Big City

Mira Chen’s heels clicked a staccato rhythm against the polished concrete floor as she strode through the office. Her colleagues’ heads swiveled to follow her progress, but she paid them no mind. After weeks of grueling preparation, today was the day she’d finally land Nexus as a client. She paused at her desk just long enough to grab her tablet and a slim folder of printouts before continuing to the conference room. As she approached, Mira could see the Nexus team already seated inside through the glass walls. She took a deep breath, smoothed an imaginary wrinkle from her crisp blazer, and pushed open the door. ...

The neon sign flickered to life, casting a harsh blue glow across Zara Chen’s face as she gazed up at the towering Nexus Corp headquarters. Twenty-eight stories of gleaming glass and steel stretched toward the smog-choked sky, a monument to human ambition and technological progress. Her ambition. Her progress. Zara took a deep breath, straightened her crisp white lab coat, and strode through the sliding doors into the immaculate lobby. Her heels clicked against polished marble as she made her way to the express elevator, nodding curtly to the security guard who waved her through. ...