The next morning at work time seemed to drag. She had already finished both her articles for the week. Normally she would have started researching story ideas for their next department meeting but as this was her last day in the department it would have been rather pointless. She considered packing up the few things from her desk that she'd take with her to her new department but she didn't want to appear to be celebrating the fact that she was moving up. She would tactfully wait until the end of the day when Darin had gone home before packing her things into a box and carting them over to her new cube. Earlier in the week Darin had taken her to lunch to celebrate her achievement. He carefully told her that typically when someone got promoted to a different section of the paper they had a party; but under the circumstances he felt that might not go over so well this time and he'd opted to take her to lunch on his own. Rory recalled a bit of their conversation.
"I am embarrassed that as professionals your co-workers could not have been more gracious toward you," Darin said.
"It's okay," Rory said, "I don't blame you."
"I hope that your new co-workers treat you better," Darin said sincerely.
"Thanks," Rory replied, "Me too."
Realizing that she still had two hours until her lunch with Logan and Mitchum, Rory decided to bail for a little bit. Quietly she slid into her wool pea coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck. She locked her purse into her file cabinet taking only her keys, access card, wallet and phone, which she dropped into the deep pockets of her coat. Her first stop was a coffee shop down the street where she got a large cup of black coffee to go. Next she wandered toward a nearby book store that she'd recently discovered. As she perused the titles and finished the last of her coffee she became vaguely aware of someone on the opposite side of the bookcase. Once she caught a glimpse of an eye as she peered through a gap in the volumes. They came face to face at the end of the bookcase and Rory cringed inwardly, knowing that he would have some sort of witty remark for her.
"I bet you ended up getting a better work out than I did," Jess teased.
Rory blushed and quietly said, "Yeah, maybe."
"Aren't you supposed to be at work right now?" Jess asked, seeing that she was uncomfortable and changing the subject.
"Today is my last day in Lifestyles and I have nothing to do. I decided to escape for a little while," Rory explained.
"What department are they moving you to, have they told you yet?" Jess asked.
"I'm having lunch with Logan and Mitchum in about an hour and a half and they will tell me their decision," Rory said.
"So Logan knows and he hasn't told you?" Jess asked
"He promised his father that he could be the one to give me the news," Rory explained.
"Any hunches as to where they a putting you?" Jess asked.
"My secret wish is to do front pages stories, but I haven't even confessed that to Logan," Rory said, "I don't want them to put me on a section that I haven't earned the right to work in just because I have expressed an interest."
"You think they would do that?" Jess asked.
"I think they'd at least consider it." Rory said, "I'd prefer that their decision is based entirely on my skill level and not on the fact that I'm family."
"Well, I'm sure that you're good enough for the front page. Good luck," Jess said.
"Thanks," Rory replied.
"What are you shopping for?" Jess asked as he eyed the books in her arms.
"Nothing in particular, you know me, I can find plenty of books to buy without a specific list in mind," Rory explained.
They continued chatting and browsing the aisles for the next forty-five minutes. They paid for their books and headed back toward the NYDN office.
"So, I'll see you at the gym tomorrow afternoon?" Jess asked.
"I'll be there," Rory responded.
"Do you want to have dinner afterward?" Jess asked.
"I can't. Mom and Luke are coming into the city to celebrate my promotion. We're having dinner, you should come," Rory exclaimed.
"I don't know," Jess hesitated, "I don't want to be a party crasher."
"But it's my party; I can invite you along if I want to, Rory explained.
"Are you sure that Logan will be okay with that?" Jess asked.
"He'll be fine," Rory said, waving it off, "Say you'll come."
"Okay, sure, I'll come," Jess agreed, "Where are we going?"
"I don't know yet, Logan said it's a surprise. I will have him call and give you the details," Rory said.
"Sounds good," Jess replied.
"I should get back upstairs, I've been gone for well over an hour," Rory noted.
"Yeah, I'll see you at the gym tomorrow," Jess said as he started to step away.
Back up stairs Rory hung her coat back up and stowed her bag of books under her desk before sitting down and realizing that she still had nearly forty-five minutes to kill. After checking her email box and unsuccessfully trying to reach her mother at the Inn, Rory decided to head up to Logan's office and if nothing else she could chat with Jonathan.
"Rory," Jonathan called, when he noticed her approaching, "Today's the big day, hey?"
