Chapter 142

Sophia glanced at her phone and saw a call from her college mentor, Zachary.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, she picked up the call.

It turned out that Zachary was hitting her up for a meal.

He was in town for a scholarly conference and knew she was still around, so he wanted to catch up over some grub.

Sophia was kinda taken aback.

Zachary had been her uni mentor.

Back in her freshman year, she’d snagged an award at the Architectural Design Competition and caught Zachary’s eye. He’d taken her under his wing ever since.

During those years, it was Zachary leading her through projects, from group gigs without any credit to solo designs where her name could shine. His mentorship paved the way for where she was today.

So, for her old college mentor, Sophia had nothing but respect, gratitude, and admiration.

When she nailed her grad school acceptance here, she’d buzzed Zachary with the good news first thing.

Life, work, and studies had gotten in the way, and while they hadn’t worked together in a while, they stayed in touch. But since she hadn’t managed to go back home, she hadn’t had the chance to visit him in person.

Now with Zachary swinging by for a conference, Sophia was both surprised and stoked.

She was down for the dinner date.

Zachary had set it up for the evening at a joint near the campus.

was already

sixty, a

academic rep and clout, he still got the odd invite to lecture. Post-retirement, he’d shifted gears to

head mostly silver, but he still had this refined and gentle vibe, always talking with a twinkle in his eye and a smile at the

smile upon

to greet her. “You made

her to her seat and letting her order from the menu, he turned

shaking her head, “Just graduated,

plan after graduation?”

same tune before Brandon asked, her dad asked, and now Zachary was the third.

stuff here then head back home to

gig at Star-Dempsey Architects?”

Zachary

“Ivan mentioned it to me.”

was sorta her senior by the same mentor,

but so does finding your patron. Our job’s about pleasing aesthetics, but beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. Before you make a name for yourself, your

clients, we’re all just punching the clock. Between radical and safe, most would rather play it safe to secure their livelihood than take risks, unless you’re the big cheese with a vision. But in today’s climate, those folks are few and far between.”

quietly. “I get it.”

wasn’t some green newbie; she knew the job hunt’s ups and downs

compromises in the work

transferring thoughts to paper. Aligning with leadership’s style and

the same wavelength, a project could suffer endless

was just from the

got a client who’s all over the place, you were back in endless revision loops, needing a boss who can

a guy named Don, Sophia hadn’t felt much of this pressure.

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255