To absolutely no one’s surprise, Cosmo is taking the credit.
In front of the publishers, he’s acting as though it was all his idea. Thank goodness I have the byline on the interview so he can’t claim to have written the piece himself, which I’m sure he would if he could. The Don Bright cover story the following week was barely noticed. I’m waiting for Cosmo to congratulate me on the interview but he’s yet to bring it up. In the editorial meeting that followed the issue, he acknowledged how well it had gone down without even looking at me.
On our way out of that meeting last week, Rakhee whispered encouragingly, “Maybe next week when people are still talking about it, he’ll give you the credit you deserve.”
But I have a feeling that that won’t be the case today, because I’m going to be late to the meeting again.
However, I do have a good reasonandI’m standing right outside the office, so I’m very close by, but I’m on hold to get through to a music agent who used to look after Artistry. The band split up years ago but, if the Twitter rumor mill this morning is to be believed, the members are in discussions for a reunion tour.
“Miss Jenkins?” A voice finally says after I’ve had to listen to a crackly version of “Pachelbel’s Canon” on repeat for ten minutes.
“Yes! I’m still here!”
“Oh, hi, I’m afraid he won’t be able to make it to the phone now,” the agent’s PA tells me regretfully. “But I’ll let him know you called.”
“I just need a confirmation on the tour,” I say, trying not to sound too impatient. “If it’s happening, then—”
“I’m afraid I can’t comment, but as I said, I’ll pass on the message you called.”
I sigh, knowing I’m fighting a losing battle. “All right, thanks so much.”
After hanging up, I open my emails and ping a quick message across to the agent to ask him to call me back, casually reminding him that the last time I saw him, I put those espresso martinis on my company card, so technically he owes me a drink but I’ll happily accept a phone call as replacement.
Then I push through the doors of the office and hurry to Meeting Room Three, steeling myself for some kind of snarky comment from Cosmo. He doesn’t disappoint. As I slide into the room, he’s in the middle of talking about expanding the luxury travel section and pauses to say, “Tell me, Harper, are you late for everything in your life, or is it just for work-related appointments?”
“Sorry!” I say cheerily. “But it was for a good reason.”
“I’m sure,” he mutters.
“I’ll remind you that last time I said that, it was because I wassecuring the Audrey Abbot interview, which has been our most successful issue of the year.”
He clears his throat. “Editorial meetings are extremely important, and I expect you to respect them enough to arrive on time.”
“Of course, Cosmo,” I reply sweetly with a bow of my head. “But as you’ve never once required me to speak in an editorial meeting before, I thought that my presence here might not be as important as speaking to the agent of the much-loved band Artistry, who might be getting back together for a tour.”
Mimi gasps loudly. “Are youserious?Ilovethem!!”
“Are tickets on sale?” Rakhee asks urgently, whipping out her phone and prompting a lot of other people in the room to do the same.
I smile smugly as Cosmo’s eyes bulge out of his head in fury.
“Can we get back to our meeting,please?” he demands.
Everyone reluctantly puts their phones down.
“Don’t worry,” I whisper audibly for everyone to hear, “there hasn’t been a tour announcement yet.”
They all gratefully relax. Cosmo raps his knuckles impatiently on the table.
“Right.As I was saying,” he grumbles, “we’re going to expand the luxury travel section as it draws in more advertising. Thank you, Mimi, for your overview on how that’s going to look. Now, on to another very important matter—as you know, Rakhee is leaving us in two weeks, and we’ve been looking for her replacement.”
My heart sinks, as it has done every time her move is brought up in conversation. She catches my eye and gives me an it’s-going-to-be-okay smile.
“I’m pleased to announce we have already found the person who is going to step into her role, and I’m delighted to say that he is in fact here today.”
He’s here?! Who comes into an office two weeks before their start date? I can’t believe Rakhee didn’t give me the heads-up on who was replacing her. I have to sit next to this person!
“Please give a warm welcome to our new features editor,” Cosmo continues, gesturing toward the back of the room. “Ryan Jansson!”