"Sure is," Rory agreed.
"Any idea where they are putting you?" Jonathan asked.
"None, I was hoping you might know," Rory fished.
"Of course I know," Jonathan laughed, "I typed up your new contracts."
"Well, aren't you going to share?" Rory asked, leaning in closer toward him.
"Not if I want to keep my job," Jonathan said.
"How about a hint?" Rory pouted.
Jonathan thought for a moment before he said, "Okay, here's a hint. I would be thrilled to have a job in the department you're moving to."
"Hmmmm," Rory said considering what department she thought Jonathan would be interested in.
With a smirk not unlike his boss' Jonathan said, "Keep in mind that I would be thrilled to be a writer in any department at this paper."
Rory rolled her eyes when she realized that she'd get no where with him and asked, "Is he in his office?"
"Yes, go ahead." Jonathan replied with a smile.
Logan was on the phone when she stepped into his doorway but he waved her in and motioned for her to take a seat. She draped her coat and purse over one chair and settled in the other. As she waited for her husband to end his phone call she studied the quartet of framed pictures that had recently found their way onto his desk. Two pictures were from each of their two weddings; another was a picture of he, Colin and Finn aboard the yacht they had eventually sank in Fiji and the final picture was a picture of the two of them that she didn't recognize. As Logan continued to talk she leaned over the desk and picked it up. She could tell instantly that it was from the LDB event that he'd brought her along on before they had even really known each other. She had pictures of her own from the event that someone had taken on her digital camera; but this was a shot that she hadn't seen before. She was in the blue dress he had supplied for her and he was in his tux; the platform they had jumped from was visible behind them. The umbrellas were still clutched in their hands but their focus was on each other. Tightly they were holding hands and grinning at each other in exhilaration.
Rory studied the picture until Logan hung up the phone and she asked, "Where did you get this picture?"
"Steph," Logan replied, "Apparently she saw potential in us all the way back then."
"You didn't?" Rory asked, already aware of what the answer would be.
"Sure, as a conquest," Logan said, "Why, did you?"
"No," Rory said, "I still thought you were a rich snobby jerk."
"Thanks honey," Logan replied sarcastically.
"So, you've had this picture the whole time?" Rory asked.
"No, actually, Steph gave it to me before I went to London. I think she was worried that I'd fall into the out of sight, out of mind metaphor as far as you were concerned. This is the picture I was telling you about, the one I kept in my briefcase."
"I love this picture," Rory gushed, "I should ask if Steph can make me a copy too."
"I thought you still thought I was a rich snobby jerk back when this picture was taken," Logan accused.
"Well, this was the very moment that I started to change my mind about you," Rory said.
"Ah," Logan said with a happy smile, "I didn't know it at the time, but looking back, that was an important first step for us."
"I'm not sure where it is, but somewhere I have a memory card from my digital camera that has pictures that someone took of our jump. I never even printed any of those for myself. I used them for the article, then stowed the memory card away somewhere. We should print some of those," Rory mused excitedly.
"We should," Logan agreed as he accepted the frame back from her and set it on his desk, "So, what are you doing up here. Our lunch isn't for another half an hour."
"I am anxious and bored; I finished my last two articles already. I actually left for an hour or so, I was so bored," Rory said.
"Where did you go?" Logan asked.
"I got some coffee then went to a bookstore down the street that I discovered recently and at the bookstore I ran into Jess," Rory rambled, "I invited him to dinner with us tomorrow night, will you give him a call with the details."
"You invited him to dinner?" Logan asked, clearly put out.
"It's my dinner right?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, so?" Logan demanded.
"So, I invited him to join us. Luke will be there, he's his uncle. He's my friend and he wants to help me celebrate," Rory explained, "You need to get over this issue that you have with him. I love you, he is just my friend."
"Fine, fine," Logan agreed, "Give me his number, I'll call him."
"Thank you," Rory said happily before adding, "If it would make you feel better ask him to invite a date."
"I just might do that," Logan said distractedly.
"Can I hang out until we leave for lunch or do you need to work without me as a distraction?" Rory asked.
"You can stay," Logan said as he stood and began making piles of the manila file folders scattered across his desk, "I'm just going to tidy up a bit."
Rory watched Logan's quiet meticulous work and could tell that his mind was somewhere else.
