Rory and Logan stepped out of the back seat of the car just a few houses over from Picadilly Circus at 12.52 PM, finding them in front of the HPG headquarters. The building itself didn't seem too intimidating, it was just five stories, but they both knew it held an unproportional amount of power. Logan had worked in that very office up until about a year ago, and to him it felt very familiar, yet this time even to him, it made him take an extra breath of courage. Rory looked up at the building, taking a series of breaths, before looking at Logan.
"Are you ready?" he asked assuringly. He knew she was, even if she didn't feel it yet.
Rory nodded, and they stepped inside.
"I'll be just one floor down, I'll go catch up with some colleagues. If you need me, just call," he said, as he pushed the elevator button, and squeezed her hand in reassurance once more.
"Rory Gilmore to see Mitchum Huntzberger," she announced herself to the red-haired receptionist.
"He's expecting you, you may go straight in," she said gesturing through the tall and heavy hardwood doors.
Rory knocked tentatively, and pushed the door open. Those few seconds seemed like minutes.
"Rory," Mitchum spoke, "good to see you," he greeted, standing up from behind his desk briefly.
"Hello Mitchum," she said. "Glad to have this opportunity to speak to you about my proposal," she continued.
"It was quite a surprise to hear you were pursuing academics these days," he commented, gesturing to her to take a seat.
"I felt it was time. I actually considered this already when I graduated, but I believe this was something that needed to develop further in my mind," she explained, having just taken a seat in the modern leather armchair across from his desk.
"Before we go into the proposal, just tell me, why is it that you are here?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.
"I wish to pursue a PhD at Yale University and they have offered me a position with partial fellowship which they recommended I supplement with industry funding. They gave me until next week to reply. Logan had told me that there have been several cases within the HPG that I could involve in the project and also turn the results into something also you'd be able to use," she said confidently.
"What I find interesting is that you feel you need a fellowship in the first place, I can imagine your boyfriend is fully capable of providing for your daily expenses," Mitchum said suggestively.
"I do not intend to live on Logan's expenses, if that is what you are referring to. I may have taken advantage of his contacts but I wish to work and prove myself on my own. I want to be able to provide for my daughter independently," she explained, awaiting his reaction.
"Well, I certainly appreciate this attitude. And I do realize you two have a long and complex history, which seems to have outlived a marriage and having a child with another man. If it makes any difference, I want to let you know I do not intend to meddle with my son's affairs any longer, he's certainly old enough to live with his own decisions," Mitchum said.
"That is good to hear," she replied briefly.
"So tell me about that proposal of yours, sell me," he said waitingly.
"I aim to determine the factors influencing the success of female writers. My current research has shown that women are in a more unfavorable position both in research and the industry. This is the result of the factors influencing their success, and these are more complex than that of males. I am certain that by establishing accurate indicators of success it is possible to make personnel decisions based on facts, instead of hunches. I do not intend to prove, hunches do not work, I believe they do, but a hunch cannot be learned from a textbook making it unstandardized and subjective. By establishing a stable qualitative standard, it is possible to make decision making more objective and profitable, if not replace then at least compliment the current methods," she described.
Mitchum followed up with several additional questions, including the budget of her research, which Rory replied aptly.
"Well I can't say that I am much of a feminist, but female writers seem to be gaining momentum these days, yourself included," he said. "I tell you what, I'll fund your research but on once condition," he began.
"What is the condition?" Rory asked, almost anticipating another one of his manipulative attempts.
"That you also come and work for me," he said, leaning his elbows on his desk.
"What kind of work?" she inquired. That was one answer she hadn't anticipated.
"I told you once that you were not cut out for journalism, but that doesn't mean you aren't a good writer and what I want to find out is whether you too have that hunch," he said recalling briefly a painful and unpleasant event from their joint past. "I want you to try your hand at editing. Non-fiction novels mostly. You'll mostly be able to work from home, some travel may be required but you'll be the one making the schedule. You'd report to our New York office directly," he specified.
After a few moments of thinking it over, she replied, "I believe I am able to make that work, so my answer is 'yes'." In his own way he had just apologized for several aspects from their past, and she saw no reason to turn his proposal down. It enabled her to do her research and provide for her daughter.
"Well that is settled then," he said joyfully. "I'll ask my assistant to send you the contract and details to look things over," he added.
"Thank you, that would be great," she added, standing up and turning to leave.
"Oh, and Rory, I know you are going to be quite occupied with work for a few years but I'd appreciate a grandchild at some point," he added passingly.
Rory pulled the door open and stepped into the hall to find Logan waiting on one of the couches.
"You were in there a while, everything okay?" he asked as he rose from his seat.
Rory was too baffled by that entire conversation, she didn't know where to begin. After a few seconds she managed a "I'm fine, it's good."
"I'll just go say a quick hello, before we go," Logan said, stepping through his father's office.
"Hi, dad, I'd just thought I'd stop by before I head back to the States," he said, leaving the door ajar.
"Logan, good to see you son," he greeted. "I figured you'd be around here somewhere," he added.
"Rory hasn't really filled me in on what you agreed on, but I'd like to say thank you for taking the time, at the very least," Logan explained.
"This is what we do for family," Mitchum said, patting him on the back.