“Thanks for the heads-up,” I said.

She nodded and I glanced at both of them. “So do either of you have a minute to get me up to speed on the pretzel company? I have to come in fully prepared with guns blazing for tomorrow.”

Thank heavens they did, and we spent the next hour brainstorming. I worked through the day, taking a break for lunch, which I spent tracking down Sophie.

I did a sweep of the office, checking with Nyah first to find out if she had any meetings. She did not. Then I checked the restaurant upstairs, the staff lounge, and the break room. No sign of her. Hmm. On a hunch, I went to the bathroom.

Vasquez Squared had four unisex bathrooms, two on each side of the building. I got lucky on the second door on which I knocked.

“Just a minute,” she said.

“It’s me,” I called. “Open up. There’s nothing I haven’t seen in there.”

I heard a snort and then the sound of the door unlocking.

The bathrooms had all been designed as multipurpose lounge rooms. Seriously there was a divan and an armchair in the front room, with the facilities, sink and toilet, behind another door at the back. Soph had wanted nursing moms to have a private place to pump or nurse as she and Miguel had agreed babies were welcome in the office until they were moving on their own power. And the lounger was big enough for a person to catch a nap if they’d pulled an all-nighter, which was a frequent occurrence in the graphic arts.

I followed Soph back inside and took a seat on the armchair while she touched up her makeup in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. There was a pink suit in dry cleaner’s plastic draped over a chair, so it was clear she was headed off to another event.

“We need to talk,” I said.

She whirled around to face me. “You’re not quitting, are you?”

“No.”

Her shoulders slumped in relief.

“But you have to be straight with me about a few things,” I said.

She looked wary. “All right.”

“Miguel only agreed to let you offer me the position of creative director because he didn’t think I’d take it, did he?” I asked.

“No, he didn’t,” she said. “But I need you here, Belly. You’ve already improved our designs so much, even Miguel admitted that you bring a fresh perspective to the studio.”