"What are you thinking about?" Rory asked him when she could stand the suspense no longer.
Surprised, Logan looked up at her and grinned, "I was thinking about what the perfect gift might be for your promotion."
"I get a gift?" Rory asked.
"Of course," Logan replied. Deftly he closed the conversation by calling Jonathan into his office to help file away piles of folders. Rory watched them worked; impressed by their easy partnership. A few minutes later the phone rang. It was Mitchum letting them know that he was running late but he would meet them at the restaurant. He added that under no circumstances was Logan to tell Rory the news before he arrived.
Mitchum had chosen an exclusive restaurant at which he knew the head chef. When Logan and Rory arrived they were whisked away to a prime table where a complementary appetizer was waiting for them. Mitchum arrived within fifteen minutes and they ordered food before getting down to business.
"Now, Rory, before I explain to you the decision that Logan and I have made I would like to hear which department you are hoping we place you in," Mitchum said.
"I can't tell you that," Rory replied.
"And why is that?" Mitchum asked with a chuckle, clearly unsurprised by her response.
"I want the two of you to appoint me to a department that you truly feel my talent has earned me the right to work in. I'm afraid that if I tell you what my wish is you'll grant it to me undeservedly," Rory explained.
"Why do you think we'd do that?" Mitchum asked.
"You gave me a reporter job at your paper when anywhere else I would have had to start in copy editing or research," Rory reminded him, "I'm not sure I deserved that job either."
"Rory, you are the most talented writer that we've hired in a long time. Had I thought we could have gotten away with starting you in a higher department back when we first hired you, Lifestyles never would have been blessed with your writing," Mitchum said, "You deserved the job we gave you then and you deserve the one we're giving you now. I hope you can believe that."
Blushing Rory replied, "I can try. But I'm still not telling you."
"Fair enough," Mitchum said with a laugh, "Let's get on with it then."
"Okay," Rory agreed. Then with a glance at Logan she asked, "Don't you have anything to add?"
"No, my father and I have discussed this at length and I agree with him completely," Logan assured her.
"Rory," Mitchum began, "Logan and I have decided to make you a front page reporter, but that's not all. We want to option you as an on-air reporter at the paper's sister station."
"What does that mean?" Rory asked tentatively.
"We want you to start off as a front page reporter. From time to time perhaps a story you write for the paper will get picked up by our sister television station and you will turn your piece into an on-air piece for them," Mitchum explained.
"On-air? Like live television?" Rory asked with a hint of fear in her voice.
"Yes," Mitchum confirmed, "This is a great way to get on-air experience."
"Why would I need on-air experience?" Rory asked.
"I thought your dream was to become a foreign correspondent," Mitchum said.
"It was," Rory confirmed, "But I can't see striving for that goal when I have a husband at home and someday children too."
"Rory, you can't give up your dream for me and our future children," Logan scolded.
"I didn't give it up," Rory said, "It has just morphed a little."
"What do you mean?" Logan asked.
"Now when I dream about our future it involves you, our kids and me working from home on my column," Rory admitted sheepishly.
"Does this dream excite you as much as the correspondent dream always did?" Logan asked.
"More," Rory assured him, "Being a wife and a mother are big jobs too. If I can have those jobs and a writing job I will be thrilled."
Mitchum looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "Even so, I would like to give the television option a try. I can see that you could have a real knack for it. There's no reason you can't be a television correspondent and a wife and mother. And if you would prefer to go the column route someday instead, even if it's just for a while, let me know, I'll make it happen."
"So, what do you think?" Logan prompted.
"The television part makes me nervous; but I was hoping for the front page position," Rory replied.
"I knew it," Logan said with a grin.
"So, you accept?" Mitchum asked.
"It would probably be wise of me to look over the contracts first," Rory responded with a smile, "Make sure I'm not expected to pay you guys for this job instead of the other way around."
"Of course, of course," Mitchum laughed as he drew a folder from his briefcase, "Let me walk you through the documents."
The remainder of the lunch passed quickly as they devoured their meals and discussed the points of her contract. As the plates were cleared Rory signed the contracts and handed them back to Mitchum.
"All right, let's get back to the office and get you moved into your new cube," Logan said excitedly.
"You can show me where it is but I'm not moving my stuff until the end of the day when my department has emptied out," Rory said, "I don't want anyone to see me and think I'm rubbing it in their faces."
