Rory exited the elevator, with Logan pushing Ayribella's stroller behind her, and looked around the office that she had last been in over two months prior. Everything was completely different. All of the dark wood with the gold accents that Mitchum had used to decorate the building, were completely gone. The walls had all been painted a shade off light gray, with brightly colored furniture added to accentuate the space. It kind of reminded Rory of the design of her Grandparents' pool house that she lived in years prior. Gone were all the cubicles that had dominated the open office space in the past, and in their place were glass walls, dividing the space into smaller offices. There was a small reception type area with a large desk, and a glass wall behind it with the words 'Huntzberger Publishing Group' etched onto it. The reception area looked cheerful and welcoming rather than the intimidating looking area downstairs.
"Wow, it's like walking into a completely different world." Logan commented as they looked around.
"It kind of reminds me of when I lived in the pool house. It's nice and inviting. Almost like a tropical retreat." Rory told him.
"I really like it. It's much more your style."
"Oh, wow, I told you I heard voices out here." Emily Gilmore said, coming around the thick glass wall behind the desk. "Rory, Logan, I didn't know that you were coming in today."
"No one did." Logan told her.
"Grandma, this place looks incredible! I can't believe that you've done all of this while I've been out!" Rory said, still looking around in awe.
"It does look pretty good doesn't it?! I am really loving how everything is coming together. I have most of this floor completed, and plans being drawn up for the next floor. Would you like a tour of your new office?"
"I would love one!" Rory told her.
"I moved everyone off of this floor, except for your immediate team. Your friend Doyle has an office up here, along with 3 others, but only Doyle is up here at the moment. Everyone else has been moved down to the fourth floor."
"Do I have an office up here?" Logan asked.
"Do you need one? Doyle said that you and Rory prefer to share. And you've got an office downstairs, don't you?" Emily asked.
"No, I don't need one at all. I was just curious."
"Well, I can probably fit you into Ayribella's room, if you would like your own space."
"Wait, Ayribella has a room?" Rory asked.
"I designed a small nursery for her, right inside your office. I extended the overall space of your office, in order to give her ample room, without taking too much space from your own office. I knew that you wanted to be able to bring your baby to the office with you, rather than having to find suitable daycare. She is young enough that she shouldn't be a problem for at least a couple of years. And when you decide that she is too old and getting into too much trouble, and it is best if she isn't here all the time, we can turn her nursery into a storage room , or something. Or we can give it to Logan as his own small office. You still have access to your personal bathroom, but I had a door added to it, so that it can be accessed from the nursery as well." Emily said as she lead them around the glass wall, and down a hallway lined with another glass wall. "These offices here are for your secretary, and a couple of other people that Doyle said are integral to the two of you. This one here, is for your attorney friend. Doyle said that he comes in to do work for you quite often, so we've given him an office."
"Collin has an office?" Logan asked.
"Collin has an office. Hey guys." Doyle said, from behind the group.
"Doyle! You didn't tell me about any of this!" Rory said, reaching out to hug her friend.
"We thought it would be a nice surprise for when you returned. Welcome back. You look amazing! Motherhood definitely agrees with you."
"Thanks Doyle. This place looks absolutely amazing! It's completely different than I ever expected."
"Your Grandmother is an incredible designer. She's been a lot of fun to work with."
"Thank you, Doyle." Emily smiled.
"Emily, the guy from the glass etching company should be back here in the next half hour to finish the reception area.
"Perfect! I want that done before the board meeting."
"What else are you having done?" Logan asked.
"I am having them add 'Rory Huntzberger, CEO' to the wall behind the desk. This is Rory's floor and Rory's office. I think that she deserves all the recognition for all of the hard work that she puts in here."
"I like it!"
"Thank you, Grandma." Rory smiled.
"Come on Honey, let's go see the rest of your floor." Emily said, as she linked her arm through Rory's. "Now right here, is your Grandfather's office. We thought that we would give him his own space so that you don't have to share."
"Rory! It's so nice to see you!" Richard smiled, as he looked up from his computer to see Rory entering the office with Emily.
"Hey Grandpa! I love your office! This is so you!"
"It was all Emily's doing." Richard said as Rory looked around the room. On a table behind Richard's desk was a large vase of fresh flowers, along with a picture of the Gilmore family; Richard and Emily, with Lorelai, Luke, Rory and Logan that had been taken at Rory's birthday party several months earlier. On another table, in the far corner of the room was another vase of flowers, as well as a couple of Richard's favorite books, with a large leather chair sitting next to it. There were a couple of smaller gray chairs positioned in front of Richard's desk for guests.
