The next few days blurred together in a steady, comforting rhythm Olivia hadn’t felt in weeks. Her alarm rang at 6:15 each morning; she slipped into running shoes, gulped down a black coffee on her way out the door, and arrived at the glass-walled agency just as the downtown skyline caught the first pale light. She dove straight into client files, sketching slides and jotting bullet points in her notebook. Mornings melted into afternoons of brainstorming sessions, then into evenings spent at her desk, the soft glow of her laptop pushing back the dusk.
The agency hummed with energy. In the war-room–style conference room, her team huddled around a long table scattered with pastel Post-its and steaming mugs. They ran through mock presentations, volleying questions as if a board of executive
