being different, always one step ahead of predictable trends. Plus, she was super cost-efficient and oneof the fastest turnarounds in the business. What Zachary was saying to her was ridiculous. “Who is it?” she growled. “Who quoted you such nonsense?”