I'm so excited for this book, I hope you will be as well! Don't forget to check our Hopelessly Devoted by uniquejulia!
"Bonjour." With a smile, Sara walked into the office. She placed her coffee cup on her desk and took her laptop out of her bag. After a couple of days spent in Belgium, she was back in Paris, right in time for final preparations for the business trip to London to have a few meetings with the English division of the brand and an interview with Emma Watson, which Sara was stoked about.
Little Women was about to come out, showcasing independent women in a time where it wasn't normal. Emma Watson being a feminist, made it all the better – though the debate was still ongoing whether the movie actually was feminist.
Besides that, they were going to go through the plans for other magazines up ahead.
"Bonjour, Sara." Camille, sitting at the desk across from Sara smiled, her perfect red lips accentuated the pearly white teeth she showed. "How was the family?"
"They were good. Managed to not run into any of my ex-family-in-law. It's been two months now and I haven't found a way to face them yet."
"You are going to have to see them at some time. They are your families friends." Sara sat down, taking one shoe off to put on a plaster. They had gone for a hike the morning before she left for Paris and she had at least five blisters. She should have left a pair of hiking shoes in Belgium. Or better said, she should have bought new ones when her old ones were through.
"Heels and blisters, not a good idea."
"That was what you said last time." Sara laughed.
"Touché." With a quick look at the clock, Sara put back on her shoe and stood up. "I'm going to grab another one of these and then I'll see you at the meeting." Sara took her cup and walked to the kitchen. "Richard." She smiled at the intern standing in the kitchen. "How are you?"
"Good, it's hard work, however." Sara chuckled.
"Welcome to the life of an employee at Vogue. I've been working here for just over a year. I've never worked harder in my life."
"I heard it ruined your marriage." Sara shook her head.
"Rumours, yes, I had a divorce, but that was because we didn't match after all. We were a habit, it was familiar, familiarity feels safe. Not that I would need to tell you." Sara rolled her eyes and got her coffee. "Either way, if you ever need something let me know, it can be a hard world." Sara was used to stress and pressure as all her life she had trained to become a professional athlete. It made her insecure and put her into moods quite often.
She had no idea how her friends had put up with her.
But that changed when she decided to quit, she had been suffering for long enough and decided to pursue a job she had always dreamed of. A job at Vogue. It had been pure luck that Elvira, now Daniel Ricciardo's wife was leaving an empty spot. And it had been even more luck for Sara that it had been decided she would get to fill it up. She had very little experience and had applied for the job as a bit of a joke. She wouldn't be asked for a job interview either way.
Oh, how things went differently.
A good year later, she was walking into Vogue Paris' meeting room to discuss certain matters at hand and was rounding up the preparations for a business trip to the London department.
"Ah, Sara, good to have you back with us." Sara sat down beside Camille and smiled at Olivier. "Now it's just a wait for-" Just as Olivier was about to tell who they were waiting for, Blair came walking in.
"Thank you for waiting for me, I have a sick kid at home, so I had a bit of delay." Olivier nodded and they started the meeting.
"So, this Thursday, Camille and Sara will leave for the UK and will be there until next Wednesday, after that, Sara I want you to start the preparations for our June edition. You will be having a chat with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, two formula one drivers." Sara nodded. She was familiar with the names. Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard, the adult figure in the McLaren lineup. Lando Norris, the young Brit who over time had been tipped as the next Lewis Hamilton and an absolute child. But together, they made a fine pairing.
The meeting ended with the announcement of the time and date for the next meeting and everyone left the room, either going to their desk or the kitchen for some more coffee. Sara and Camille found themselves back at their desks.
"Your friend was a formula one driver right?" Camille asked and Sara nodded. "Do you know those two drivers already then?" This time, Sara shook her head.
"No, Pierre and Anthoine are the only two drivers I know. I have met more, but those were their teammates. We said hi, nothing more." Sara's phone lit up. "Speaking of the devil."
Anthoine: Hey, heard you were going to go to London, shall we meet up for an afternoon? It's a bit of a drive, but well worth it to see you again.
Sara smiled. Anthoine was ready to start racing in formula two with Arden and therefore was in England. She hadn't seen him in well over two months.
Sara: Hey, I would like that, we would have to see how our schedules fit together, but I'm positive we will find a way.
"Awe, which one of them is it?" Camille had her chin on her hands and grinned up at the Belgian.
