I'm not sure exactly when I made up my mind to go. It certainly wasn't straight away. The offer was very generous and it was an amazing career opportunity. But it would involve quite a significant lifestyle change and I wasn't sure I would be ready for this. I had developed quite a good reputation for product design and in particular wearable technology. The more minimal the better. I had a very good grounding in technical possibilities and, without meaning to brag, a keen eye for style and proportion. In some ways I loved my job, I had the opportunity to create cool things and get them out into the world. But in other ways, I didn't feel sufficiently valued, neither in terms of the salary but more importantly in terms of respect. I hate to moan as this is something many, maybe most young women face in all sorts of industries. I would watch as my ideas were first ignored or dismissed, then outright stolen and repackaged, all credit to the thief. This sort of, to my mind, blatant conman trick was not only permitted by the structures of the organisation but positively rewarded. I saw lesser-qualified, lesser-talented men, and it was invariably men, promoted over me. So I suppose I was primed to accept a new challenge.
The offer came at the right time in more ways than one. If I was slightly disillusioned with my career progress, I guess you could say something similar about my life outside work, relationships, my social life. They say, if you are tired of London, you are tired of life. Maybe, or maybe you're just tired of London. I shared a small basement flat with my boyfriend Terry. We had been together for just over three years and in some way, perhaps I felt a little stalled there too. He was a good guy and we got along well, though over the years a certain bland comfort had settled in. Out with friends he was effusive and we would have fun and interesting conversation in the group. Everyone thought we were a great couple. But we had settled into a certain tolerable drudgery of a routine. Get up early, rush out to work, get home, rustle up some dinner and watch some tv shows. At first we used to watch together, then at least we had something to talk about. But over time we found that neither of us was that crazy about the other's preferred type of show so it was easier to watch different shows, one of us on iPad or Laptop, the other on the tv. The flood of communication between us we enjoyed at the beginning of our relationship had trickled to something considerably less substantial. We didn't argue and we got along well but maybe I felt something was lacking.
It was an unusually bright February morning when I took the call. By chance I had occasion to pop out of the office to grab a coffee, it had been an early start, the presentation was over and we were told to grab a break, run it into lunch. The cynic in me, subsequently vindicated by the next week's payslip, figured this was a ruse to avoid paying extra hours for the early morning overtime, but the meeting had gone well, the sun was shining and I was in a good mood. I sat on the bench by the duck pond and sipped at my flat white when my phone started buzzing. It was a name I dimly recalled but could not place.
"Jenny Greene?"
"Yup, Tim?"
"That's right, Tim Handsworth, HRR Recruitment? I don't know if you recall, we met at a trade fair last year. You said you might be interested if something came up."
That was it. It had been maybe six months and I had completely forgotten. I had been a little pissed off to learn of yet another undeserved promotion so when Tim approached me at the fair I was primed to talk to him. We chatted briefly and I gave him my details and I hadn't heard from him since.
"Ah, yes, I remember, how are you?"
"Never better. More importantly, how are you?"
"Oh, I'm good"
"Good, but could be better?"
"Haha, you could say that!"
"Don't tell me, some guy is repackaging your work and claiming credit for it and the higher-ups don't care."
"As if that would be possible in our equal opportunity workforce!"
"Do I detect a note of sarcasm, Ms Greene"
"You're a perceptive guy Mr Handsworth. So what can I do for you?"
"Well, maybe it's a case of what I can do for you. Are you familiar with Jeann-Tech?"
"Of course. They are the gold standard for our industry."
"Well, you have popped up on their radar and they asked if I could approach you on their behalf."
"You're not bullshitting me Tim I hope?"
"I swear."
"Jeann-Tech is an amazing company. I absolutely love their work."
"I would love to put you in touch with Karina Munier. She's identified you as a talent they would love to acquire."
"Oh, wow."
"Look, you should be aware that this position will be in their headquarters on St. Jeanne. There is a very generous salary and a resettlement package. There would be no issues with visa and the tax regime is favourable there."
"But it would mean moving to St. Jeanne.?"