“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Ayesha said cheerfully, walking into her office.

Emily looked up from her espresso with a smile. “I have coffee, so no problem.”

Ayesha wagged a finger. “Yes, the power of coffee!”

Emily studied the woman. Ayesha was wearing a different outfit today. Her brown linen pants already looked a little crinkled. Her beige blouse was wide below but showed Jahani’s naked shoulders at the top.

Walking back from the coffee corner, holding a glass of water, Jahani said, “I’ll have to stick to water for now.”

She showed Emily her free hand. It was shaking. “See? Too little sleep and too much coffee.”

Emily raised her eyebrows in amusement. “Yes, clearly.”

Jahani plopped down in the chair across from Emily’s. She sipped from her glass twice before speaking again.

“Have you thought about the job?” she asked matter-of-factly.

Emily tilted her head. “What job?”

Crossing her legs, Jahani smiled. “The job I’m offering you, of course.” There was genuine surprise in her deep voice. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To discuss a job at Full Circle Games?”

Emily chuckled. “Ayesha, you haven’t offered me a job yet.”

“I haven’t?” Jahani asked, her lips curving up again. She tapped her cheek with the tip of her finger. “I guess we did have to cut our conversation short yesterday.”

“Yes,” Emily replied, placing her empty cup on the coffee table. “We never discussed any particular job. Your HR director did mention you’re looking for someone to lead the R&D department.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Jahani nodded, holding her glass in mid-air. She pursed her lips. “But you’re not interested in that job, are you?”

“Eh,” Emily said, taken off-guard, “I guess I did say that.”

Jahani leaned back, grinning. ”That’s okay. I like that you aren’t interested at this point. The thing is, this is not your typical R&D job. I want to totally change the focus of our department,” Jahani explained.

She took another gulp from her water and then put her glass away.

“In what way?” Emily asked.

Jahani rolled up the sleeves of her blouse.”I want someone to lead us into fully circular design.”

Emily straightened, intrigued. “As in, one hundred percent circular?”

“Yes, that should be our goal,” Jahani said, holding Emily’s gaze.

Pursing her lips, Emily sorted through her thoughts for a moment. Circular design challenged inventors to create everything as if it was part of nature’s life cycles. The waste of one process had to be the source for the next.

“It’s going to take at least a decade to get even close to that goal,” Emily said, thinking aloud.

“I know,” Ayesha replied, “But you have several decades left in your career, haven’t you?”

Emily laughed. “True enough. I’m new to this, though. I don’t have any experience with circular design. Not beyond basic recycling.”

Jahani leaned back in her chair. “That’s fine. For my leadership, I mostly hire based on character.”

Emily nodded slowly.

“I don’t think I can pay you what you’re used to making,” Jahani continued. “And even if I could, I wouldn’t. I don’t think anyone needs to make that amount of money.”

Emily narrowed her eyes. “I wouldn’t be in it for the money.”

“I know,” Jahani said, “I just wanted to be upfront about it. We have a policy here that limits how much executives can make.”

“You know,” Emily chuckled, “That doesn’t surprise me at all.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m sure the compensation will be fair.”

“And I’m sure you have other questions,” Jahani said warmly.

Emily looked down at her hands. “I report to you?”

“Of course,” Jahani replied immediately.

“What about the team?” Emily asked. “When would they start working on circular design concepts with me?”

“There’s a team that will take care of the development of products already in the pipeline. That gives you time to get started with your own R&D with the research team.”

Emily nodded again. “Will both teams report to me?”

“They’ll report to their team leads, and the team leads report to you, yes,” Jahani said, folding her hands in her lap.

“What about new hires?” Emily asked. “Can I add expertise if I need it?”

“Show me a plan and a budget, and we can discuss it,” Jahani said lightly.

Emily grinned. “Fair enough.”

Jahani shifted in her seat. “Are you willing to move to Florida?”