"Anthoine, now don't get any ideas, he has a girlfriend. To top that off, he is thinking of proposing to her." Camille raised both hands in defence.
"Didn't say a thing." Sara rolled her eyes.
"But you wanted to. I know you well enough to know that." Sara returned to her computer, editing the notes she had made of the meeting.
"Can you send me the notes?" Sara nodded. Camille wasn't one to make notes but always asked for them. Sara had gotten used to it over time. She made sure to always mail them to Camille and because she was so careful not to miss anything in her notes, the personal notes for Camille and other co-workers were in there as well.
For Camille that was great, but other co-workers often got a bit annoyed whenever Sara would point them on things they were yet to do. However, in the end, it would work out well and everyone never really got too upset about it as they would be complimented for good work in meetings, thanks to her.
"But don't you miss having someone with you?" Camille asked curiously. It was no secret that Sara and Noah had been together for years and suddenly Sara was on her own.
"I don't, now if you don't mind, I'd like to get to the notes you asked for." Despite not regretting deforcing Noah, it was a difficult subject when it would get personal for different reasons. Camille nodded and they returned to their jobs at hand. They both had plenty to do before their departure and they needed to have it all done. They couldn't leave it until their return to Paris.
When the clock finally stroke five, Sara took her phone and put it on vibration. During work, she always had it fully turned off to make sure she wouldn't get distracted. For important work calls, she had a different phone, which she always had on her and had her ringtone on.
With her notebook and laptop in her bag as well, she picked it up.
"Cami, I am going home." She looked at her friend, a tired smile playing on her lips. " I'll email you the final script for our stay in London when I've made the final touches tonight."
"I'll see it in the morning then. I'm going out on a date tonight, so I won't have time to look at it." Sara nodded.
"Have fun then." She took her bag and left. She got into the elevator and took her phone out to check the message she had received while she was talking to Camille. She had felt it vibrate in her bag but didn't want to check it while still standing at the desk. She knew very well that she would be asked to do some things if she would have stayed there one more moment. She would appear to have no social life.
It wasn't really untrue, since deforcing her husband, her social life had gotten a lot calmer, but Sara didn't really mind. She went shopping with Camille – one of her closest friends – and spent hours and hours at home, reading or drawing. A cup of tea within reach and a cat on her lap.
Anthoine: Just let me know, I should be able to get away somewhere, especially later during the day. We'll make it work. No way I am going to let you go back home without seeing you.
Sara: I'll send you my agenda for the trip so you can see when it fits you best.
Anthoine: Perfect.
When the elevator came to a halt, Sara stepped out and soon stood outside of the building. Feeling the raindrops, she quickly got back inside. She quickly searched through her bag and then scrunched up her nose in disgust.
"Ow." Sara hated rain. She didn't even like the sound of raindrops against a window, something most people found to be a soothing sound. As a child, Sara used to sleep on the highest floor of the house, having the rain always hammering down on the roof and windows, annoying her to bits. "Why do I always have an umbrella in my bag, but when it rains, I don't." With a groan, Sara stepped into the rain again. She walked as quickly as she could but by the time she got to the tube which would take her home, she was already soaked. To make matters worse, the tube was already almost full and Sara had to squeeze in, clutching her bag to her chest.
She awkwardly smiled at the man standing beside her and then locked her eyes on her hands, holding onto a chair to stabilise herself. She hated the tube almost as much as she hated the rain. Sara had been looking for apartments closer to work for a little but none fit her demands or her budget.
When Sara left the tube, the rain had slowed down. It made it more bearable to walk the final part home, but Sara's teeth were already clattering from the cold. It would be another ten minutes of walking before she would be in the warmth and comfort of her apartment.
When she closed the door behind her, she immediately took off her wet coat and pants. She knew she had a load of clean clothes in the living room, waiting to be folded. It would contain her sweatpants.
"I'm home." As Sara had expected, the pants were in there and she quickly put them on to then tie her hair up in a bun. "Hey, kitty." She greeted the grey cat, circling around her feet. "I had such a long day. But all of the final preparations are done, so tomorrow I'll be home earlier." She picked up the car and chuckled at the loud purring. "You are such a spoiled princess, I better tell the neighbours to take very good care of you or you might kill them. You are such a diva." The cat closed her eyes and continued to purr, unable to understand the words. "I'm going to miss you."