Chapter 6
The day the semifinal results came out, I was on-site at Riverlight Residences Phase II, making sure the construction layout was spot on.
My phone buzzed. It was an email from the organizing committee.
The subject read: [Congratulations! You've made it to the top ten of the Urban Vision Awards.]
Top ten.
Out of twelve hundred people.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and got back to double-checking the elevations with the construction crew.
When I got back to the office that evening, Daniel was already waiting for me.
"Susan, you made it to the top ten. In the eight years Brightview has been around, no employee has ever made it to the top ten of a national design competition," he said.
"Guess I got lucky," I replied.
"This isn't about luck," Daniel said, sliding me a cup of coffee. "The finals are a timed live design challenge followed by a defense, and Simon is leading the judging panel. I'm giving you a week off to focus on preparing."
That week, I didn't go back to my place on Emerald Street. Instead, I stayed at the office, reviewing every project I'd done over the past six months to find my weaknesses.
Rachel messaged me: [I saw the top ten list! You and Emily both made it! People online are talking about you two, calling it a showdown between the ex and the current girlfriend.]
I clicked the link she sent. Someone on a design forum had exposed the connection between me and Emily.
The post was titled: [Urban Vision Awards Top Ten Has a Pair of Romantic Rivals? Ex-Wife vs. Current Girlfriend—Who's the real deal?]
There were over two hundred comments, most of them just here for the drama.
Someone dug up Emily's background—bachelor's and master's from top-tier universities, three years at a major design firm after graduating, and two state-level awards.
Someone else dug up mine—a standard state college degree, worked for a year before taking a five-year hiatus, and currently at a small firm.
Comment: [Looking at their track records, Emily completely crushes her.]
Comment: [But Susan made the top ten even after taking five years off. That shows she's got serious foundational skill.]
Comment: [An ex-wife comeback story? I'm so here for this.]
I closed the page.
What other people think doesn't matter; the work speaks for itself.
The next day, Andrew called.
I didn't pick up.
Andrew: [I saw those posts online. I'll have someone take care of it.]
Me: [Don't bother. It's got nothing to do with me.]
Andrew: [Susan, I don't want all this drama to throw Emily off her game during the competition.]
I looked at the message and let out a dry laugh.
Me: [Andrew, what are you trying to say? You want me to quit the competition?]
Andrew: [No, I just...]
Me: [Then mind your own business. May the best design win.]
I tossed my phone aside, fired up my laptop, and got back into the groove for the timed design challenge.
*****
Three days before the finals, I got a call from an unknown number.
"Hello, Ms. Susan Nolan? This is Simon Grant's assistant. Mr. Grant would like to meet with you before the finals. Would you be available?"
I thought it was a scam.
"Meet? What's this about?" I asked.
"Mr. Grant said he wants to discuss some professional matters with you in person, nothing related to the competition content. Tomorrow at 2 PM, in the third-floor coffee room at the Architecture Association."
The next day, I went.
Simon was wearing a gray jacket, sitting in the coffee room flipping through an architecture magazine.
When he saw me come in, he took off his reading glasses.
"Have a seat," he said.
I sat down.
"Susan, I first noticed you back when I was judging Riverlight Residences," Simon said.
"Thank you, Mr. Grant," I replied.
"I looked over your water tower renovation proposal from the semifinals, and there's a question I've been wanting to ask, you used a substantial amount of local materials: grey brick, reclaimed structural steel, and old timber. Was that choice driven by budget constraints or design philosophy?"
"It's a design philosophy. The heart of renovating an old neighborhood isn't about tearing everything down, it's about breathing new life into what's already there. Using local materials is my way of respecting the site's memory."
Simon studied me for a moment.
"You took five years off. Why did you come back?" he asked.
"Because I wasn't ready to give up," I replied.
"Give up on what?" he pressed.
"I couldn't accept that the only thing I'd ever done with my life was catering to others."
He nodded.
"Give it your all in the finals. Also—" He reached into his bag, pulled out a business card, and handed it to me.
He continued, "This is a design firm run by an old friend of mine, one of the top studios in the country. Whatever happens in the contest, you should consider going there."
The card read "Grandview Architecture Group", one of the top three design firms in the country.
I took the card.
"Thank you, Mr. Grant," I said.
"Don't thank me. In architecture, we don't lack people with good technique, we lack people with soul," he said.
As I stepped out of the coffee room, a light rain was falling outside.
I stood in the hallway looking at the card, my hand shaking slightly.
It wasn't nerves.
It was that for the first time in five years, I felt like someone truly saw me.