Ortigas Business District — July 2, 2011
It was a humid Saturday morning when James and Yuri arrived in front of the towering glass structure that could soon become Espector Studios' new home.
The building—TechAxis One—stood along Ruby Road, a mid-rise business center sandwiched between banks, co-working offices, and the ever-growing skyline of Ortigas. It wasn't flashy, but it was clean, modern, and—most importantly—available.
Yuri double-checked the address on her clipboard. "Four floors. Fully air-conditioned, backup diesel generator, fiber-optic lines already pre-wired. 1,450 square meters per floor."
James squinted up at the building's facade. "That's nearly six thousand square meters total. Damn."
"Yup. And we'll need all of it."
They walked in through the lobby, greeted by a young leasing agent in slacks and a bright green polo.
"Good morning!" she beamed. "Mr. Pascual, Ms. Han? I'm Kara from Axial Realty. I'll be giving you the tour today."
"Lead the way," James nodded.
They rode the elevator up to the 12th floor—the topmost available level. As the doors slid open, the space revealed itself: wide open halls, white-tiled floors, high ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows offering a panoramic view of Metro Manila.
"Each floor is around P1,100 per square meter, per month," Kara explained. "So that's P1.6 million per floor, give or take. But since you're leasing four floors at once, our corporate client discount applies."
James raised an eyebrow. "How much?"
"We can drop it to P920 per square meter if you sign a 2-year lock-in."
Yuri did the mental math on her notepad. "That's around P1.33 million monthly per floor… times four, we're looking at roughly P5.3 million pesos a month. Not bad for Ortigas premium space."
James exhaled. "Around $100,000 USD monthly for rent. Manageable with our current burn rate."
Yuri nodded. "Especially since we're making over $16 million monthly now. Still, it's a long-term cost."
Kara walked them through the halls. Each floor was a blank canvas—partition-ready. The leasing firm had pre-installed centralized HVAC, fire suppression systems, and ethernet lines routed through underfloor ducts.
"We can offer a full fit-out package too," Kara added. "Partitions, lighting, walling, customized for office or studio needs. You just send over the layout plans and we'll build to spec. Two to three months for completion."
James gestured toward one wall. "That corner would be perfect for the audio booths."
Yuri pointed to another area. "And that far end can house the Creative Department. Natural light's good for the artists."
They toured all four floors, noting the freight elevator access, server room provisions, even a small rooftop garden area accessible via the fire exit.
Back in the empty 14th-floor conference room, Kara set a folder in front of them.
"Here's the lease contract, initial floor plans, and quotations for build-out costs. We'll need 3 months deposit and 3 months advance."
James flipped through the document.
Initial payment: ₱31.8 million pesos.
He wasn't sweating it. Not anymore.
But still, he turned to Yuri. "You good with this?"
Yuri tapped her pen. "Let's ask for sweeteners. Get them to throw in air conditioning maintenance for the first year and negotiate on parking slots."
James leaned in. "Also ask if they can delay billing until construction finishes."
Kara blinked. "That… might need approval from the building owners, but I'll escalate it."
"Please do," Yuri replied. "If we're prepaying nearly P32 million, we expect flexibility."
Kara smiled nervously but nodded. "Understood. I'll push for it."
An hour later, with most of the paperwork reviewed and negotiations set to resume on Monday, James and Yuri stood again by the massive windows overlooking Ortigas.
"This is where we scale up," James said quietly. "Where we stop being the studio that lucked out with one hit, and start being a real creative empire."
Yuri crossed her arms, letting the wind hum softly through the slightly ajar window. "We need proper floor assignments. I've drafted them last night."
She pulled out another folded sheet from her clipboard:
12F – Executive + Operations
CEO, COO, Legal, HR, Boardroom, Studio Management
13F – Game Development Core
Engineering, Game Design, QA Test Labs, LiveOps
14F – Creative Division
Art, Animation, UI/UX, Narrative Writers, Sound Booths
15F – Marketing & Community
PR, Influencer Team, Social Media, Localization, Partnerships
James grinned. "You're a machine, Yuri."
"I just like order," she replied coolly. "And chaos needs to be contained."
James looked out again at the skyline. "You think we'll pull this off?"
Yuri glanced at him. "We already are. The only question is whether we'll last."
That evening, back at Espector's current Cubao office, James gathered the team for an update.
"Everyone," he began, standing in front of the old whiteboard that still had marker stains from last month's update roadmap, "we've found the new headquarters."
The room fell into a hush. Airi froze mid-doodle. Sam slowly raised her head from her laptop.
"It's in Ortigas," he continued. "Four floors. Rooftop view. Sound booths, labs, lounge space. No more crammed desks. We'll have room to grow. Official move will be in about three months."
Cheers broke out. Sam let out a loud "Finally!" while Airi hugged her tablet like a stuffed toy.
"But," James added, "we're not just moving. We're evolving. New departments. New hires. New structure. It's not just about being bigger—it's about being better. And we're doing this together."
The team clapped again. Not the polite kind. The proud kind.
Yuri smiled to herself from the back.
It had begun.
They were building the future now—brick by brick, byte by byte.
And it was only July.