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“What do you think?” Rosie finished giving her presentation to Carla, feeling silly being in full work mode out of context.

“I think it’s fucking excellent.”

“Really? Because inside I’m freaking out. You can’t tell?”

“Nope. You seem calm. In control. Composed. You’ve got this.”

“I hate presentations. It’s like my body takes over and sabotages me from the inside out.” Rosie paced across her living room, restless again. She sat down. Stood. Played with the curtain tie.

“It’s not like you to be this nervous before a big presentation. What’s going on?”

She looked at Carla, who was sitting in her living room all open-hearted and supportive. She was so lucky to have such a great friend who she also worked with. Rosie ran her fingers up through her fringe until her forehead rested on her palm. “It’s because the whole project is hanging in the balance. They weren’t happy with the first design and if they don’t like this one, the whole thing is off. Jessica put her trust in me and gave me the opportunity to come up with the second design, and I get the feeling that this project means a lot to her. I think the only reason she let me work on it this week was because she didn’t have time to do it herself. I’m so nervous I feel like I might throw up.”

“Ah, the things we do for money.” Carla grimaced. “Please let me know if you’re going to be sick so I can fetch a bucket.”

“You’re so sweet.”

“I meant for me. I’m a sympathetic vomiter.”

Rosie laughed. It felt good.

“What are you feeling? Describe it to me.”

“There’s this hollow pit in my stomach. Every time I think about tomorrow, I get a rush of adrenaline that feels like death. There’s a slight shake in my hand when I hold it out, see.” Rosie paused, holding her right hand up. “My head feels like it’s not connected to my body.” Rosie checked her fitness tracker. “My heart rate is about thirty beats higher than it should be considering I’m not doing anything.”

“Here,” Carla said. “Come and sit down.”

Rosie perched on the edge of her sofa, as rigid as a cantilever crane. She took a shaky breath. “I have to sell this tomorrow. I have to show confidence in it. And I’m not very comfortable in high-profile, high-conflict situations. And this is my big break. Fuck, these are the worst nerves I’ve ever had for any presentation in my life, and that’s saying something after I was literally sick before having to speak at that industry conference.”

“It’s understandable you’re worked up about it, but you can do it. Just embrace the nerves and do your thing. She gave you the opportunity. There’s no way she would have let you work on it if she didn’t have confidence in you. You believe in this design, focus on that and the rest will follow.”

Rosie tried to metabolise Carla’s encouragement. “Okay, maybe you’re right.” Rosie relaxed her shoulders. “Okay. I will visualise it going well and me being a normal human being.”

“And how about working with Jessica, how’s that going?”

At this, Rosie smiled. She didn’t know where it came from, but she full on beamed at Carla, unable to hold it back.

“Wow. That good?”

Rosie nodded, fighting hard to suppress her smile. “We talk.”

“What? She talks to you? What about?”

Rosie pursed her lips and tried to think about it. Granted, it was just general chatting, but as far as she was aware, Jessica Frost was not much of a talker to anyone in the office, except for Rich. The way Jessica let slip these little things about herself and what she thought about things. Rosie loved learning everything about her. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she got the feeling that Jessica enjoyed talking to her, too.

“Oh, you’ve got it bad. The look on your face, honestly.”

Rosie shook her head. “I don’t.”

Carla raised a very exaggerated eyebrow.

“Okay, okay. I am dealing with it.”

“How?”

By thinking about her all the time. By looking forward to every interaction and enjoying their gentle give and take. With Jessica’s domineering I’m the boss energy, Rosie sometimes got so turned on. “I’m keeping it professional. I have zero expectations.”

“You’re glowing, Rosie.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. You’ve gone all misty-eyed.”

“Shit. I hope it doesn’t show around her. It’s just hard not to notice how amazing she is. That’s all this is.”

Was that true? Did their precarious connection and something of a spark mean nothing? Perhaps. The situation would be over once the project finished, and she’d go back to admiring Jessica from afar and back to the dating apps. There was no future in anything between her and Jessica. The idea itself was ridiculous. Rosie knew that, even if it felt disappointing. “It isn’t a problem, Carla. I promise.”

