Page 63

Amos

Three weeks after Tommy signed a deal with a publishing company, he got a phone call from a guy he’d met through Anton Wagner. It was a Monday morning, and I had just gotten up and made us both pancakes when the phone rang—a feat I was rather proud of, considering I had only started cooking since Tommy had moved in.

Tommy answered and put it on speaker, I think so he could keep eating. “Hello?”

“Hey, Tommy, it’s Orion Mattingly. Do you have a moment to meet this morning? I wanted to talk to you about a job I have lined up.”

“Sure, Orion. Um, we’re about to dive into breakfast. Want to meet for coffee later?” he asked.

“That’s perfect. Let’s say tenish at the coffeeshop near the theater?”

“Yeah, great. Oh, do you mind if I bring Amos? He and I have to go shopping later, and it’d be easier if I brought him along.”

Orion snickered. “That’s probably a great idea. See you at ten.”

“You have a job interview?”

I asked. “Why would you bring me on a job interview?”

“No, of course not. Orion is the owner of Proudest. He’s probably wanting an article or maybe, if I’m lucky, a series of articles for the magazine. It’s not a big deal. Now, tell me about your mom. She’s coming back to New York? Any idea what she wants to do?”

The rest of the morning was like that. Him and me, enjoying a day together. I knew he was restless. Tommy wasn’t the kind of guy to sit around idly. He liked to work, to write.

I’d been trying to get him to start another book, but he’d made it clear he was a journalist, not an author. I just wished he could find his way, and soon.

We ended up walking over to the coffee shop, enjoying a leisurely morning stroll. Just the two of us… and millions of New Yorkers, of course.

I’d seen Orion talking with Anton a few times at the theater, but I’d never met him in person. He greeted me and shook my hand before we went to get our coffee orders in. When we came back, Orion was smiling.

“This is fortuitous, Amos… you being able to join us,”

he said as soon as we sat down.

“Oh?”

I asked, my eyebrow cocking.

“Yes. Tommy, I have a fairly significant proposal to ask of you.”

Tommy nodded and took a drink of his coffee. I could tell he wasn’t really taking this seriously.

“As you know, Proudest is a new magazine. We’ve been working the past five years trying to build the business to the point where we can hire full-time staff. Last week, we closed on funding that makes that possible.”

Tommy’s eyes grew large. “You… you’re offering me a journalist position?” he asked.

Orion smiled but shook his head. “No, not exactly, Tommy. We’re creating a CEO position in the company. I will be taking that, which means we need an editor-in-chief.”

Tommy froze and swallowed hard. “Editor-in-chief?”

He all but squeaked.

“Yeah, and you, my friend, are the man who we believe would best fit the position.”

“But… I’ve only ever been a journalist.”

“A savvy one, and one who knows how to appeal to the masses… our masses. Tommy, do you know the articles you’ve written for us have had ten times more reads than our other articles? Did you know that we secured a beer manufacturing company ad campaign because, quote, ‘Tommy Sanders’s article is what we’re all about’ end quote?”

“I… I’m flabbergasted,”

Tommy said, causing me to chuckle.

“Flabbergasted, is it?”

I said, causing Tommy to give me the stink eye, but I saw the smile forming on his face.

He turned back to Orion and nodded. “If… well, of course, if you think I’m the man for the job, I’m certainly willing to try.”

“I’m convinced you are, as are the board and our new investor. Here’s the location of my office here in the city. Your position will be mostly remote, but we keep an office here for meetings and interviews. If you can meet me here tomorrow, we’ll discuss the particulars.”

Tommy beamed, and I could tell he was ecstatic. Orion left after that, taking his coffee with him. Tommy just stared at his vacated seat. “Um, Amos, did that just happen?”

I laughed. “Yeah, I think so. You ready to be editor-in-chief of an up-and-coming magazine?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, you better figure it out, ’cause that train’s coming into the station.”

Tommy’s bewildered and happy smile never failed to thrill me. I hoped to all that was good that this worked out because keeping him here with me would be the best thing to ever happen to me.