After a two-hour flight, Nick and his small team finally touched down in Miami.
The moment they stepped through the arrival gate, a young woman in sharp business attire, probably twenty-six or twenty-seven, approached them with a professional smile.
"Hello, Mr. Harryson. I'm Alex Anderson from Amazon's Corporate Relations department. I'll be managing your itinerary for the duration of your stay."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Anderson." Nick shook her hand before gesturing to the tall, long-haired woman standing beside him.
"This is my assistant, Calloway. You can coordinate the specifics of my schedule with her."
Alex glanced at the striking woman behind Nick, then at Ryan Orston—who stood like a stone wall in his black aviators, effortlessly maneuvering their luggage—and nodded. "Perfect. The car is waiting just outside. Right this way."
Calloway was a new addition, hand-picked by Sarah Jenkins for this trip. At twenty-four, she already had two years of high-level secretarial experience under her belt before joining Militech.
She was sharp, capable, and remarkably efficient. Sarah had originally wanted to push her as Nick's full-time executive assistant, but Nick had pushed back until this trip made a human gatekeeper a necessity. So far, Nick was impressed; she was professional, stayed in the background when she wasn't needed, and got things done without being told twice.
Alex led them to a luxury black SUV idling at the curb. Once they were settled into the plush leather seats, Alex turned back from the front passenger side.
"Mr. Harryson, we have your suite ready at the hotel. I figured you'd want to drop your bags and rest for a bit before we start the afternoon's events."
Nick shook his head. "No need. Take me straight to Albatross—actually, take me directly to the R&D Center for the Automated Warehousing project."
Alex didn't blink. Her job was to facilitate, and if the client wanted to skip the nap and head to the lab, she wasn't going to argue. "Understood," she said, before whispering to the driver, "Head to the warehousing center."
Nick leaned back and pulled out his phone. He wasn't just "playing" with it; he was scanning the news cycles from the last two hours.
As a CEO, Nick knew that being out of the loop for even a few hours was a liability. A single headline could hide a billion-dollar opportunity or a looming crisis. He remembered how some people made fortunes during the pandemic just by reading the tea leaves on mask shortages before the rest of the world caught on. For a company like Militech, staying ahead of global trends wasn't just smart—it was survival.
In the front seat, Alex caught his eye in the rearview mirror. She pulled an H1 earbud out of her bag, popped it in, and began navigating her own phone via voice commands.
Nick noticed and couldn't help but grin. "How are you liking the new tech?"
"The Intelligent Voice Assistant? It's a lifesaver," Alex said, sounding genuinely enthusiastic. "Almost everyone at the office has one now. Honestly, the hardest part was actually getting my hands on it. I had to sit on a waitlist for ten days."
Nick offered a small, apologetic smile. Even if this was a bit of "corporate flattery" choreographed by Amazon, it was good to hear. "We're scaling up our production lines as fast as possible, but the demand is just outpacing us right now."
"It's a phenomenon," Alex added. "My entire feed is just people showing off their custom AI personalities. Even our senior VPs are obsessed with them."
"What about Jeff? Is he a fan?" Nick asked, a playful glint in his eye.
"Uh, that... you'd probably have to ask him yourself," Alex said, laughing slightly. "Though I'm sure if you personally handed him a custom unit, he'd be thrilled."
"Is that so? Maybe I'll have to do that just to see his face," Nick joked.
In reality, he knew exactly what Bezos's reaction would be. Amazon had invested heavily in their own smart speakers, but since the H1 hit the market, Alexa sales had cratered. Amazon had even reached out to Militech about a partnership, which Nick had politely declined. Giving a competitor a gift like that in public would be like a victory lap.
Nick shifted the conversation to a more professional tone. "As a daily user, what's your honest take? We're always looking for real-world feedback to iron out the kinks."
Alex thought for a second, then shook her head. "Honestly? It's hard to find a flaw. It's made my life so much more organized. It's like having a personal assistant who knows exactly what I need before I ask for it."
She paused, then added with a smirk, "The only real downside is that it doesn't have hands. It can't actually fold my laundry or carry my groceries yet."
Nick laughed heartily. "Sounds like you need a boyfriend. They usually come with hands."
Alex rolled her eyes playfully. "A boyfriend can't handle a complex calendar and they definitely aren't as good at listening to a girl's feelings. The H1 actually 'gets' me. I don't think I could go back to working without it."
She turned further in her seat. "Actually, Mr. Harryson, can I give you a serious suggestion?"
"Go for it," Nick said, leaning in. "I'm all ears."
"When you sell the smart home ecosystem—the switches, the outlets, the hubs—could you offer a professional installation service?"
"Most guys like to tinker and figure it out themselves," she explained. "But for a lot of us, opening a junction box is intimidating. If it's not installed perfectly, it's a fire hazard, and finding a reliable electrician for a small job is a nightmare. If Militech offered 'White Glove' installation, I think your satisfaction rates would go through the roof."
Nick nodded slowly, genuinely impressed. "That's actually a very sharp insight. I've made a note of it. Thank you, Alex."
"Oh, it was just a thought," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to overstep."
"Not at all," Nick reassured her. "It's exactly the kind of feedback we need."