"Can I get a copy of that family picture for my office downstairs? And maybe for my home office too?" Logan asked as he walked into the office behind Emily.
"Of course you can! I will have those ordered for you today." Emily told him.
"Logan! Welcome back!" Richard said as he stood from his desk, moving around it, toward his family. "If the two of you are here, does that mean that my gorgeous little angel is here as well?"
"She is right here." Logan told him, motioning toward the stroller right outside the office door.
"Grandpa, she's asleep." Rory said, watching as her Grandpa stepped past her, and headed for the baby.
"Now you just worry about yourself, and leave me to take care of my little angel." Richard told her as he stepped up to the stroller, removing the cover from Ayribella's seat to see the baby sound asleep.
"Richard, you should never wake a sleeping baby." Emily spoke up.
"Go about your tour Dear. I've got the baby now."
"I'll get the stroller out of the way for you." Doyle said as they watched Richard undo the clips holding Ayribella's carseat in place, and lift it off the stroller.
"Your Grandfather loves that little girl." Emily smiled as Richard stepped past them, returning to his office with Ayribella.
"Let us know when you want us to take her back." Logan told him.
"Don't you worry for a single second about us. You guys finish your tour. This little Angel is going to spend some quality time with her Grandpa."
"Who knew he was so good with babies." Rory smiled, as Emily led them out of the office.
"You and Lorelai are fully raised now. We don't have to be parents anymore. Richard is fully retired now. Other than helping you out here, he has no other responsibilities." Emily told her. "This is all a bonus for us."
"Well thank you. We are really lucky to have you."
"This office right here, is Doyle's. Him and Paris both helped with the décor in here."
"The twins are adorable in that picture." Logan smiled seeing the large picture of Paris and Doyle's twins in the corner of his office.
"They are really cute children." Emily agreed. "Now all of the glass walls in this area are fully tintable. There is an app that I had installed on the computer in each office that allows you to tint the glass however you would like it. You can tint it to act as a two-way mirror, allowing you to see out of the office, but anyone on the outside can't see in at all. They will only be able to see their own reflection. Or, you can use the frosted option that makes it appear more hazy. You will be able to tell that the office is occupied, but you won't be able to make out any faces, just the general outline of bodies. Your office will have the master control with each office labeled, so you can tint any wall you want, including the conference and board rooms. Ayribella's nursery I have set to frosted, but you can change that at any time. I personally like the frosted look better than the mirrored look, but mirrored was an option that was automatically included. There are also options where you can tint the top or bottom half of the walls, and a few other things. I think one of the options fully blocks out any viewing at all. It turns the window black. I think it's called something like limo tint? I'm not sure. I haven't had time to mess with it. The installer showed me how to work the controls, but I just haven't messed around with it. Now, the walls around your office and the conference and board rooms are thicker than the rest, and they are soundproof. You also have an exterior wall, as well as bathroom walls in those areas. The bathroom and exterior walls are the only walls that are not glass. I think by having the glass it gives the office the illusion of being larger, and not so stuffy or claustrophobic. It also allows you to look around and see what is going on, and who is in the area. You have full view of the entire floor from your office. This is the board room." Emily said as she led Rory and Logan into a large room with a long table surrounded by chairs, in the middle of it. "Now this wall at the far end you cannot touch. This office has two exterior walls, and this one right here has been painted using a special kind of projection paint, so you can use it to project anything you need to, right onto the wall, without use of a screen. When you do your remote meetings from home, you can use this wall to project your video call right onto the wall. I had a projector installed in the ceiling above the table, that links directly to your computer. Any presentation that you have on your computer that you want to share, can be projected directly onto this wall."
"I love it! That is such a great idea! Thank you Grandma!"
"It was actually Doyle's idea. He should get the credit he deserves. I had no idea that there even was such a thing. Now, this table, it has plugs built in underneath it, so you can plug a computer into it if you need to."
"I love it! That is a great idea! We won't have to hunt for plugs, or bring in extension cords." Logan commented.
"No you won't. The table is hard wired right into the building's electrical system, so as long as you have electricity to the building, you will be able to power whatever device you want, right from the table."
"That is awesome!" Rory gushed. "Is this a new credenza?"
