Chapter Two
Naïveté, it is so charming
I
n the Panda Pei lobby, I approach a black security guard. Without glancing from the papers on his desk he intones, in a fake robot voice, “Please state your purpose for being at the Saatchi & Saatchi building, number threeseventy-five Hudson Street, New York, New York, one zero zero one four, United States of America, North America, Earth, Universe, Property of God.” I am confused, so I laugh weirdly. “I’m here to see Helen Baker.” “Company?” “Um, no.” I glance around. “It’s just me.” He looks up. “What company is she with?” he asks slowly. “Oh! Ha ha. Panda Publishing Pei.” “I think you mean Panda Pei Publishing.” “Sorry, right.” “And what is your name, young lady?” “Francesca.” “Yes?” “Yes?” “That it? Like Madonna and Cher? Or you got a last name too?” “Sorry, yes. My last name is Moisin. So it’s Francesca Moisin.” He picks up a phone. “I have a Fansiska here for Ms. Baker. Very good, I’ll let her know.” He hangs up and looks at me. “Molly will come down to get you.” I don’t know Molly, but, like Emma, she seems to know me. She approaches without hesitation, arm outstretched. She has curly red hair, and she is wearing tortoise-glasses with an emerald knitted sweater. Earnest and friendly, she talks like she is always slightly out of breath. I grin when I see her, because it makes me happy when people so perfectly match their names. She leads me upstairs to a bright conference room. One thing Miriam hasn’t prepared me for is a pre-interview before my interview, but I’m not nervous. I like Molly right away. Being with her is like drinking tea and flipping through an Anthropologie catalogue on a rainy day. To further set me at ease, she starts with a self-description. Originally from Kentucky, she now lives with her boyfriend in Tribeca. They have a cat called Sally. After two years working for Helen she has been promoted to Associate Editor, a giant boost. She asks, “Where are you from?” For every other person this is a simple question, but I hesitate too long, the way I always do, wondering how much detail is too much for this 17