The rhythmic, measured click of Maya’s heels echoed down the quiet, reflective glass corridor of Apex Architecture. It was a familiar sound, one that usually anchored her to the present, but today the marble floor felt like a bridge spanning across time. Every step seemed to drag her mind back four full years—to the crisp autumn morning she had first walked into the towering skyscraper, an eager candidate holding a portfolio that contained all her dreams, anxieties, and unyielding ambition.
Back then, Apex Architecture had felt less like a design firm and more like an intimidating labyrinth of polished steel, frosted glass, and unyielding corporate hierarchy. It was a place where reputations were built over decades and destroyed in a single failed pitch. Anchored by a formidable leadershi