"It's not. That credenza used to be in your office. I had it removed and given a face lift. It was very heavy and well built, so I didn't want to just throw it away, when it could be used elsewhere. I had it brought in here to be used for storage, and also an extra surface for things like a bagel or fruit spread, or whatever you want to use it for."
"I love the picture on the wall between the windows."
"That might have been placed there intentionally, to annoy some board members. Your Grandfather thought it would be a good idea to remind them who is running this place." Emily grinned.
"I love it!" Logan told her, admiring the picture of himself and Rory, standing in front of the Huntzberger Clinic the day of the Grand Opening. The picture had been printed in all of the Huntzberger owned Newspapers the following morning, along with an article about the grand opening events. It had also been released for use to a lot of media outlets throughout the country. "Certain board members are going to absolutely hate it, but Richard is right, they definitely need to be reminded who runs this circus."
"It's a beautiful picture of the two of you." Emily told them. "Now the exterior up here, I had replaced as well. They are just as customizable as the rest of the glass on this floor. They are also double paned storm windows, and bulletproof. They allow the sunlight to come in, but they also reflect the sunlight back outside to help keep the room cooler. They are tinted from the outside so you can see out, but no one can see in. The inside panes are the ones that are customizable. The outside panes don't change at all. But you can change the inside setting to anyway you would like it to look."
"Is it bad that I am excited to play with all the windows?" Logan asked.
"I am too. I've never had anything so high tech to mess with." Rory agreed.
"Doyle has the contact information for the company that installed all of the windows, in case you guys need help with anything. Everything came with a lifetime warranty, so all repairs will be covered." Emily told them.
"Do I want to know how much all of this cost us?" Logan asked.
"Probably not. I had all of the expenses and paperwork sent to your accountant, as well as to your attorney. I am actually not quite sure what the entire expense was, but I know that it was a lot. Your accountant approved it though, so I guess it wasn't too bad."
"Well, at least with the accountant approving it, we know that we aren't completely broke."
"Now Logan, you are the one that told me to not worry about expenses, and to make the office look more Rory and less Mitchum."
"And you've done an incredible job! You were the perfect person for this project!"
"You still have more offices to see." Emily smiled as she took Rory's arm again, and led them out of the board room. "Now, this next office is a conference room. Like the board room, I had a projector installed in the ceiling, as well as a drop down projection screen. This table has power outlets built into it just like the one in the board room. This room is pretty much the same as the board room, except it is only about half the size. There is a second conference room next door that is exactly the same, minus the corner tables and flowers."
"I like it. It's simple yet elegant and functional." Rory told her.
"The long cabinet along the exterior wall is all storage. There is even a coffee pot in there in case you need it. Doyle loaded it up with everything he could think of that you might need during a meeting."
"That's awesome!" Logan commented.
"Alright, now we are going to bypass the second conference room, and jump across the hallway to your kitchen. There isn't much food in here at the moment, but I was going to have you help me place an order for all of your favorite snacks. I could have asked your mother or Luke, but I thought the two of you would be the best people to ask."
"This is perfect! It looks like a mini restaurant." Rory said excitedly, as she looked around the kitchen area. There was a large counter in the middle of the kitchen, with stools surrounding it. Off to one side of the room were a few tables with chairs for people to eat at, and on the other side of the room were storage cabinets and a large stainless steel refrigerator. On the back wall, behind the large counter in the center of the room, was a long stove that looked a lot like the stove in Sookie's kitchen at the Dragonfly.
"I had Sookie design this kitchen for you. She specifically designed it so you can hire a chef to come in for events if you choose to have them up here. Or you and Logan can use it to cook yourselves a decent meal while you are here so you don't have to constantly order from outside restaurants."
"This is awesome Grandma! Thank you so much! I absolutely love this! It definitely reminds me of Sookie's kitchen at the Dragonfly, with an attached mini dining room." Rory told her.
"That is exactly the look that Sookie was going for. She thought it might be a nice comfortable touch for you."
"I really love it! This is incredible!"
"This kitchen is fully stocked with every cooking gadget that you could possibly need. Sookie thought of everything."
"This is awesome! I feel like I can live in here." Logan told them.
"You even have a cappuccino maker in the cabinet on the left wall. Just open the door, and it is just there, all ready to be used. And let me tell you, the cappuccino that it makes is absolutely heavenly! I may have been enjoying it a little too much." Emily said as she pointed toward the cabinet across the room. "I love how this kitchen turned out. It's almost like a mini restaurant. All you need is a chef."
