“I went into town last night. There’s clearly a local issue—wariness around the changes the Club will bring. I think we need to make things less formal.”

“More folksy?” she says, raising a cynical eyebrow.

God, I miss New York sometimes. Not as much as I thought I would, but enough.

“People need to be interviewed by their direct managers. We have the first tier of management in place—that couldn’t have happened without you. But a lot of the recruitment decisions we’re making now are around more junior staff. They have a different perspective. Maybe it’s folksy they need. Or maybe they don’t trust New Yorkers.”

Janet pulls her shoulders back. “You’re right. And I guess you can take me out of NYC, but you can’t take NYC out of me.”

“Right,” I say. “We both know this isn’t a permanent position for you.”

“For you either, right? You’ll be back in New York as soon as this place is up and running?”

“Exactly,” I say. I have no intention of leaving New York permanently. But for the next six months, I need my focus to be here. There’s too much at stake for me to be on the other side of the country. I miss my friends and the anonymity of the city. I miss the energy, the constant hum of traffic and people. I’m not leaving for good. But in the meantime, the mountains aren’t such a bad backdrop. Mountains that have been here seventy-five million years and will tower over this valley for millions more. No matter how long I stay in New York, I know this view will be back here, waiting for me.

“How long until the VP of HR arrives?”

“Thursday,” she says. “But she’s coming from Switzerland. And before that, Paris. She’s not going to be folksy.”

“No, but she’s in the hotel business. She’ll do okay.”

“So I’m fired?” Janet looks hopeful.

I chuckle. “Not yet. But almost. I’ll get you back to New York as soon as I can.”

“And I’ll be going back to Miller Investments, right? Or am I fired from that too? You’re looking kinda comfortable here.”

“I’m not going to be back in New York for at least six months. I need to be on the ground here. But you’re not getting away that easily. I need you back here every month at least. Senior management coaching, one-on-ones…”

“I can cope with once a month. You never know, I might even start to look forward to a little mountain air.”

We stand and something catches Janet’s attention out the window. “The first shuttle from town just arrived.”