‘He was so impressed with you when he came over. With the campaign forWings of a Dove. He contacted me a while ago asking if I thought you might give it a go…’
Who? Was she talking about David? David had come over from the New York office in the spring and Anna had thought he was so handsome she’d found it hard to look directly at him, and had spent at least one full evening describing his face to Nia in graphic detail.
‘But what about…’
‘Your husband? I did say that might be a sticking point. We’d be able to get him a working visa, but I don’t know whether it’s something you’ve ever considered, the two of you. What is it he does again?’
‘He works for an investment bank,’ Anna said.
She was stunned. The whole time she’d been with Edward, it had been his career that had mattered the most. It was unspoken, understood. He earned all that money, and she’d often thought that if he had to move with his career, she would go too. But they were in London, so where would he possibly have to move to? Nothing like this had ever come up. She thought about telling him, about asking him whether he’d be prepared to take a year so that she could… what? Follow a dream? But it wasn’t even a dream of hers, was it, to go to New York? It was somewhere she’d always wanted to go on holiday, but living and working there was something that had never entered her head before Deborah had suggested it.
‘I just don’t know,’ Anna said.
Deborah shrugged her shoulders. ‘Well, you need to think about it. Talk to your husband. I certainly won’t be upset if you turn it down. And of course, no one’s expecting a decision straight away. I’ll get David to email you all the details. He wanted to ask you himself, over the phone, but I persuaded him to let me do it. Anyway, shall we head back?’
Deborah stood up, all calm and composed, as if she hadn’t just put out a hand and rocked the boat of Anna’s life, which until then had been sailing on reasonably still waters. Anna drained her coffee and stood up. Her legs were a little shaky. She was glad they were only minutes away from the office. It took all her composure to make small talk about the weekend with Deborah as they made their way back, and as soon as she was safely behind her desk, at her computer, she started typing a flustered email to Nia. Just as she was about to hit send, she realised she hadn’t even told Edward yet. She deleted the words on her screen, watching them disappear. Then she picked up her mobile, slipped it into her pocket and left the office. In the hallway that no one ever used, because it just led to the first aid room and a meeting room that had been locked for over a year, she dialled his number with shaking fingers.
‘Anna? Is everything okay?’ he asked.
She never called him during the day. Sometimes they sent each other messages, but they never spoke. ‘Yes, I’m fine. Do you have time to talk?’
He didn’t speak straight away and she knew that he was checking his watch. She heard him sigh. ‘I’ve got a call in five, but I’m fine until then.’
‘Okay. I just had coffee with Deborah and she asked me if I’d like to move to the New York office for a year.’
Silence. Then, ‘New York?’
‘Yes!’
‘As in, Central Park and the Rockefeller Center?’
‘The very same.’
‘I don’t understand. Why?’
Anna had asked this question herself, but that didn’t stop her from wishing that Edward hadn’t. Couldn’t he conceive of her just being very good at her job, so good that someone from another office might want to offer her a role? Couldn’t he just believe in her?
‘It’s this thing the company run, and they think I might be a good candidate. I can fill you in later,’ she said, trying to keep her voice bright. ‘I just wanted to let you know. So you can, I don’t know, think about it.’
‘You mean you want us to consider this? Moving to New York? Me leaving my job?’
Anna was leaning against a wall. She sank down then, until she was sitting on the floor. ‘I thought we might,’ she said. ‘It’s just a year. And I mean, if you were offered this kind of opportunity, I think we’d consider it, wouldn’t we?’
‘But that’s completely different,’ he said. ‘I mean, unless they’re talking about significantly increasing your salary?’
‘No,’ Anna said. ‘No, there’s been no talk of that.’
‘No, I’m not surprised. What I mean is, I’m the main breadwinner, so if it was my job that was moving to New York, it would make more sense to give it serious consideration. Hang on, what happens if you say no? Is your job here safe?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, there you go then,’ Edward said, as if the whole thing were settled. ‘Listen, I need to dial in to that call. We can talk about it more tonight, if you want to…’
He didn’t say that there wasn’t really any point, that he’d decided for both of them. He didn’t need to.
‘Okay,’ Anna said, holding back tears. ‘See you later.’
And even after he’d ended the call, and there was silence, she held the phone in her hand, because a part of her still believed that he would call back, that he would remember to say well done. To say I love you, and you’re brilliant, and well done.
