Jackson, as charasmatic as ever, played the work angle and asked if Emma would connect him with someone at the art gallery she worked at to see if they could make something happen between their two industries. Committing to the bit, he actually did speak with someone at the gallery, and as a thank you, he asked to take Emma out for dinner the next month when he was back in New York.
Some messaging before their October date culminated in an impromptu FaceTime call the Sunday before Jackson traveled to the city so he could get advice on what to pack. Mind you, so early on in getting to know someone, you might imagine a call would entail questions about the family, your likes and dislikes, maybe even your favorite books or movies. This was not the case as Emma helped him pick out what jeans to bring and they casually chatted about this or that (probably the weather and traffic at JFK). It already felt like they had known each other forever.