Page 96 of The Silver Fox Brother

"I'm thinking the view from the master suite is wasted on the east side. If we could flip the layout, put the master on the south corner, you'd wake up to sunrise over the river and have the city spread in front of you."

"That would require reconfiguring the plumbing and electrical rough-ins."

"I know. But it would be worth it."

I pull out my phone and open the architectural plans. We stand side by side, looking at the layout on my screen, discussing the feasibility of her suggestion. She's right. The master suite should face south. It's a better use of the space, a better experience for whoever lives here.

"I'll talk to Tom about the cost and timeline for the change," I say.

Winter looks up at me, surprised.

"Just like that?"

"You made a valid point. Why would I argue against it?"

"Most developers would push back on structural changes this late in the process."

"I'm not most developers. And you're right about the view."

Something shifts in her expression. Not quite a smile, but close.

"I’m glad we see eye to eye, Mr. Sterling."

"Knox," I say before I can stop myself.

"You can call me Knox."

Winter considers that.

"Only if you call me Winter."

"Deal."

Her team finishes their documentation, and we all ride the construction elevator back down to the lobby. Winter's team heads out to load their equipment into the SUV, but Winter lingers.

"Thank you for today," she says.

"Seeing the actual space makes everything click into place. I'll have preliminary renderings for the two-bedroom and three-bedroom units by end of week."

"And the penthouse?"

"The penthouse gets more time. You don't rush perfection."

I almost smile at that. "No. You don't."

Winter heads toward the door, then stops and turns back.

"I’ll actually be coming by the office in the morning- at least for these first couple of weeks to goover the specs. Once we get everything established we can lock in the daily check in calls.”

"That's fine."

"Good. I'll send a calendar invite."

She leaves, and I'm alone in the empty lobby. I made the right choice hiring her. The quality of her work, the way she thinks about space, the expertise she brings to the project—all of it justifies the decision. But standing here in the fading afternoon light, I know that's not the whole truth.

I made the right choice hiring Winter Hayes. I'm just not entirely sure it was for the right reasons.

ChapterNine