He gave me a hug and I returned it, though I wondered if his excitement in seeing me wasn’t solely because he was interested in talking business.
“You should have told me you were in New York,” he said. “There’s nothing I love more than showing off my city to people from out of town.”
“It was a last-minute decision,” I said. “I didn’t know I was coming until last night.”
“A great decision, in my opinion,” he said. “These conferences are always hit or miss, but when you have the right person to explore them with, they can be a whole lot of fun.”
“Oh yeah?” I said. “Prove it. I’m totally overwhelmed.”
Andrew grinned. “See now, we can easily fix that. Drink? The lobby bar is great.”
If I couldn’t save my marriage or even my relationship with Ford, I was at least going to do what I could to keep my professional career afloat. Plus, I liked the guy.
“I’m in,” I said.
I was grateful to get out of the crowd and retreat to the bar, which was much quieter and calmer than I’d expected.
“My brothers love your magazine,” I told Andrew once we’d gotten our drinks.
“I appreciate it,” he said. “But I’m much more interested in hearing whatyouthink about my magazine.”
He was clearly flirting, but he also seemed genuinely interested.
“I’m a fan,” I said. “From what I’ve seen, I think it has a lot of potential. Beyond just the images, the articles are thought provoking, almost like whatPlayboyused to publish. It could really make some waves, depending on what direction you take it in.”
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” He took a sip of his drink, a simple tequila on the rocks. “My goal is to create the kind of magazine that everyone talks about. Publish work that’s risky—to shock and inspire our readers, make sure we’re a magazine everyone knows.”
“I’m into that,” I said. It aligned exactly with the vision I had for my own work. I craved the freedom to push boundaries, to try new things without fearing rejection from the mainstream.
“I want us to tackle the tough issues!” Andrew went on. “Not shy away from discussing what’s controversial or intense. I want to be controversial. How would you like to spend thirty days documenting the effects of climate change right here in America’s backyards, for instance?”
Nodding, I said, “Love to. It’s too easy for people to ignore photos of melting icebergs.”
“Exactly! You have to be more immediate. Get in people’s faces a little bit, or a lot.”
I was so inspired by his words, my mind had already begun churning with all the ways I could contribute.
“My brother was floored by the piece about European influence here in the States,” I said. “Photo essays have the potential forincredibleimpact. Have you thought about pairing writers and photographers together during development? To make the projects more cohesive.”
Andrew looked at me intently. “You know, what I really need is a photography editor-in-chief of sorts, someone who understands the role of images in storytelling. Who can work closely with me to make sure the visual needs of our stories are met.”
My stomach was doing little somersaults. It was as if Andrew had just created my dream job out of nowhere. The thought of working with writers and photographers to craft narratives was exactly the kind of thing I was passionate about.
“What else are you thinking?” he asked before ordering us another round of drinks.
I pulled out my phone. I didn’t want to obsess, but I couldn’t stop myself—nothing from Ford. I tried to ignore my disappointment as I pulled up the magazine’s Instagram feed.
“You could be doing so much more with your social media presence,” I told him.
“Sure, of course.” He leaned forward to look at my screen. “Like what?”
“For one,” I said, “you should divide your Instagram feed. One can be devoted to promoting the articles, as it is now. But then another should be purely photo. Eye candy.”
I almost volunteered to manage it, but caught myself before I could offer. No matter what was happening with me and Ford, I’d agreed to stay married to him for at least a year and I was going to stick to that promise. No relocating to New York just yet.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t start planting the seeds for the future.
“Brilliant,” Andrew said. “You really know your stuff.”
