Peggy's Apartment
The bedroom door creaked open, and Adam stepped out, flashing an awkward grin. He was met by David, who had a weird look on his face, and Linda, who seemed ready to explode.
"Mrs. Adler…" Adam began.
"I'm not Mrs. Adler anymore," Linda cut in sharply, her eyes drilling into him with barely contained rage.
If she hadn't been straining to catch any odd noises from the bedroom, she'd have already barged in and let Adam have it. No matter how good-looking, wealthy, or talented he was, he couldn't just act like he owned the place. It was disrespectful—especially in front of her partner!
"Uh…" Adam stammered, at a loss. He didn't even know what last name Linda used now, since they'd barely interacted before and he had no clue about her maiden name.
"You can call her Ms. Watson," David chimed in, his warm tone smoothing over the tension. "I'm David Grossman. You must be Adam Duncan, right?"
"Hi, Mr. Grossman," Adam said, shooting him a grateful glance. He started to reach out for a handshake but hesitated and pulled back at the last second.
David's lips twitched, and the room sank into awkward silence again.
"Peggy!" Linda snapped, glaring daggers at Adam. She was about to storm into the bedroom to talk to her daughter when Peggy emerged, fully dressed. Linda called out to her anyway.
Peggy gave a quiet nod, walked to the open kitchen, and yanked open the fridge. She grabbed a water bottle, twisted off the cap, took a big swig, swished it around with a gurgle, spat it into the sink, and then chugged some more. Turning to Linda, she said casually, "Mom, you guys chat," then nodded at David on the sofa. "Hey, David."
"Hey, Peggy!" David replied, standing up with a wave and his brightest smile.
Peggy ignored them all, strolling over to her desk and sitting down in a pose so perfect it could've been a painting.
Meanwhile, Adam sidled over to the sink, turned on the faucet, let it run for a moment, washed his hands, and shut it off—all while dodging Linda's icy, murderous stare. Yep, she was furious, and everyone knew why. They were all adults here; it wasn't hard to guess what had happened.
Ahem. Adam cleared his throat, shaking off the embarrassment. He'd faced bigger scenes than this. "Ms. Watson, Mr. Grossman," he said, forcing a casual tone, "Peggy mentioned you were in Washington before?"
Linda didn't bother responding. She marched over to Peggy, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into the bedroom, slamming the door with a loud thud. Clearly, she couldn't wait another second for that mother-daughter showdown.
"Yeah, my hometown's there," David said with a gentle smile. "I decided to start my own business, so I moved back from New York. I design furniture, make it myself, and sell it."
"Design, huh? That's cool," Adam replied. "I've got a friend who's a designer too—he works on buildings."
"Oh?" David's eyes sparked with interest. As a furniture designer starting his own gig, he was eager to connect with others in the field, even if their crafts differed.
"You guys should chat sometime," Adam suggested. "His name's Ted Mosby. He recently wowed a client with a design and jumped to project manager for a 70+ story skyscraper. Well, it's still in the design phase, so it's not set in stone yet."
Adam walked to the desk, scribbled a phone number, and handed it to David. "Here, you two could hit it off."
"Your friend's Ted Mosby?" David asked, lighting up.
"You've heard of him?" Adam raised an eyebrow.
"Of course," David said. "He was just a junior designer under the legendary architect Old White. The client hired the firm for Old White's name, but somehow, Old White came up with a 78-story building that was… uh, let's just say unique."
"I know," Adam said with a knowing smirk.
Old White's design was a 78-story tower wrapped in pink marble, topped with a dome, and featuring two spherical entrances on either side. Compared to that monstrosity, even the wildest buildings out there looked tame.
"Everyone saw it for what it was, but Old White didn't," David chuckled. "When the client saw the model, they were horrified and ready to bolt. This was supposed to be a landmark skyscraper! If it ever hit TV, they'd probably have to blur it out. The client wasn't nuts—they weren't about to greenlight that."
"Old White's reputation was too big," Adam agreed. "When he unveiled the design, his whole team just clapped and cheered. My friend Ted saw through it but kept his mouth shut, swallowing his critiques."
"That's why I quit to go solo," David sighed. "Working for someone else stifles you. I doubt Ted was the only one who noticed. Probably everyone did, but Old White could fire them, so they all played along."
"Exactly," Adam nodded. "Ted asked his colleagues later, and they all admitted it was ridiculous, but no one dared call out the emperor's new clothes."
"So when the client walked away, it could've sunk the firm," David said. "But Ted had a backup plan—he'd secretly designed his own version and pitched it. The client loved it, and that's how he became project manager. It's an inspiring story buzzing around the design world."
"Now Old White works under Ted," Adam laughed. "Pretty ironic. Ted's even thinking about firing him."
"Really?" David leaned in. "Is it payback, or…?"
"Nah, not revenge," Adam said, shaking his head. "Ted's a good guy, even if his personal life's a mess. It's just that Old White still acts like the boss, undermining Ted in front of everyone."
David gave Adam an odd look, maybe because that bit about Ted's personal life sounded a little too familiar.
Adam caught it but brushed it off. "Speaking of stories, Ted's rise is so wild, it's like something out of a novel. Actually, I read a similar tale on pat-reon:belamy20. It's about a young designer overcoming obstacles to make it big. Life imitating art, huh?"
"Oh, cool!" David perked up. "I haven't heard of that author, but I'll check it out. Always hunting for inspiration."
"You should," Adam grinned. "It's a great read."
Just then, the bedroom door flew open. Linda stormed out, her face still red with anger, with Peggy trailing behind, cool as ever.
Adam and David exchanged a quick glance, both knowing this wasn't over yet.
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