"It's amazing! I am really excited to be back in this office." Logan said as he walked around the kitchen, admiring everything that had been done.
"Would you like to go see your office now?" Emily asked, watching as Logan and Rory looked around the kitchen.
"Only if it is at least half as great as this kitchen is." Rory told her.
"Come, let's go see your new office."
"Is it strange that I'm kind of excited?"
"Rory, you are going to absolutely love it! It turned out gorgeous! It is very you."
"I can't wait to see it. You have done such an incredible job with the rest of this floor, that I have no doubt that my office is nothing short of amazing."
"I just thought that you deserved a corporate floor. Something of your own, without all the business of the news room surrounding you. Your job is tough enough without all the stress of a hundred different people surrounding you. I wanted your floor to be both welcoming and relaxing. Something that screamed Rory Gilmore works here, rather than the gaudy Mitchum Huntzberger vibe that used to be here."
"I definitely like the Rory Gilmore vibe." Logan told them. "This place has always been so stuffy and suffocating. It felt like death, just walking in the door. It was like being in a crypt all day."
"I don't think it was that bad, but it was definitely overwhelmingly intimidating. I can understand why you thought it was a crypt though." Rory agreed.
"The dark wood and gold were very off putting. I think that this new lighter, brighter design is a lot more inviting." Emily said as they stopped at the door to Rory's office. The surrounding windows were all frosted, so you couldn't see inside. "Are you two ready?"
"Can I go in?"
"You can . . . But one last thing before you do." Emily started as she reached for the handle on the door. "If there is anything that you don't love, just say the word, and we'll change it."
"Grandma . . . This entire floor is absolutely incredible. I'm sure that I will completely love it." Rory told her.
"Very well then." Emily agreed, pulling the door open to allow Rory and Logan to enter the office.
"Oh my God! Grandma! This is gorgeous!"
"Wow! It's beautiful." Logan agreed, looking around the room they had just entered. There was a large white antique yet modern looking L shaped desk in the center of the room, with a black top, and Rory's oversized executive massage chair that Logan had custom ordered for her a few months prior, sitting behind it. Behind the desk was a large bookcase that perfectly matched the desk, with several of Rory's favorite books, on the top shelf. On the lower shelves were various books that Rory frequently used for research, along with several binders containing various projects that Rory had been working on. On the very top of the shelf sat a large plaque with 'Huntzberger Publishing Group Rory Huntzberger, CEO' written on it. On either side of the plaque sat two large vases of flowers. In front of Rory's desk sat a couple comfortable looking antique Chippendale Style teal upholstered chairs, that happened to be the same color as the paint on exterior wall, housing the windows. There was a credenza that perfectly matched Rory's desk that sat along the wall under the windows, with a large vase of fresh flowers sitting on top, along with a few decorations. Next to the credenza, in the corner closest to Rory's desk sat a matching table containing one large framed picture, with two much smaller frames to the sides of it. The smaller pictures were from Ayribella's newborn photoshoot; one a picture of just Ayribella, and the other, Rory, Logan and Ayribella. But the large picture Rory didn't recognize.
"Grandma, where did you get this picture?" Rory asked.
"I actually had that made from your wedding video. It's the very moment after the two of you were pronounced husband and wife. You don't have many wedding photos, so I had this one made for you."
"You had a picture made of our first kiss?" Logan asked.
"I did. I thought it would be the perfect accent for Rory's office. I have a copy for your family room as well, but I was waiting to give it to you, until after you saw the office. I have the larger framed canvas at home for you." Emily told them.
"Wow! That is just incredible! Thank you Grandma!"
"I wanted this office to be cozy, yet relaxing for you. Look over here." Emily motioned toward the wall just inside the door where a large white leather sofa sat, with a white table at either end of it, and an antique Chippendale style club chair, with the same upholstery as the other two chairs. The table closest to the club chair had a couple of magazines on it, but the other one held a few more pictures that had previously been sitting on Rory's desk. "I moved the pictures that you had on your desk onto this table. You can always move them back if you want to, but I thought a clear desk looked more relaxing."
"I really love it. Thank you Grandma!" Rory told her.
