I heard muffled voices coming from downstairs. It was time. I would act surprised, just like April had instructed me to do.

I shut down the laptop, relieved to finally finish watching the video. It was hard to watch myself on the screen, but it needed to be done. The PR team had just sent over the clip of the commercial with me as the star. They insisted I be in it and assured me I was the best marketing tool for the company.

“TwinTech is there for you.” I was saying in the video. I was wearing an outfit that was supposed to make me look more credible as a ‘tech CEO’, fancy black jeans, a designer turtleneck that cost like a rocket ship and outrageously overpriced white sneakers.

“Hello, I am Rodion Likharev, CEO of Twin Tech. Our pioneering digital double technology will turn your world around.” I was saying, doing my best to look relatable and reliable at the same time. I would need to provide my comments to the PR team, but this could wait.

I rose from the couch and opened the office door.

“Shh.” I heard. “He’s coming.”

I smiled. I loved my team. They were the best.

My coach had asked me once, in the early days, soon after I’d taken over managing The Lab, whom I wanted on my bus.

“What bus?” I frowned. We always spoke on Skype, as she refused to leave her farm and come see me in Pittsburgh, and considered any other technology to be suspect. Somehow Skype had made the cut ages ago, and we stuck to it.

“Think of your team as a bus. You’re the driver. Whom would you take to be on your bus?”

“That’s a great way to look at it.” I told Molly then. I’d hired her to coach me ten years ago, and considered it the best decision of my life. Well, the second best decision of my life. The first one was marrying April.

So when I put together my team, I applied the bus analogy. I was picking the right passengers for my bus. However simple, it worked, and I was able to select the best, most loyal and productive team. We worked like clockwork together.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Of course, there was a bit more to how I picked ‘the passengers’ for my particular bus. Molly was the only one who knew about my dreams. Even April did not know about the extent of my visions. But Molly helped me sort through them.

Sometimes I’d see scenes from the future, but most of the time it wasn’t like that. It was more like metaphors. A person I encountered in real life would reveal their true selves through a dream. Molly helped me to interpret my visions. She also taught me not to be afraid of seeing things.

“Rodion, it’s a gift. Truly. Use it for good, that’s all I ask of you.”

“Alright, Aunt Molly.” I told her. I still called her that, though more as a joke.

“Coach Molly. Please.” She corrected me with a smile.

I descended the steps and saw a huge sign hanging over the door.

“Happy Birthday, Rodion!” It said. It was done in the colors of our Lab. We picked black and gold to honor the Pittsburgh tradition, to show the world where we came from. April was in charge of the design team, and I went along with whatever they did. The rebranding happened right when we bought the mansion on Forbes Avenue.

It was a decision I didn’t take lightly. Passing by this very space every day on my way to The Lab’s original location on campus, I remembered my first-ever vision and wondered why I’d seen the place in such detail. So when I saw the ‘For Sale’ sign, I checked the place out online, and the photos were exactly like what I had seen in my vision. It looked like a family home, the same layout, even the white couches. So, the next day, April and I went to see it, accompanied by our real estate agent.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” April kept asking on our way there. “To move the Lab into this space?”

“I just have a feeling about it. It’s got everything going for it, the location, it’s big enough, and we’ll own the place.” I repeated over and over again, while in my mind I ran through different scenarios of how this idea could fail miserably.

But in the end, it was April who insisted we buy the place. She fell in love with the property the second we stepped inside, and after that, I had no doubt we were making the right choice.

“Happy Birthday, Rodion!” My team saw me come down the steps and cheered.

“Happy birthday, Boss!” I heard someone yell out, and then the whole room broke out in a cheer. “Happy birthday! Happy birthday!” They all yelled.

I saw Chuck McPherson standing in the corner, smiling. Ever since passing on the management of the Lab to me, he’d been our advisor, appearing only once or twice a week. And then April appeared. She rolled in a cart with a large round cake, layered. I knew right away what it was. The cake Mama used to bake me. My heart leaped.

“I made you a honey cake. The Russian recipe, just the way you like it,” April whispered into my ear. “Happy birthday. Make a wish.”

And I did.