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Pete snorted. “Bullshit. You think I’d let anyone into my business just because we’re friends? If that was the case, Maggiewould be our head of PR, and Danica would be performing impromptu physicals in the break room.”

Izzy let out a laugh, despite herself. “That’s horrifying.”

“Exactly.” Pete shook her head. “Listen, you have a good eye for people. You’re great at figuring out what people need. You know how to connect. That’s not something you can fake.” She tapped the table with her index finger. “And you’re fucking good at it, Iz.”

Izzy stared at her for a moment, unsure what to say.

Pete took another sip of her now-cold coffee, then set the cup down with a thud. “You’ve been pretty passive, though. You’re a part of Second Star, but you’re still acting like an outsider looking in. You wait for me to tell you what to do instead of taking the initiative. That’s gotta change.”

Izzy frowned. “I don’t want to step on your toes. It’syourvision.”

Pete leaned forward, leveling her with a look. “Itwasmy vision, but you’re part of it now, so start acting like it.” She took a beat before adding, “So, what doyouthink? About Denver, about expansion, about where we should go next?”

Izzy blinked, caught off guard by Pete’s directness. Pete wasn’t giving her an out.

She hesitated, but then she thought about the last few months — the meetings, the outreach, all the times she’d had ideas and stifled them, too nervous to voice her opinion.

“I think…” She exhaled, choosing her words carefully. “I think to succeed in the states and especially in Denver, we need to focus more on long-term engagement. We’re great at funding, at getting kids into programs, but we don’t track what happens after that. Are they sticking with it? Are they growing? Are we actually making an impact, or just throwing money at things? That’s the kind of data that will help grow our partnerships here. That is the kind of data that builds trust.”

Pete’s lips curved into a slow smile. “Nowthatis what I want to hear.”

Izzy sat a little straighter.

Pete leaned back, looking satisfied. “So. How do we do that?”

Izzy took a sip of her coffee, rolling her shoulders back. “I have a few ideas. We need a mentorship program,” she said, the words forming as she spoke. “We’re good at funding activities, but if we want these programs to succeed beyond just funding, we need a way to connect the kids to people who can guide them. Not just teachers and coaches — actual mentors who’ve been through it.”

Pete nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful. “You mean like former participants?”

“Yeah, that could work in places where similar programs already exist,” Izzy said, warming to the idea. “In Denver that could mean people in the industries we’re supporting — artists, musicians, athletes. We always talk about access being the biggest barrier, but what aboutbelonging? These kids need to see themselves in the spaces we’re opening up for them.”

Pete leaned back in her chair, nodding. “That’s gonna take work. But you’re right — we can’t just be a revolving door. We’ve gotta be a foundation.”

Izzy felt a small thrill of validation, her nerves settling. “Exactly. And I’d include training the mentors and giving them check-ins to ensure it’s going in the right direction. We don’t want mentors who meet these kids once and fall off the face of the earth, you know? We have to make sure we’re starting with a solid foundation, or we’re never going to differentiate ourselves from something like Boys & Girls Club, who are already doing exceptional work.”

Pete bit her lip, considering. “That all makes total sense…” She drummed her fingers against the table, thoughtful. “Alright.Let’s start with the mentorship thing. We can run a pilot in Denver. If it works, we expand it.”

Izzy nodded eagerly.

“Oh, by the way,” Pete said, waving down their server for the check. “We should talk about a longer term hotel or rental, because you’re leading this.”

Izzy blinked. “Wait, what?”

“You heard me,” Pete said breezily, handing her card to the server. “You’re the one who came up with it, you’re the one who’s gonna make it happen.”

Izzy blinked in shock. “I… Pete, I don’t even know where to start.”

Pete shrugged. “You’ll figure it out.” She moved to put on her light jacket.

Izzy sat there for a moment, still processing, as Pete stood up and clapped her on the back. “Come on, boss babe. We’ve got work to do.”

The cityoutside her hotel room window was quiet in that late-night way that always made Izzy feel a little untethered, like everyone else had found their place to land, and she was still hovering just above the ground.

The day had been long, full of discussions and planning, emails piling up faster than she could answer them, but it wasn’t work that kept her awake now. It was Kiera.

It was Kiera, in her head. Again.

In the soft, pale blue glow of her phone screen, Izzy sat cross-legged on her bed. Kiera's name was at the top of their most recent text message thread. The last message hung there between them, unanswered for the last few moments.