Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE
Oscar
“I have to say, Mr. Moore, I’m very impressed, and I don’t use those words lightly.” Madelyn Rossi, the legendary editor-in-chief of The Traveller looked over her desk at me and fixed me with a smile that was both terrifying and impressive.
“Your piece on eco-tourism and conservation in Sri Lanka was beautifully written. I think our readers will enjoy it.”
“Thanks,” I said, trying not to appear as nervous as I felt. I still wasn’t over the fact that I’d managed to land a full-time staff writer position with one of the most prestigious travel magazines in the world.
I’d been reading The Traveller since I was fifteen and dreaming of faraway places. To now be contributing was a dream come true, and one I desperately didn’t want to fuck up.
“I’m glad you liked it. I really wanted to bring some nuance to the piece. I think it’s important for our readers to be aware of these things. As long as we don’t sound too… preachy. The local community knows the issues they face better than I do, and I wanted to make sure I brought their voices through.”
I wasn’t sure it was the right choice of words or whether I’d be able to get my point across without sounding like an ass, but Madelyn nodded and looked down at the spread laid out across the desk.
“Indeed.” I wondered if she was going to say any more or if that meant I was dismissed. “So, what are you going to write next?”
“Well, I have a piece to finish on the Seychelles, but I’m still discussing options with Marcus.” Marcus was my direct manager, and I’d known him for several years before I’d started working at The Traveller .
He was the one who’d first helped me get my foot in the door with some freelance work, and he was also the one who’d encouraged me to apply for the staff writer position when it had opened last summer. I owed him a lot, but luckily, he was one of the nicest and most genuine men I’d ever met.
“What are the options?” Madelyn sat back in her chair, and it felt like I was being interrogated.
I took a sip from the glass of lemon water I’d been offered when I’d first arrived for our meeting, using it to buy myself a second to gather my thoughts. I’d been bouncing a variety of ideas around with Marcus for weeks, but at that moment, one in particular stuck out. Marcus hadn’t been convinced Madelyn would go for it, but it was now or never.
“Ideally, I’d love to do a series focusing on LGBTQ+ holidays, specifically resorts and destinations that welcome LGBTQ+ couples. While straight-presenting couples have the world as their oyster, same-sex couples have to put so much more thought and work into their travel because, if they don’t, their lives could be at risk. I’d love to showcase some destinations where they can feel welcome and experience the holiday of their dreams, especially if it’s a romantic trip or a honeymoon. I’ve seen so many articles about luxury honeymoon destinations and packages, but most of them aren’t suitable for queer couples.”
Madelyn hadn’t cut me off yet. In fact, there was something resembling a smile curling the edge of her lips. I’d come this far, so I decided to continue, laying everything out on the metaphorical table and hoping I could reach any kind of warmth that lurked under her icy exterior.
“A lot of my family, myself included, come under the rainbow umbrella, and several of them are starting to settle down. I hate the idea of them not knowing where they can go or what they can do if they want to go away together. And while a lot of travel agencies now offer LGBTQ-safe packages, I’d really love to see it celebrated. The Traveller is the leading travel brand in the world. Think about what a piece like this would say to our readers, or at least our UK readers. Many likely have queer friends or family or are queer themselves. And I want… I want to show them the beautiful parts of the world where we can be who we are. Where we don’t have to hide our love and worry that even looking at our other half could end our holiday before its even begun. I want to showcase the best hotels and the best destinations, vetted by us, and put queer travellers at the heart of the piece. The Traveller is a brand people trust, and I want it to represent all our readers, not just a select few.”
Now that I’d said it all, I wondered if I’d gone too far. I’d always been out at work, as far as was possible, but I’d never shouted about my queerness from the rooftops. For a lot of my travel, I’d never mentioned it because, as I’d just told Madelyn, it wasn’t safe.
I was lucky, in a horrible way, that I was masculine presenting and nobody ever questioned my sexuality if I didn’t mention it. I brushed off comments about having a wife or a girlfriend by saying I was too busy, and because I was a man, people accepted it without question.
“I think,” said Madelyn, “that sounds like an excellent idea.”
“Really?”
Madelyn chuckled, and it softened her for a second. “Yes, really. It’s something I’ve been thinking about myself. My niece got engaged to her girlfriend at Christmas, and we had a similar conversation over lunch recently. It was difficult for me, but mostly because… well, selfishly, I’d never considered the issue before. I made suggestions of places she and Chelsea could go on their honeymoon, and she told me how many of them just wouldn’t work due to local laws or safety concerns. Some of the resorts might look the other way, but that doesn’t make it an ideal situation.”
I nodded, suddenly aware that Madelyn Rossi , the woman who had once made the director of The Garden hotel chain break down with a single look, was being open with me. I should have felt honoured, but instead I was frozen in fear because now the whole project felt intensely personal, and I knew Madelyn was going to take a keen interest in what happened. And if she didn’t like it…
I tried not to think about that and instead nodded sympathetically. “It’s hard. I’ve definitely hidden parts of myself away while travelling, and it’s bittersweet because there are so many places I’d love to share with a partner, but I just can’t.”
