CHAPTER 59 Career Path
October 29, 2012
When I got home after the gallery opening on Saturday, I stared at my dad’s check for a while, unable to fathom that money was now mine. However, I placed it inside my safety box before going to bed. Since I was traveling, I couldn’t deposit it into my account until I returned.
One of the first things I would do with the money was pay William back for my tuition and other graduation costs he covered. I decided to wait to tell him about the check and my desire to pay him back until he returned to avoid giving him time to think about different ways to prevent that from happening.
Aaron came knocking on my door yesterday when I was packing my bag for the 48-hour work trip where Abigail would interview an influential film executive traveling to Munich. He wanted to know if I wanted to go alone on this trip or if I wanted him to come with me. After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to go alone. It was time to cut the umbilical cord and start doing things on my own. I couldn’t forget the sense of freedom that grabbing a plane to South Africa had given me, and I wanted to experience that again.
After checking my list ten times to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything, I walked downstairs to the lobby with my things. Aaron was driving me to the office where I would meet Abigail. I still needed to grab a few items from the studio to take with me on the trip, and then Aaron would drive us to the airport. The flight was scheduled for departure at 6:00 p.m., so we had to leave with enough time due to rush hour.
Abigail worked on her phone most of the drive to the airport while I stared out the window. But once we got stuck in traffic, I pulled out my phone to check my email. Between the spam and other work emails I didn’t plan to pay attention to until I returned, I spotted an email from Louis Beaumont. The subject read: Exhibit proposal.
Thousands of butterflies took flight inside my stomach. I was nervous—good nervous, to be precise. I opened the attached file and zoomed in to read it.
The proposal looked good. The document included several ways I would be compensated, starting with an upfront fee to help with the travel expenses, installation costs, and the sales of the portraits during the exhibition. The sales commission seemed fair, or at least it did to me. Not that I knew much of the business yet, but I knew I would say yes either way. The gallery would handle publicity and event exposure, including distributing promotional materials.
The only thing that raised my eyebrows was that they wanted me to travel to Paris to meet with the curator for a full week in January and again two weeks before the exhibit and two weeks after its opening.
I had a full-time job at the magazine, and I didn’t know how I would manage to do it all. It’s one thing to take a day or two off occasionally, but knowing Becca, I knew she wouldn’t be thrilled about me having to leave for extended periods of time.
This seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but I needed to make a difficult decision about my career path. My job at Haute Magazine was exciting and dynamic, and it kept me busy, which is something I valued, especially when William was away for months. But mostly, I wasn’t ready to give up my job at Empire Magazine, and something told me both jobs were part of a package deal.
I let out a frustrated sigh.
“Everything all right?” Abigail asked, putting her phone away.
“I … yeah,” I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to discuss this with Abigail. She knew about the exhibit offer because Louis had told her about it before he came to me with the offer. However, talking to her about possibly choosing between keeping my jobs or taking the leap into the unknown with this project was another thing entirely.
She met my gaze with fierce determination and said, “Tell me what’s going on.” It sounded like an order, and I didn’t think I’d be able to disobey her. I respected her too much to do so.
“Louis Beaumont sent me the official proposal for the exhibit, and it looks amazing.”
“So what is the problem?” She tucked one of her blonde curls behind her ear and turned her hips to face me.
“My job at Haute Magazine would get in the way if I were to accept this,” I said, immediately regretting having said the words, but there was no turning back. “Preparing myself for the exhibit and all it entails would be time-consuming.
“Then quit your job at Haute to work on the exhibit and keep your job at Empire. I only need you once a week. I’m sure you can manage that.”
That would be the ideal scenario for me, but I didn’t know if that would be possible. “They need me to travel to Paris for a week in January and then again for an entire month to prepare for the opening. I can’t just drop everything here and leave,” I said. “And I enjoy working with you. It’s my dream job.”
“I enjoy working with you, too,” she said, her eyes wrinkling as the corners of her lips tugged into a small but warm smile. “You’re efficient, punctual, and well-mannered, and those are qualities I greatly appreciate in the workplace. We make a good team, and there is no way I would allow you to leave, especially considering how well my column is doing. I’m superstitious about these things, so the team can’t change. You stay.”
Her phone chimed, and she checked the notification as I freaked out about what her last statement meant. You stay. Did that mean I wouldn’t be able to accept the exhibit offer?
“We can plan ahead,” she said, resting her phone on her lap. “We can schedule two interviews a week starting mid-December. That way, I’ll have the materials ready to submit to the editors when you leave.”
“You would do that?” My eyes widened with genuine surprise. Abigail was highly respected in the magazine, and I had no doubts that if she wanted me to stay on her team, she’d make it happen, even if I quit my job at Haute.
“As I said,” Abigail reiterated, “things are going well as they stand, and I can’t allow any changes.” She winked at me and returned her attention to her phone.
I was going to quit Haute, remain on Abigail’s team, and accept Louis Beaumont’s offer. The moment I made that internal decision, an overwhelming feeling of euphoria took over me. As much as I enjoyed working at Haute, there were plenty of things I could do without. Pursuing a more artistic route for my career made sense. It felt right. For years, I had wanted to be and feel free, and I’d finally achieved it in other areas of my life after so many ups and downs and challenging, painful situations. Saying goodbye to my 9-to-5 was an item on my checklist that I hadn’t realized was there.
We arrived at the airport, and Aaron dropped us off on the tarmac close to the plane. A crew member was waiting to help us with our luggage, so I said goodbye to Aaron and followed Abigail up the stairs.
A man with golden hair was sitting in one of the rear-facing seats, so I could only see the back of his head. An undeniably familiar scent invaded my nostrils as I approached him, and I gasped when I saw him.
Abigail dropped her backpack on an empty seat and said, “Good evening, Mr. Sj?berg.”
William rose from his seat and turned around to face us. “Good evening, ladies.”