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After a pleasant breakfast at Diana’s in-house, home cafe, and a few conference calls, I strolled into my new Brooklyn offices and headed straight for the luxurious meeting nest at the far end. It was close enough to a wallpapered jungle wall to feel the soothing tropics emanating from a concrete wall but not so near as to spoil everyone else’s view.
As I casually inspected activities and progress on my way, I was amazed at how quickly Greg and Stanza had built the bare bones of a work hub.
Voices echoed around the immense area as more than twenty people moved purposefully, creating the offices now home to my investment company. Anastasia was downtown in Manhattan or somewhere equally corporate, finding a new home for our Foundation, while I had agreed to meet with Jack to discuss his formal terms of reference.
Greg had been furniture, contractor, and computer shopping, while Stanza had already employed a few researchers who came highly recommended by Jack. They were screwing legs onto beautifully designed solid wooden desks, each six feet long. I saw boxes of Apple computers with technicians unpacking, excitedly darting in and out of a server room.
The smell of brand-new leather tickled my nose, so I inspected a beautifully laid-out corner enclave of our massive office floor. Smooth, luxuriously padded brown leather sofas looked stunning, and their appealing design made me smile. Somehow, using a clever internal engineering system, each backrest reclined independently across the three seats, making for ultimate comfort.
I felt proud to be the catalyst for change and hope, helping others find their purpose. I lovingly stroked my baby bump, feeling optimistic about their future, Victor’s, and my own.
Stanza hovered nearby, carefully wrapping a young man in his recently printed barista gown that had a beautiful motif. She’d just taken delivery of it, and like me, she kept the box, just in case it was needed, stacking it in a closet.
When she approached me, my friend and business partner grinned and pointed at a sofa.
“Vico Magistretti designed the sofas for Cassina.”
“I’m not familiar with designers Stanza, sorry.”
"He designed the world-famous Carimate chair produced by the Cassina furniture company. The chair mixed rural simplicity with urban sophistication. The smooth lines of the wooden supports and legs, the color - pop-art bright red frame, and elements of Scandinavian design were also present.”