"Understandable," Logan said, "You can come up and visit with Jonathan and I if you need somewhere to pass a little time."
"I might run home for a little bit," Rory said, "I have a few ideas where that memory card might be and after we talked about it this morning I want to look at it again."
"If you find it, bring it in," Logan said, "I'd like to see it."
Logan asked the Frank to drop Rory off at their apartment before continuing onto the office. Anxiously she let herself into their foyer where she removed her shoes before hurrying into their study. In the closet Rory had boxes upon boxes of old notes and research from her news paper days at Yale and Chilton. Luckily the boxes were well organized, but the memory card was not in any of the boxes from her freshman year. Acting upon her other idea Rory headed to their bed room. In the back of their closet Logan had a box; much like Dean and Jess had once had boxes of mementos from their time together. The only difference was that Dean and Jess' boxes had long since been destroyed but the things in Logan's box she would keep and treasure forever. Carefully she emptied the box onto the floor and just as she was giving up hope of finding it in the box she noticed it wedged under one of the flaps at the bottom of the box. Grabbing it triumphantly she hurried back to the study to retrieve her digital camera. There were nine images of the jump on the card, a few of which were extremely breathtaking. Back in the foyer she dropped the camera into her purse as she slid her heels back onto her feet. She practically skipped back down the street to the office, so thrilled that she had found the pictures.
In the elevator she punched the button for the sixth floor, hoping that Logan hadn't disappeared into a meeting already. As she raced up to Jonathan's desk with a grin on her face she asked, "Is he in?" Jonathan just nodded with an equally enthusiastic grin at her enthusiasm and watched her sail past his desk.
"I found them," Rory said happily as she screeched to halt inside Logan's door.
"Ace," Logan said, using the familiar nickname that she was sure she hadn't heard in months, "Let me see."
She pulled the camera from her purse and handed it to him before she came around the desk and looked at the pictures over his shoulder. From her angle she could not see the grin of satisfaction spreading slowly across his face. "Ace, these are great, we really should have some printed."
"We should," Rory agreed.
"Would you like to see your new cube?" Logan asked.
Rory agreed and together they went to the opposite end of the sixth floor where the front page department was housed. This department was set up differently than the Lifestyles department had been. All the cubicles were lined up against the floor to ceiling glass windows providing each occupant with a spectacular New York view. The vast space in the center of the ring of cubicles was filled with large work tables and ergonomic chairs. It felt like a completely different world from the Lifestyle department.
"Right over there," Logan said pointing to a cube in the middle of the far windowed wall.
Rory noticed as on her first day in the Lifestyles department that a name plate had already been hung outside. This one read, 'Rory Gilmore, Front Page Reporter.' Again she felt a thrill pass through her. She noticed a few curious people poking their heads out of their cubes. Her stomach clenched in response, not sure if she should expect words that were welcoming or hostile. Before Rory had much time to think about it a spunky looking Asian woman who reminded Rory of Lane approached her and said, "You must be Rory. I'm Kim, welcome to the front page. I've been reading your Lifestyle stories since you started and knew it wouldn't be long until we saw you up here."
"Thank you," Rory said gratefully, "Nice to meet you."
"Let me introduce you around," Kim offered.
Rory turned to Logan who said, "Go ahead, I'm going to head back to my office."
"Okay, I'll come find you there later," Rory said.
"Real quick though," Logan added, "Do you have any gum in your purse?"
"I don't know," Rory said, clearly anxious to go with Kim, "Why don't you just take my purse with you back to your office and you can check."
Logan smirked as he took her purse from her and retreated to his office. She had played right into his hands. When he arrived back in his office he pulled the camera from her purse and popped the memory card out. He dropped the memory card into a pocket of his suit jacket and headed down to the graphics department. He wandered for a mere moment before a mousy haired young woman appeared behind him and asked, "Can I help you Mr. Huntzberger?"
"I hope you can," He replied with a smile, "Can you copy the pictures from this memory card onto a CD for me?"
"No problem," The woman replied, "Are these for a hot story?"
"Not exactly," Logan admitted, "Can you keep a secret?"
"Sure," The woman agreed.
"I stole this memory card from my wife's purse. I need these pictures files for a gift I am planning for her," Logan confessed.
