“She can come here.”

“Can she?”

“Why not? She can take a few weeks off work.”

“Sure, a few weeks.”

“What are you really trying to say?” Caitlin asks.

“I’ve been thinking about taking a sabbatical.” I glance at her from under my lashes. “Don’t I get to go on my Eat, Pray, Love journey?”

Caitlin pins her gaze on me. “Of course, but just don’t make any rash decisions. Go to Paris first. See how things go.”

“But that’s just the thing about my job. I can’t just come back from Paris, call up Jack, and ask him for a year off. It’ll be too late by then.”

Caitlin shakes her head. “You don’t know that.” She pulls her lips into a smile. “From what I’ve learned in my long and prosperous life, there’s usually a solution to every problem.”

I quirk up my eyebrows. “I know for a fact you’re only saying that to cheer me up. There have been plenty of situations that didn’t have an easy way out.”

“I never said it would be easy. You just have to think outside of the box a little.”

“What are you trying to say?” I get the distinct feeling this conversation is no longer only about me.

“There are always options.” She leans back in her chair. “Say you come back from Paris and want to go back the next month for an extended period. This could happen. I mean, it could also not happen, but let’s say things play out that way. How about you, Jack and the network come to an easy agreement on who to replace you with for the time you’re away. And I’d like to stress the word easy.” She sits there grinning coyly.

The penny drops as I stare at the triumphant expression on her face.

I start smiling too, not so much because of the possibly elegant solution Caitlin has come up with, but mostly because of the sheer audacity of it. “I didn’t know one of my best friends had her eyes on my job.” I’m not sure whether I should feel thankful or threatened.

“I don’t. The idea just came to me. But the more I think about it, the more it excites me.”

“Is this because you fear your girlfriend might become more successful than you? You want a regular primetime spot on national television?”

Her mouth drops open for a split second, then she recovers. “Firstly, I’m trying to do you a favor here. I know Jack is quite fond of me and the network doesn’t seem too averse to me either. Secondly, this has nothing to do with Josephine.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”