“Ah,” Celeste says in a low voice. “Noted. Also, Gem, try to relax a bit. You’re visibly tense.”

I shake my arms and legs to loosen myself up a bit. “Better?”

“Much better.”

“Okay, let’s look for Evelyn. She’s probably with the—”

“Gemma!” The loud clip-clops of high heels echo throughout the room as Evelyn glides toward us in her long chiffon dress like a debutante at a ball. Every year, Evelyn is the only person at the party decidedly not wearing a Christmas sweater.

“Perfect timing. We were just talking about your project. And Celeste! I’m happy you could also make it.”

Celeste extends her hand in Evelyn’s direction, putting on her charm at full force. “It’s so nice to see you, too! Thank you again for having me on this project. I’m enjoying it so far.”

Evelyn shakes Celeste’s hand after giving me a curious glance. “The pleasure is all mine. Gemma’s been sending me your amazing work for this project. Let me introduce you two to some of the representatives of Citrine, our parent company.”

Evelyn leads us to a small circle of four people of various ages and ethnicities. I let Celeste do most of the talking, since it’s her photography that’s going to be on the cover. I’m pleased—but not surprised—to see Celeste has prepared examples, from both the interviews and her previous shoots, to show everyone on her phone. As I watch her pitch herself, I can’t help but feel an immense sense of pride. I suddenly wish we were dating again, so I can kiss her and tell her how amazing she is.

“Oh, this is so lovely,” says one woman as she looks at Celeste’s work. I don’t know her by name, but I recognize her face from a picture I saw of our board of directors. “You have a wonderful way of capturing people in your photos.”

“Thank you,” Celeste says. “It’s also thanks to Gemma, who is a great interviewer. She helps people open up and get comfortable so they don’t look nervous on camera.”

Everyone turns to me. Luckily, I prepared my own pitch. After properly introducing myself, I jump into it and wrap up by saying, “Everyone loves love, whether they’d like to admit it to themselves or not. And since we’re all a bit nosy, we get curious about other people and how they live their lives. So, I strongly believe this topic of modern love, as well as Celeste’s beautiful cover, will catch people’s attention and appeal to a broad demographic of people in the city and beyond.”

The representatives look impressed with our pitch, and afterward, as Evelyn leads us away, she says, “Excellent job, you two. Now, please do enjoy the rest of the party. And do check out the chocolate fountain when you have the chance. Happy New Year!”