"Let's make sure the people who build the furniture are invited onto the stage," she said. "Not just the people who sell it." Ethan nodded and began taking notes. Victoria continued, "And I'd like to invite someone personally.
But I need to ask him first." Ethan smiled without looking up. "I had a feeling you might say that."
The invitation was more difficult for Victoria to offer than she expected. She had presented financial proposals to skeptical investors without feeling the slightest uncertainty, yet the thought of asking Daniel to spend an evening among the people who ran Sterling Living made her nervous. He knew something of her company through the archive project and their conversations, but she had never asked him to accompany her into its most public social world. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel like an unusual guest placed on display to satisfy other people's curiosity.
She asked him on a Wednesday while he was setting a repaired drawer into its cabinet. "We have a company celebration next month," she began. "It isn't my favorite evening of the year, but it matters to the people who work there. I'd like you to come with me."
Daniel looked at the cabinet, ensuring the drawer moved smoothly, then turned toward her. "As your guest?" She nodded. "Only as my guest. No role, no obligation, and no introduction you don't want."
"What would I wear?" he asked. Victoria smiled. "Whatever you'd normally wear to a formal event. I promise not to send a tailor to your door."
Daniel pretended to consider whether his oldest work trousers qualified. Then he said he had a clean shirt and a jacket that still fit, which was more than enough for an evening he was attending because it mattered to her. Victoria felt an immediate, unreasonable surge of gratitude. He had not accepted a job or a reward, but he had agreed to stand beside her in a room neither of them expected him to enjoy.
In the weeks before the celebration, Sterling Living grew busier with year-end planning. Victoria spent long days reviewing operations, meeting with manufacturers, and helping the investment team turn ambitious expansion projections into realistic schedules. Some of the decisions were unpleasant, and she could not solve every dispute simply by listening more attentively. An overseas partner wanted to lower costs through a material change that raised questions about durability, while another supplier requested higher prices because wages and transport expenses had increased. Victoria weighed the evidence, rejected the shortcut that would weaken product quality, and negotiated a phased adjustment with the second supplier.