Profession

Choices made

I blew out my breath shakily. It was done.

Across the desk, Grandma Alex beamed at me, then got up to throw her arms around me in a hug. I'd gotten everything I wanted, no bargaining or trade-offs, only questions to make sure she understood the whole of what I wanted and why. MM was coming on board with Valkyrie, but it would exist as a separate entity still. Grandma hadn't had to ask why that was so important to me. It was an odd sort of partnership; MM would be known "of Valkyrie: Adventures in Architecture." Not only did I have an official blessing to continue my projects with Uncle Tony, I had the right to explore team-ups with anybody else who had a good-looking project that could add luster to MM's (and Valkyrie's) luster. The innovative materials that Uncle Tony developed for my business could be shared with Valkyrie. My team would move into the Valkyrie building, our own suite of offices, and we would not only have our own projects but be on call to backstop Valkyrie work when they needed a hand. And on the business side of things, I would be calling the shots in all projects that involved the various divisions of Valkyrie, deciding what projects to pursue, how they should look and function, and what the timelines and locations would be, if collaborators should be brought in. And most critical of all, I would inherit Grandma's controlling vote in the company.

Her office door burst open, and it was an instant party. Grandma surrendered me for hugs from Aunts Dagny, Carol, Margaret, and Karen and cousins Iris and Charity. Delara arrived with Champagne and elegant cut-glass coupes, and they toasted my inclusion in the business. Eira had happily made room for Thyra and Langley on her cushion, and they watched the festivities benevolently. Afterward, Charity and Iris took me out for drinks and snacks (non-alcoholic, we all had other things to do afterward and this was more a meeting of the next generation to settle in together and start plotting our course forward.) I told them flat out, first of all, what Grandma had done to set up my authority in the company. I was a little worried; both of them had been there longer than me, and Iris in particular might have expectations.

"I'd pelt you with these almonds," Charity said lazily, "but they're too delicious."

"I will consider myself pelted," I said, and she grinned.

"I'm on the business side of things, not the creative, and Alex has set things up so that both Iris and I have complete dominion over our departments. I don't know the first thing about the creative aspects of development." Iris nodded.

"I think this is going to be really exciting," she said. "Mom and the Aunts have their way of doing things, and it's been impressive and worthwhile. But I think with you at the helm things are going to be more interesting. Our projects will take on more dimension, because all your stuff fits into existing ...life, I guess. Valkyries' big joint projects have always been sort of "look at this great new thing here!" but you fit your work into the existing neighborhoods and lead the way to something better. You sped up the revitalization of the city around Holly Village, obviously, but also with your Persian project you filled a need but made it harmonious to the area, it fits in visually--and how long is the wait list?"

"Six years, best guess. We've only had two residents move out, though."

"And you have an honest-to-gods Persian emperor living in your apartment building, it's so good. Uncle Tony's facilities have also gotten better with access to your creative team. All this glory is going to reflect on Valkyrie too. And you'll have access to the additional clout that Valkyrie has, plus world-class talent in-house that you don't have currently."

"The problems will come from the next layer down," Charity said, serious now. "The professionals who are being groomed to take over the various divisions of Valkyrie once the original principals step down. Not so much from Dagny or Carol's eventual successors, but from Alex's, and Annabelle, who took over Serena's business, has been angling to increase her visibility and authority. There might be something shaking up there, but that's Alex's problem. Once the principal exits the company, Alex takes back the voting share of that principal. All of them intended her to have all the marbles in the end because it was her idea to begin with, she built the foundation with places for all of them, but it's been her baby all along. My advice to you is to keep your distance for a bit, let's see what happens first."