"These pictures aren't of a….um, personal nature, are they?" The woman asked.
"No, no," Logan sputtered, "Absolutely not."
"Thank goodness," The woman muttered, "By the way, I'm Gina."
"Nice to meet you Gina," Logan replied as he watched her deftly select all the files from the card and transfer them onto a CD which the computer immediately began to burn on her command.
She removed the card and handed it back to him and asked, "Do you want me to label the CD in any way?"
"The letters LDB should do the trick," Logan replied, "Thank you, Gina."
"Here you are," Gina said, handing him the disk.
"Thank you so much," Logan repeated.
"No problem," Gina replied with a smile.
On the way back to his office Logan thought about where the nearest photo place might be. He slipped the CD into his pocket before he stepped through his doorway and was relieved to see that Rory had not yet returned. Carefully he popped the memory card back into the camera and set Rory's purse on one of the chairs. To uphold the integrity of his story he dug around in her purse looking for gum and when he found a pack, folded a piece into his mouth.
When she arrived back in his office she was glowing with happiness. "I see you found some gum," She teased.
"Yeah, thanks," Logan replied. "So, did you meet everyone?"
"I did and they are all so nice and excited that I am joining their department," Rory gushed.
"That is so great," Logan said, "I knew they would like you. I think the people in the Front Page department recognize your talent and respect you for it where the people in the Lifestyles department just resented you for it, knowing that it would help you to get ahead faster than them."
"We're all going out to lunch together tomorrow for my first day," Rory announced excitedly, "How great is that. My first day in Lifestyles I just got called a spy."
"I'm very happy for you," Logan said, "How much longer until you think you can move your things from downstairs?"
Rory checked her watch and replied, "About fifteen more minutes until the time that Darin usually heads home. Maybe you can help me and then we can head home together?"
"I actually have an errand to run, but maybe if I take off now and have Jonathan help you move your stuff instead I can get back in time to walk home with you," Logan suggested.
"Perfect, I'll ask Jonathan if he is free to help me out," Rory agreed.
Fifteen minutes later Logan was standing at the counter of a photo shop. Originally he'd planned to simply print a few of the pictures and have one blown up for the wall in their apartment. As he had waited in line though he'd admired a large photo that had been transferred onto a canvas and looked as if it was hand-painted but actually wasn't. "What is this called?" Logan asked pointing to the canvas.
"That is our Canvas on Demand," the sales associate responded.
"How quickly can one of those be produced?" Logan asked.
"From the time you order it takes three to four weeks," she told him.
"Okay, but how fast can one actually be produced?" He asked again.
"I don't know, a few hours?" She replied, "But there are many orders in front of yours, should you decide to order one."
"What if I could offer to pay your shop an additional $1,000 if you could promise me my order by tomorrow evening?" Logan asked.
The woman's eyes widened and she said, "Let me check into that for you." She was gone for barely more than a minute when she came back and said, "What time tomorrow evening would you like it to be ready?"
Before Logan left he had ordered a large Canvas on Demand of one of the shots of them jumping. He had also ordered prints to be made of several of the other shots and paid additionally for them to be framed. He wanted her to have copies to put in her cube at work and in their study at home and where ever else she wanted to put them.
When he arrived back at the office Rory and Jonathan were putting the last few file folders away in the drawer.
"You want to know the real reason I pushed for you to work on the front page stories?" Logan asked as he approached her cube. He didn't wait for either of them to reply before he answered, "Now we work on the same floor, I might get a few more glimpses of you during the day."
Rory slugged him in the arm before asking, "Are you ready to head home or are you sticking around to finish more work?"
"Let's go home," Logan replied, "Jonathan, thank you for helping my wife move into her cubicle. We'll see you tomorrow?"
"I have a final exam in the morning for one of my classes, I will be in after that," Jonathan reminded him.
"Good luck on your test," Logan replied.
The couple stopped back in Logan's office so he could grab his briefcase and shut down his computer. As they walked back to their apartment they discussed her first day tomorrow as a front page reporter.
Author's Note: Again it has been a long time since I've posted a chapter…but any of you who read me regularly understand that my life is nuts. I am hoping that now that we've hit the dead season at work I will have lots of time to post chapter and maybe even start some new stories…I have some ideas. Please leave reviews, I love to read them. I am also open to any and all advice or ideas in relation to this story. Thanks!