“I’m glad. Well at least changing the topic to how much of a crush you have on her has chilled you out about tomorrow a little. Do you want to go over your presentation one more time?”

“Ah, no, it’s okay. I won’t put you through it again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s my mindset I need to work on. Thank you so much for coming over. You’ve got work tomorrow, too. How are your staircases coming along?”

“Construction begins next week.”

Rosie sat back and let herself sink into the comfort of her sofa. “That’s good.”

Carla left not long after. Her encouragement had helped. Rosie did feel better for tomorrow. As Rosie let her mind relax, she focused on her breathing. If Carla and Jessica believed in her so much, why didn’t she believe in herself?

***

Rosie washed her hands in the sink, letting the warm water rush over her skin, feeling soothed by it. Drying her hands with a paper towel, she looked straight into the mirror and gave herself a hard stare. They’d been waiting in reception for over an hour for their meeting to begin. It was having a very strange effect on Rosie. Instead of getting more worked up, she had used it as an opportunity to still herself and get laser focused on what she was here to do. She felt calm and determined to go in there and convince them. Visualisation exercises and positive affirmations were working well for her. Today was going to go well; there was nothing she could do but accept how great it was going to go.

But she had drunk numerous cups of water from the water cooler to break up the time. Sitting quietly with Jessica Frost in an empty reception in Jessica’s hometown was an experience in itself. With every second they spent together in total silence, Rosie could swear she was not imagining the feeling between them. Jessica would avoid her eye contact but then, Rosie would catch her glance at her now and then. It was as if Jessica was interested in some way, but she was fighting against it. Rosie could feel it. Getting her nerves under control was one thing, but feeling the heat between her and Jessica was another thing entirely. Or perhaps it was fuelling her desire to do a good job at the meeting and impress Jessica.

Rosie high-fived herself in the mirror, feeling revved up and confident. As she strode back to where they were sitting, Jessica looked up at her. The quick rise and fall of Jessica’s eyebrows, followed by her subtle but clear stare as Rosie walked across reception made it obvious that Jessica liked looking at Rosie. They were two professional women who worked together but at times like this, Rosie fucking knew that Jessica was into her.

And it felt wonderful.

Rosie sat down and crossed her legs, feeling powerful and sexy in her best suit. She felt like a fucking badass today.

“I’m so sorry to keep you waiting,” Patrick said, rushing towards them. “A meeting overran about banning parking on pavements. It’s a divisive topic.”

Jessica stood, slowly, not smiling. If she was pissed about being kept waiting, she wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it. “Are they ready for us now?”

“Yes, they are. We are,” Patrick said, nervously. “Hi, Rosie.”

Rosie smiled. “Hi Patrick. It’s good to see you.”

At this, he relaxed his shoulders and let out a laboured breath. “It’s good to see you both, too. I’m so excited to see what you’ve got for us. I loved your first design so I’m sure this is going to be incredible.”

Jessica finally smiled, slightly. “Let’s hope your colleagues think so.”

In the room, the same people were there from last time plus some new faces Rosie didn’t recognise. This was it. Their big moment. Her heart pounded.

Patrick started the meeting as the April sunshine blasted through the windows, blinding him a little. The chief of the council, Mary Bardour, was the woman sitting directly across from them. She had a discerning expression.

Rosie tried very hard to calm herself as Jessica spoke. Jessica oozed confidence and power. Jessica’s awesomeness elevated her. She sat up straighter. She wanted this opportunity and that meant dropping the insecurity and the fear that she wasn’t good enough.

It had to fucking go.

“My colleague Rosie is going to take you through the detail of our response to your initial feedback.” Jessica turned to her with her trademark fierce expression. Now, it was a mixture of ‘do not fuck this up’ and ‘you’ve got this’. It was enough to sharpen Rosie’s senses and forget about the slight tremble in her hands.

As Rosie introduced herself, feeling something click, she knew she was going to smash this. It was like something resolute came over her. A knowing.

