Lee:Same. Message you after meeting and naps. Wait. Broadway is dark on Mondays.
Marie:Not on Broadway. Explain later. Elevator here. Must run.
She surrendered her sunglasses, wincing at the harsh lights as the elevator was about to stop on her floor. She was rarely this late, even though it was barely eight o’clock, but Ian was waiting in her office. He had a stack of pages in his lap, which he set aside as she walked in.
“Triple-shot latte. Coconut milk. Mint.” Ian walked over and handed her the cup of coffee. Today was not a tea day.
“Remind me to never fire you.” Greta gratefully took the coffee. It was just this side of too hot, but today it was fine. If all went well, she was hoping to take a sick day or a work-from-home day tomorrow. Generally, she was not keen on coming into work this tired, but this was why God made subways—so dead-on-their-feet New Yorkers could get to work without being a danger to themselves or others. Walking felt complicated.
“So much better. I don’t want to scream suddenly.” Greta took another long drink.
“Hangover?”
“No. Just up too late. A friend was in town unexpectedly.” Greta tried to keep the memories of Lee out of her mind. Her burning cheeks let her know she’d failed.
“Mmmhmm.” Ian gave her a look that said he heard what she hadn’t said aloud. “I figured that out when I saw on the trackingapp that you were at the train station and then didn’t leave your apartment.”
“Thewhat?”
“Tracking app. I told you I was sharing your location with me. How am I to look after you if I don’t know when you’ll be here?” Ian gestured for her coat.
“You track me?”
“Yes, and you can track me.” Ian had his back to her as he hung her coat on the coatrack that had come with the office. “We talked about this, Greta. If you’re going places you don’t want me to know, switch it to off.”
She stared at him, mouth slightly agape.
He glanced back. “Just because you aren’t showy about it doesn’t mean I’m not aware that you’re… one of us.”
“I’m not closeted, Ian. I just don’t have a person in my life. If I did, I’d bring her tosomefunctions.” Greta couldn’t stop the mental image of showing up with Lee at a few events. In reality, most of the things she attended were still business. Agents worked the room. Editors always wanted the next hit. Her social lunches or cocktail parties for this or that book event were still work. They looked like a social life to outsiders, but they were work. “I like my private life private.”
“Obviously. You don’t oweanyoneany explanations.” Ian settled back into the chair beside her desk.
Greta realized that his stack of pages was on a lap desk. “What’s that?”
“Gay literary mystery.”
“I haven’t acquired one of those.…”
“Yet.” He gave her a wide smile. “I was thinking of acquiring it if I can get my boss to agree.”
Greta laughed, grateful for the topic change. “You know your ‘boss’ trusts you, right? You have great taste, a strong editorial eye.…”
“I don’t want to abandon you, and I still want your guidance.”
“My advice wouldn’t end if you were working on books without me,” Greta stressed. “I ask others—including you—for opinions. Even if you were to take a job elsewhere—”
“Not the plan!” He met her gaze. “We can’t change the industry if we don’t have more queer editors in the larger publishing houses. I want to be one of them, but I’m not ready. Not entirely. But if you co-acquire this book with me…”
“I need to read it first.”
Ian nodded. “I don’t want to leave you and become a full-time editor. Not anytime soon. I wantthisbook, though.” Ian put his hand on the pages almost affectionately. “Middle-aged gay author, activist, and it has the kind of authenticity I want as a reader. Not theotheringof gay men that I run into when I’m looking for a bookfor me. I get that those books have a readership, which is fine, but… they’re not written by or for gay men.”
Greta took another drink. “I hear you. I’ll prioritize it this weekend.”
“That’s all I need.” Ian beamed in a familiar sort of joy. She’d felt that, the hopeful feeling before acquiring a book, the gleam of excitement.
They settled into their individual work stacks, and there was a part of Greta that was grateful they’d developed this friendship, as well as their work relationship. After roughly an hour, she looked over at him. “I like that you work in here some days.”
