Our eyes meet, and we collapse in a fit of laughter. We stop, try to remain serious, only to burst out worse than before. It takes Richard passing by and asking us what’s so funny for me to sober up. I give Indira a warning stare. I’d rather the boss didn’t know I’m so lame my ex sent me a confidentiality agreement about his affair.

Indira shrugs. “Girl stuff.”

I shrug as well, making an innocent face.

Richard shakes his head and moves along. “I suppose I don’t want to know.”

“Sage, boss,” Indira calls after him.

We share another secretive smile and get back to our respective jobs.

Since my center of gravity shifted to Brooklyn, this is the first time I’m glad for the forced change of scenery.

I can’t help but think my old colleagues would’ve been more snickering than supportive about my breakup with Gerard. Everything at Évoque was so competitive. All people thought about was who had the best job, clothes, boyfriend, house, vacations. No one would’ve had my back the way Indira did today. The bitches would’ve probably been happy my perfect lawyer boyfriend had ditched me. At Inceptor, I feel part of a family.

***

When the first editorial photo shoot of Saskia goes live, it’s an instant hit. In its first week, it gathers so many page views that I’m sure I’ll be able to pay rent this month. That five-percent commission didn’t turn out to be so bad after all. Anyway, one success—however big—doesn’t mean I can rest on my laurels.

“Do we have the budget to rent a car?” I ask Indira.

“Honey”—she detaches her gaze from her screen to fix me with a look—“after your Saskia Landon stunt, you can ask for a Ferrari.”

“Thanks, but a compact for the day is plenty.”

“That will do, too. Where are you going?”

“Cherry Hill, New Jersey.”

“What for?”

“I want to convince a big makeup house to sponsor a regular feature. I convinced Adam’s wife—the photographer for Saskia’s shoot—to video blog for us. She’s a YouTube tutorials star, and she’s agreed to work with me. Now we’re only missing some cool products for her to vlog about.”

“When do you need the car?”

“Tomorrow. Please make the pickup time as early as possible and in Manhattan, near my house. The drive to New Jersey will take at least two hours.”

“All right.” Indira taps her keyboard. “You have a Hyundai Elantra booked for tomorrow morning at seven-thirty. Return time is the same the next day.” She prints a page and gives it to me.

The rental office address is just a block from my house. “What time do they close in the evening?”

She checks the screen. “Six.”

“Hopefully I’ll be able to return it the same day. It would cost more to park the car overnight than to rent it.”

“The joys of living in Manhattan,” Indira replies.

***

As expected, the drive out of New York is a nightmare. But having left early, I manage to get to my before-lunch appointment in time. Brenda, my contact from my old job, welcomes me into her office with a tight smile.