He was proposed for promotion yesterday, to the position of a creative director in their studio - a very similar job to the one he'd be doing in the US. It seems like his manager finally accepted his decision not to move to the US and has instead taken this job on himself. Which of course means he'll be less present in the studio and needs someone to take over from him.
D didn't want to say right away whether he'd take it or not, but he raised some questions with the manager. He said we're still 50-50 as to who's going to move where and he's reluctant to take on a job that would tie him down to that place should he decide to move here to be with me. The manager then promised they would be supportive of his plans, whatever they might be. D said he needed to think about it for a bit.
He then called me on his lunch break to tell me about it. I thought it was a fantastic opportunity for him and I don't see what he has to lose. I don't actually worry this would negatively impact our relationship, if anything I think it might help us finally decide on what to do. When you're stuck in status quo and can't make a decision, you need to change something about your circumstances so the decision comes more easily. As long as it's what he wants and it doesn't change anything for the worse (like the US job would) I think this is the right thing, and our plans will wrap around it.
He's cautiously optimistic about it. He wants to make progress but he's not 100% sure creative director is where it's at. But then again, he won't know unless he tries. And this is about the easiest way he can try - in a company he's already known well, with a supportive boss who clearly holds him in high regard, minimum risk really. Also the extra money will certainly come in handy - maybe even an extra couple of days off?
Anyway, the next step is for him to think about what his expectations are of the job and negotiate it with the boss. I'm feeling really positive about this both for him personally and our relationship. I think a lot of this optimism comes from the fact that consistently shows me how he truly puts me/us on top of his priorities. So I'm not afraid of change, I know that we'll use it the best we can for our future together.
