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V

"We've made changes behind the scenes; persuading our investors, revamping the production line, forming new partnerships. Now it's about presenting the new GreenGlass to the customer."

I advanced the slide, secretly hoping that my amazing Powerpoint animation skills were impressing the rest of the room. They sure looked good to me. "Our newest line of desktop computers and laptops, the GGlass Nexus series, will soon be installed in one of Aurora's libraries, and hopefully be making their way into other households. My marketing team has been working on a plan to advertise locally in Aurora. At GreenGlass, we value quality, environment-friendly technology, and providing families with the key to the future. We also want Auroran residents, and the rest of the country to know GreenGlass is reliable. Without further ado, here are our potential logos and slogans going forward."

—

The elevator door chimed open, and I speed-walked down the hallway. My heels clicked merrily against the floor. A standing ovation certainly boosted one's ego, and my back appreciated my proper posture.

"Hang in there, kiddo," Marcus talked into his phone. He spun around, facing me while still walking backwards without tripping. "Nora! Charlie threw up at school. Could I pass on today's tasks to you? I just have some offers a few advertising agencies sent us, but I haven't had time to look over them."

"Sure. See you tomorrow," I called back. Marcus smiled in relief before bumping into one of my colleagues. That was what you got for walking backwards. If my boss was any less sincere or forgiving, I would've cold-shouldered him for that other day. But Marcus wasn't half bad. I just wished he had the backbone to speak up sometimes.

I reached the door marked Marketing Lounge and pushed the handle. Danielle, Tomas and Alek looked up from the planning table. The first thing I noticed was the scent of fresh pastries. They took up half of the round table.

"Danielle, again?" I laughed. "I was kidding when I said I could use more, you know."

"Yeah, well, we wanted to celebrate! We heard the applause all the way from here," Danielle remarked, passing me a plate of baked deliciousness. The pastries' fragrant scent was so delicate, I couldn't resist nibbling on one. Banana, coconut, and...cinnamon? This was good. I'll save the rest for later, I promised myself.

I joined the rest of the team. Danielle badgered me for details on the meeting. Tomas typed gibberish into his phone and let autocorrect do its magic, never looking down as he overrode our conversation. Alek focused on his laptop while occasionally chiming in.

"But the real question is, what are they going to order for the annual party? GreenGlass is great and all, but pizza gets boring after a time," Danielle sighed dramatically.

"It's not an actual celebration," Alek deadpanned, pausing to look up. "Everyone is either happy or miserable, and that's dependent on their raise."

"That's not true!" I said.

"Completely true," Tomas countered. I crossed my arms. "Now, if they could give us free gaming laptops so my kid could play his Minecraft in peace—"

"—And they could cook something for once—" Danielle said.

"Then I might not skip this year's get-together," Alek finished.

I half-frowned, half-smiled. "You guys are impossible. I won't complain if there was fried rice, though. Anything different to celebrate the Timberline library's opening."

"Are book-shaped cookies too boring?" Danielle asked. "No, wait, you've been inhaling my banana bread. I'll make a note of that."

As chaotic as it seemed, GreenGlass was the perfect place to relax. To sink my teeth in a different environment. It had intimidated me as a research assistant. Some of the poster boards, mock ups, and papers scattered around the room were from my first ever projects. College was fine, but work was where I found fulfillment. Plus, there were perks that came as a marketing manager of a successful enterprise. We were lucky that GreenGlass could spoil its employees with generous work space. Our past projects gave us plenty of new ideas while reminding us of our accomplishments.