"Hey Ror, isn't that your framed Yale paper?" Logan asked, pointing toward the wall of windows. Hanging on the teal exterior wall, right between the windows was the Framed front page of the Yale Daily News that Rory had been given when she relinquished her position as Editor.
"I saw that sitting in the corner of your home office, and stole it to bring here." Emily told them.
"I didn't even notice it missing." Rory smiled. "I put it in the corner because I wasn't sure where to hang it, but it looks perfect there. Thank you, Grandma."
"You are very welcome, Honey. Now, why don't you both come this way. As you can probably tell, this office is a little bit smaller than it used to be. And that is because I wanted to create a space for Ayribella. I know that Rory doesn't want to put your daughter into daycare, or leave her with a sitter. And I know that no matter what anyone might say to you guys, Rory is just going to do whatever it is that she thinks is best for your daughter. I figured Ayribella would probably be spending a lot of time here with both of you, so rather than having all of her things clutter your office, and take up extra space, I gave Ayribella a space of her own. It's not a large room by any means, it's actually more like a walk in closet type of space. But it gives you guys a private space for Ayribella to sleep, or play while the two of you work." Emily said as she walked across the office to a door located behind and to the left of Rory's desk, directly next to the large bookcase. The glass in the door was frosted to match the rest of the windows in the front of the office. "In here, we have Ayribella's nursery."
Rory and Logan looked around the room they had followed Emily into, to see a changing table, playpen, baby swing, rocking chair with a blanket hanging over the back, and a small tub of toys. And next to the changing table, sat Ayribella's stroller all folded up, so as to not take up space. The exterior wall where the changing table sat, had been painted lilac, and had a large canvas painting of a newborn Ayribella on it.
"You still have your private bathroom, but I thought it would be better to have access to it from here in the nursery than from your office." Emily said as she moved toward the door on the far wall of the room and opened it to show the bathroom. "I had the fixtures in there changed out, so it's 'more modern than it used to be."
"Hey, I like it! It looks a lot less freaky now." Rory said, peeking her head into the bathroom to see a fancy white vanity and lilac glass sink, rather than the gaudy gold sink and dark wood vanity that had previously been in her office bathroom. Emily had also swapped the old monstrous gold framed mirror with a simple oval mirror. The bathroom walls were all the same lilac color as Ayribella's nursery.
"I thought painting the bathroom lilac to match the nursery would be more cohesive and calming." Emily said as Logan peeked through the door.
"I really, really like it! This bathroom is so different. It's no longer my Dad's gaudy throne." Logan commented.
"Can I ask you something Logan?" Emily asked.
"Of course!"
"Why would your father have a black toilet in his office? Isn't that a little off putting?"
"I don't even know. That thing was marble and weighed a ton. He had it custom made."
"It was terrifying to look at." Rory added. "I rarely used it, because it freaked me out. I would use the other bathroom on this floor because Mitchum's bathroom scared me."
"Well you now have a very nice, normal bathroom." Emily told them.
"Thank God! Thank you Grandma for everything. Especially for the user friendly, non-terrifying bathroom.
"You are very welcome, Honey! This has been really fun for me. Now that this floor is just about done, I've got the plans for the next renovation almost ready to go."
"What are you going to do next?" Logan asked.
"I was thinking the main lobby downstairs. I know it would be a major inconvenience to rip it all out all at once, so I am going to do it in stages. I'll do one area at a time, and most of the work will be done at night, or over the weekend, so as not to disturb business."
"That sounds good, Grandma." Rory told her.
"Would you like to meet with the contractor with me, before we start the renovations?"
"Nope, I completely trust you. You are free to do whatever you need to. Just let me know if you need anything from me."
"Will my office be impacted at all?" Logan asked.
"I don't believe so, except maybe for painting. I'll let you know when we get to your area. Now Rory, what about the outside of the building? Are we allowed to paint?" Emily asked.
"I have no idea! You may have to check with the city on that. I have no idea what kinds of codes or laws there are about the exterior of the building."
"Very well. I will have the contractor take care of that then."
"Carlos may know something about it, since he's had to work with them on security measures. He might have some kind of information. Or at the very least, he can probably put you in touch with whoever is over all of that stuff with the city." Logan spoke up.
"Thank you Logan, that is a great idea." Emily said as she followed both Rory and Logan back into Rory's office.
"Grandma, this office is seriously my favorite place in the entire building." Rory smiled as she looked around once more. "I can't believe that you did all of this while I've been out. It's absolutely amazing!"