She launched into it, with what she had to say on the tip of her tongue, as if she was telling Jessica for the first time because that was as challenging as this in many ways. Rosie was so passionate about this project and in her ideas. It was like that passion came flowing out of her. As she talked, the chief of the council leaned forward. The whole room, nearly, was nodding here and there, pointing at the slides and smiling. Rosie grew in confidence both from seeing their response and from feeling something change in her. She was growing into the woman she always knew she could be. With every word, she believed in herself that bit more. All the times before when she’d been stiff or lacked impact seemed to disappear into ancient history. That wasn’t her anymore. Perhaps all she needed to be better at public speaking was something to care passionately about.

“I like what you have done there,” the chief of the council said once Rosie had finished. “It’s exactly what is needed.”

Rosie took a breath, ecstatic.

Jessica leaned forward, her poker face still on.

Patrick’s eyes were wide as he scanned the people in the room for further comment.

The nicest woman from their last meeting smiled at her before speaking. She had on huge glasses and her hair was dyed red. “I liked the first design. This one makes it even better. On behalf of the residents’ association, I’d be more than happy to see this built. It will bring a lot of joy to this town.”

“I can see how it all fits together now. It’s better that there won’t be a boundary wall, too.” This from the shop owner guy.

Rosie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was exactly the reaction she was hoping for. They all seemed more reassured.

There was a small smile playing at the edges of Jessica’s mouth. It was so beautiful. The positive reaction seemed to make her happy and for that, Rosie was so pleased.

“How long is this going to take to build? How can this be done in twelve months?” The same guy who had given them a hard time at the last meeting looked directly at Rosie, waiting for her answer.

Rosie had anticipated this question. “Fast and efficient build times is something we prioritise at JF Architecture. Nine out of ten of our projects are delivered earlier than expected. We’ve won industry awards for it. We already have our engineering and construction partners ready to go. There will be a dedicated team in place, co-ordinating every step, led by me. Overseen by Jessica.”

The man held Rosie’s eye, taking in her words. “That sounds great. But what about the residential part? It still feels on the small side. But even with what you’re suggesting, how can you throw those flats up in just a few months?”

Rosie glanced at Jessica. Jessica could easily take this question, but Rosie pressed ahead first, wanting to stand her ground and all. “We can open the park without the full residential area complete. As I mentioned on slide eight, we will commit to fifty percent of the residential area being completed within one year. This will include foundations in place for all the houses, the new road and separate access so there is no disruption to the main area of the park for its completion in the second year.”

“That’s not within the timeframe.”

Rosie dug her heels in, hyper aware of Jessica beside her, waiting to jump in and shoot this guy down in flames. “Based on what you as a group have asked us to do, we are proposing a transformation of an old industrial site into a new multi-purpose park lining the waterfront with a small element of new housing. This is not a new area for housing with a token park. We are reclaiming a space that has sat derelict for too long, to benefit the local town and social economy. I can assure you, it can’t be done any quicker.”

He didn’t reply, which Rosie took as a win.

Jessica spoke next. “The most important thing is that the park is complete within the twelve months, which we will deliver on. No housing developers in the country would be able to complete this quicker than fifty percent within one year.”

A small silence broke out in the room. Most people still seemed satisfied with their updated design. Mary observed her and Jessica keenly, as if sizing up their ability to get this done, as well as what they were suggesting.

“This is a very pretty idea,” an older man who was at the last meeting but never spoke said. He was well dressed and looked like a politician. “But our MP is still not going to like this. It’s a glorified park while we need to modernise this town. We need to bring better people to live here and that means the luxury flats he has been talking about for years. A few token flats on one side of the park are not going to cut it. As for the bridge in year two or three, there’s no way we can afford that, surely. I’ll have to let him know about this.”

Rosie seethed internally at the use of the word ‘better’.

“I’ve already shared the proposal with Tony Hunt,” Mary said, turning towards him. “He didn’t seem to care, to be perfectly honest with you. He’s more concerned with the debacle in his party at the moment than the people in this area, as ever.”

Patrick took a deep breath. “He’s done enough damage over the years, I strongly suggest we forget all about him and let JF Architecture get started as soon as possible. This design is even better. I can’t believe you even made space for some housing. It’s perfect.”