“All the more reason to find some places you can,” Madelyn said. “I’ll speak to Marcus and ask him to get you and your partner a press trip. We’ve just had an invitation from a locally owned boutique resort in Hawaii that prides itself on being a diverse and inclusive destination. I’ll let you and Marcus review it and see what you think. We’ll start with one and see how it goes.”
That all sounded amazing. Except for one thing. “Partner?”
“Yes. Since this is a series aimed at couples it makes sense for you to take your partner, and I’m assuming you wouldn’t have pitched such an idea if you were single.”
Bollocks.
Madelyn stared at me, her eyes narrowing, and all the blood drained from my body. “Is that a problem?”
“No.” I swallowed. “Not a problem at all. I’ll… er, I’ll just have to check whether he’s free. He’s… he’s a freelancer and a photographer, so his diary is a bit all over the place.”
My tongue was knitting a web of lies, and I hoped Madelyn believed them. I didn’t have anything resembling a relationship in my life, but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of the opportunity, and I wasn’t going to tell Madelyn she’d been wrong. That would sink my career faster than a lead balloon, and I didn’t want to be out of my job less than a year after I’d started it. I’d worked too hard to get where I was to throw it away so carelessly.
“Oh? A freelancer? What does he write?”
“He’s a travel writer,” I said, my brain desperately hopping between all the men I’d worked with. “We’ve been on a couple of the same trips, but he’s better known for his photography. His pictures are… They’re incredible. He makes the world come alive through his lens.”
“Perfect. That means we won’t need to send a photographer or have you take any pictures.”
That was a damning observation of my photography skills if ever there was one. Still, I hadn’t been hired to take pictures, so it shouldn’t have bothered me.
Except now it meant I had to convince the man I’d described—a man I was barely friends with—to come with me on a romantic press trip and pretend to be my partner. If he didn’t dismiss me immediately, he’d definitely laugh in my face.
Then again… the last time I’d seen him, in Singapore, he’d taken to teasing me, and I hadn’t been able to make heads or tails of his actions. I’d barely been able to get him off my mind either.
“Sounds great,” I said. “I’ll talk to Marcus.”
And with that I scurried out of Madelyn’s office before I could dig myself into an even deeper hole.
“You did what?” Marcus was staring at me, open-mouthed and holding his giant mug of coffee in mid-air.
It was later that afternoon, and we sat in his tiny office with the door closed while I recounted my entire meeting with Madelyn.
“I panicked! She asked for my ideas, so I gave them to her. I didn’t think she’d say yes.” I groaned.
“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend,” Marcus said. He looked hurt, and I realised he thought I’d been keeping secrets from him. This was my moment to come clean and tell him it had been a lie, but I couldn’t do it. If I told Marcus, he might tell Madelyn, and then I’d be in deep shit. It would be better to try to keep the fa?ade up for as long as possible, even if it meant digging myself into an even deeper hole.
“It’s very new,” I said. “We’re just figuring it all out. That’s why I didn’t tell you. He and I are both super busy, and we’re still at that early stage where everything is a bit… up in the air.”
Marcus nodded. “This job is hard on relationships. You have to take the wins where you can. And taking this trip together sounds like it would be great for you. It’ll give you some time together.”
“But we’ll be working. It’s a press trip. Those itineraries are always packed.”
“Not necessarily.” Marcus grinned, and I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach. The hole I was standing in was suddenly three feet deeper. “I’ll get the hotel to set up a couple’s press package. Tell them about the article, get them to do an itinerary of their best activities for couples. You know, romantic hikes, a spa day, dinner on the beach. That sort of stuff.” I stared at him. Marcus sipped his coffee.
“You pitched this as something focusing on safe places for LGBTQ+ couples to be themselves and be open about their relationships, so it’s going to be focused on shit for couples to do that. That okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I asked, wondering if I’d blown my cover already.
“Because you’re staring at me like a rabbit in headlights.”
“I just wasn’t expecting Madelyn to take such an interest or for this to get the go-ahead so quickly,” I said, which was nine-tenths of the truth. I hadn’t been expecting any of this at all, and the weight was already starting to press on my shoulders.
“You’re talented, you work hard, you have good ideas, and Madelyn likes that. And you’re not afraid of her.”
“I am. She’s terrifying.”
Marcus laughed, the joyous sound bouncing off the walls of his office. “She is at first and when you screw up, but if you do a good job, she’ll tell you, and if she takes an interest in you, it means she thinks you’ve got talent. Madelyn will be impressed by the fact you didn’t just pitch her some puff piece. You went in there and pitched her something personal, something from the heart but that also fits the brand.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” I said. At least I didn’t think I had. “I just threw out the idea I really wanted and told her why it was important.”
“Are you even listening to yourself?” Marcus asked. “You did exactly what I just said.” He grinned and shook his head. “I’ll get you some dates for the trip. All you need to do is send me all the details for your other half—name, passport details, etc. I’ll get Vanessa to book everything for you.”
“Okay, cool. When do you need it?”
“End of the week.”
I nodded. That gave me three days to convince my supposed boyfriend to rescue me from my own incompetence. “That’s fine. I’ll send everything across.”
“Great,” Marcus said, taking another sip of his coffee. “So who is this mystery man anyway? Someone I know?”
“It’s Ilias Verrati.”