Red Warren the Office, however, runs with a skeleton crew in a modern office building. Megan handles all things human resources, Allie watches their money like a hawk in accounting, Nikkiee networks like a cult leader in talent and communications, and Johnny uses his keen senses in development and acquisitions. Joy fills the role of manager to an unholy amalgamation of office, operations, and finance, and at times, doubles as an executive assistant. And Malcolm is the CEO—the dreamer, the face, and the heart of the company.

Megan says, “Johnny was reviewing everything and spotted the discrepancy.”

“That must have gone well.”

“He was so mad, oh my god. I thought steam was going to start whistling out of his ears.”

Joy laughs, and Megan continues, “But it’s not just me, though. Malcolm missed it too. He was there. He reviewed the contract before I signed off on it.” Her gaze is practically a laserbeam of sincerity aimed right at Joy. “It seemed like he’d been doing better lately.”

Malcolm hasn’t really been the same since Caroline (the Cruel) called off their wedding a year ago. A Virgo through and through, Malcolm lives and dies by planning and micromanaging every detail he can get his hands on. He likes order and precision, needs structure and control.

Joy had seen Malcolm heartbroken before—he played fast and loose with his heart on a regular basis. He’s in love with love, always searching for The One, but that breakup broke him. Completely and utterly. Afterwards, he missed important meetings, left work early on the days he even bothered to show up at all, overlooked major and minor details that caused everyone headaches later. Mistakes like this contract were a dime a dozen. Red Warren survived by staying in red alert mode.

But in the past couple of months, glimpses of the real Malcolm began to break through. His focus and dedication to Red Warren returned. Missteps became less frequent, nearly disappearing. He seemed better, lighter, and happier for some reason.

Joy fidgets at her side. “He’s okay. He, um, I think he might be a little distracted right now.”

Everyone knew Malcolm and Joy had originally met in college. A classic story of boy sees girl first, girl meets boy but then has an immediate revelation about her sexuality and completely ignores boy for two weeks before randomly popping back up into his life. They’ve been best friends, for better and for worse, in sickness but mostly in health, ever since. And she’s deeply in love with him.