“He could stop this project halfway through if he canvasses enough support for it. You might want to get him on side before you commit to spending this much public money.” The shrewd politician-looking guy wasn’t letting it go.

“Let me handle the politicians,” Mary said, glaring at him. “This design response is exactly what we were looking for. The new space for housing should be satisfactory. We’ve had more time to digest the restoration yard and what has been proposed. I for one think it will be much better than a carbon copy shopping centre you could get anywhere else in the UK. We have a unique opportunity here.” Mary addressed the room. “Let’s take a quick vote and be done with this. All in favour of moving forward with this updated design raise your hand.”

Everyone except three people raised their hand. That was thirteen out of sixteen people saying yes.

“Those not in favour raise your hand.”

The remaining three people raised their hands defiantly, despite being clearly outnumbered.

“Good. That settles it then. We will no longer allow this site to be used as a political football.”

Rosie smiled.

Patrick beamed.

Everyone in the room seemed to take a breath or fidget in some way.

Jessica still had her guard up, but Rosie could tell she was happy.

“Perfect,” Patrick said, bringing the meeting to a close. “That’s about as unanimous as we could have hoped for, thank you all for your contribution today.”

In the car on the way back to London, Rosie was still on a high. The fact that the leader of the council was so positive about it was an excellent sign it would get the green light, officially. They weren’t even charging them much for it, despite their reputation and industry standing. Jessica was doing it almost as a financial favour for her hometown. Her generosity, integrity, and vision were so attractive.

Jessica turned slightly towards Rosie in the back of the car. “You did very well in there today, Rosie.”

“It was a team effort.” They went around a huge roundabout, sending Rosie towards Jessica. “Maybe, once they get it fully confirmed within the council, we could celebrate?”

Jessica shook her head. “Best not jinx anything. Let’s leave the celebrations for when the whole thing is built and completed.”

Rosie felt a stab of disappointment that they weren’t going to have a drink and relax together for once. Jessica was so aloof. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Rosie looked out the window to her right as Jessica got her laptop out and started working. Rosie felt some pressure to start working again but she didn’t. She’d just had what felt like the biggest success of her career and she was going to savour it for a minute or two before moving onto the next thing.

Hours later when they were getting nearer to London, Rosie was completely engrossed in another project she was still wrapping up some loose ends on, typing away on her laptop as Jessica typed away on hers, beside her.

Jessica’s phone rang, again. She’d been taking calls on and off for most of the drive. But as soon as Jessica answered this one, she froze. “Hi, Patrick.” She looked over at Rosie, waving. “How can I help you?” Jessica put the call on loudspeaker, which was lovely, because she easily could have kept the call to herself.

“Your amended design proposal has formally passed through the council. They’ve decided to keep the crane, and they want you to start as soon as possible.”

Rosie fist pumped the air like she’d won a RIBA award.

Jessica kept her cool, as ever. “Wonderful news, Patrick, thank you for letting us know so quickly. We’ll be in touch with the next steps.”

Their call ended shortly after that. Jessica put her phone on her lap and turned to Rosie and smiled. It was such a warm and genuine smile that Rosie nearly fell off her seat.

“You did it, Rosie. Seriously. Thank you.”

“I just have to actually make it happen now.”

“ We have to make it happen. This is not all on you.” Jessica paused, looking at Rosie with what could only be described as affection. “But as project manager you will be playing a very important role over the next year. You have to be one hundred percent in control of everything and everyone at all times.”

Rosie held her eye, desperately trying not to crumble or show any sign of doubt in her own abilities. “I want it to be a success as much as you do. I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

Jessica considered Rosie’s reply, it seemed, for ages. “That’s excellent. I won’t be as available as a normal principal architect, but I want to be kept fully in the loop at all times. Please escalate any issues to me as soon as they come up. If you don’t hear back from me, keep pushing until you do. Keep me informed. I’ll let Amelia know you will be contacting me a lot. I’ll always be busy so there will never be a good time. Is that clear?”

Rosie loved it when Jessica was like this, barking orders at her and giving her a hard time, not letting her get away with anything. “Very clear.”