‘How about right now?’ she asked.
I instinctively glanced at the TV. What,rightnow?
‘Amanda’s looking for someone to write a profile piece on that British tennis player, Marcus Taylor.’
‘Marcuswho?’
‘Taylor,’ said Zoe. ‘You know the one? The press hates him. They’ve dubbed him “Racquet Man” because he’s always smashing them up on the court.’
‘Charming,’ I said, a vague memory of last year’s Wimbledon coverage filtering into my mind’s eye. There had been some guy the media had gone to town on, calling him a brat and a bad loser and accusing him of bringing shame on British tennis. Presumably that was him. ‘What’s any of this got to do with me, though?’
‘I persuaded Amanda that you’d be the perfect person for the job,’ Zoe announced, looking at me triumphantly.
It took a second or two for me to compute what she was saying. Amanda Eddington was the infamous and utterly terrifying editor-in-chief ofLuxe. She was constantly photographed at swanky industry parties, or on the front row of Fashion Weeks around the world. As if Zoe would even have mentioned me to her!
‘You must have misunderstood her, Zo,’ I declared.
Amanda could have her pick of writers, there was no way she’d trust an article of that calibre to a relatively unknown journalist like me.
‘I haven’t. She definitely wants to hire you and she’s really excited about this one – apparently he won the Australian Open when he was twenty-three and played all this amazing tennis but since then he hasn’t really lived up to his potential. She was having a nightmare finding the right person for the assignment and I immediately thought of you. I sent her that piece you wrote forRefinery29last year on why celebrities write memoirs, and she thought it was brilliant. Plus, she trusts my judgement. She knows I wouldn’t recommend anyone other than an exceptional writer to her, best friend or no best friend.’
I swallowed hard, touched by Zoe going out on a limb for me and bigging me up. But in my experience, jobs this good did not get handed to you on a plate.
‘What’s the catch?’ I asked her.
‘No catch,’ she insisted brightly.
‘The interview’s all agreed? Marcus Taylor and his people are all on board?’
‘Something like that,’ said Zoe breezily.
I narrowed my eyes at her. ‘Tell me ...’
Zoe sighed. ‘Okay. Apparently, he’s difficult. Which is obvious, isn’t it, given how he behaves on the court?’
‘Go on,’ I said.
‘And he may –may– have a rep for cancelling interviews at the last minute.’
‘So basically it’s a non-starter. He’ll half-heartedly agree to do it but then he’ll block the process at every turn so that it never happens. I’ve been on the receiving end of that before and it’s a complete waste of time.’
‘Amanda is hoping it’ll be different this time. And I told her that if anyone could get Marcus on side, you could.’
I laughed hollowly. ‘I appreciate you championing my journalistic capabilities, Zo, but I’m not a bloody miracle-worker. I bet Amanda’s only said yes to me because nobody else wants the job.’
Zoe hesitated a moment too long. Iknewit!
‘It’s not just that, Ava, you’re a sensational writer. And so what if her usual slew of contributors have said no? This is a brilliant opportunity for you to put yourself well and truly on her radar. Imagine how fantastic a profile of a famously elusive celebrity will look in your portfolio? This could be your big break!’
Rationally, this was the point at which I should have said yes, and thank you, and I’d do it. I needed the work, and chances like this – to be hired by an industry powerhouse like Amanda Eddington – came about once in a blue moon. But nagging away at me was the thought that she was going to be expecting things from me that I wouldn’t be able to deliver in my current state of mind. How was I, a jobbing journalist and occasional barmaid at the local gastropub, in any way deserving of an assignment as high-profile as this? I hadn’t written a proper, full-length story in weeks – what if I couldn’t, anymore?
‘I’m going to put my foot down here, Ava,’ said Zoe, trying to sound scary. ‘I love you, you know that, but youcannotmope around in outfits likethatwatchingLoose Women, or whatever this is, for one moment longer. Iinsistthat you do this. Nobody has ever written an in-depth piece on Marcus Taylor before, and if youcan pull it off, it would be a massive scoop forLuxe, a job Amanda wouldn’t trust to just anyone. She believes in you. And so do I.’
Celebrity profiles were exactly the kind of thing I longed to be writing and if I did it right, this job could shape my entire future.
‘But I hate sports!’ I said.
‘All sports?’ said Zoe, looking confused.
