Meetingpub (2 page)

“
Good.
He sounds like a jack ass.”

“
Please
don't take that attitude to the interview.” She gave me a
pleading look.

“
I
won't. I promise,” I used my mocking voice, though we both knew
I was serious. “Well, I'm not dying my hair blonde just for a
job. If that Jack Kemble guy only hires bimbos, then I'd rather not
work in his office anyway. Ditsy bitches drive me nuts.”

“
Positive
mind. Don't make it an issue before you even walk through the door.
That's half of your problem. You tend to make things worse than they
are.”

“
I'm
making educated guesses,” I teased.

“
Well,
don't.” She wasn't in the teasing mood.

The
following day brought with it a whole new set of miseries. After
spending fifteen minutes in training for the pet bather job, I walked
out, despite it being the first place that actually gave me a chance.
Who knew that squeezing dog assholes was part of the job? Bleck. That
was definitely not for me.

By
the time I got home to change for Syngex, I was mentally chastising
myself for not sticking with the dog bather job. If I wasn't employed
within the next few days, I'd be out on the streets. What was wrong
with me?

I
tried to wash my depression away in the shower, but it didn't work
too well. After weeks of spending every day going from one company to
the next and facing rejection, I was just about done. This was it, I
told myself. If Syngex wouldn't take me, then I was going to start
planning my move.

Despite
my burdened mind, I gathered myself together as best I could to head
to Syngex. The traffic of downtown New York City did little to quell
my nerves, and by the time I got to the Human Resources Department, I
was already sure I had blown the interview before even stepping
inside. I was a frazzled mess of anxiety, and grumpy to boot. This
would definitely not go well.

Not
surprisingly, I was interviewed by a man. He was nowhere near a movie
star though. Older, and with a balding head, he watched my every
movement with a deadpan expression. It made me feel incredibly
uncomfortable. The man asked me all the standard questions. What did
I know about the company?
Nothing, since I hadn't bothered to
research it.
Why did I want to be an office assistant?
Because
I need a job, dumb ass.
At that point, who cared what it was. Of
course, I didn't say this. I lied, as Mandy had taught me. “Being
an office assistant sounds like fun,” I said. “It would
be exciting to work with Jack Kemble's company,” I lied.
“Filing and phone calls are what I do best,” I told him.
It looked like he wasn't buying any of it, and I eventually dropped
the fake enthusiasm. We both knew where this was going.

After
the horribly awkward interview was over, I went outside to find that
my car had a flat tire. Exasperated, I screamed and kicked at it,
causing people on the street to turn and stare.
Screw them. Screw
finding a job. Screw it all.

When
I had calmed down a bit, I grabbed my cellphone to call Eric.
Changing tires was a man's job. Besides, I wasn't about to get my
interview outfit dirty, not that I planned on using it again for a
while. But to add to the misfortune of my day, his phone went
straight to voice mail. He must have been at work.

“
So
much for my knight in shining armor,” I grumbled to myself as I
punched in Mandy's number. She didn't answer either. What was this?
Don't answer your phone day.

All
I could do was wait and call and wait some more, hoping someone would
eventually pick up and come to my rescue. An hour later, I was fed up
with waiting. The parking meter had run out long ago, and if I didn't
want to incur a fine, then I was just going to have to suck it up and
try to change the tire myself.

Sighing,
I popped the trunk of my silver Nissan Versa and began digging out
the spare tire. Who knew a tire could be so heavy . . . and dirty? I
groaned as the thing brushed against my red pencil skirt, smudging it
before bouncing onto the sidewalk and rolling on its side. Looking
down at the stain made me want to have another hissy fit, but I tried
to keep calm.

Swallowing
my pride, I pulled out the car jack and sat on the curb to find where
to put it. Once I slid it under my car and began jacking the car up,
I noticed I was denting my frame, which only put me in more of a
rage. Shouldn't the damn thing have come with instructions or
something? Why did everything have to be so difficult?

Defeated,
I rested my head in my arms to sob. It was only a matter of time
before a traffic warden came by. I couldn't afford to pay a ticket.
Heck, I had barely been able to feed the meter.

“
Are
you alright, miss?” a voice startled me, and I quickly wiped my
eyes before looking up to see a man wearing dark sunglasses standing
over me.

Oh,
thank God. Maybe this guy can help
,
I thought. “I got a flat tire.”

“
I
can see that,” he said, turning his attention to the car. “I
could get someone to change it for you, but it's going to cost you a
coffee.”

My
heart sank. If I had enough change for a coffee, I would have fed it
into the meter. “I'm sorry. I can't afford to buy you one.”
Could I look anymore pathetic?

“
I'll
buy. You just have to come with me.” The man smiled a set of
perfect white teeth.

“
But
I don't have any way to repay you.” I pulled myself off the
curb, dusting off my skirt.

“
Don't
worry about it.” He took out his cell phone and dialed a
number. The person on the other end answered almost instantly.
“Robert, there's a young lady down here that needs her tire
changed. Could you come change it, or send down someone who can?”

Within
less than a minute, a large muscular man in a black suit arrived to
change my tire. While he worked, I tried not to stare too much at my
hero. He was surprisingly attractive, with dark disheveled hair, pale
skin, and what I assumed to be a decent body. I couldn't see much
behind the suit he wore, though it was well tailored to fit him. From
what I was seeing though, he was a lucky find. How many women got
rescued by someone so attractive?

“
Is
there anything else I can do for you, sir?” the man in the
black suit asked when he had finished changing my tire.

“
No,
Robert. That will be all. Thank you,” Mister Attractive said,
and I watched as Robert walked back into the Syngex building.

“
You
work in there?” I pointed to the building.

“
Yes,”
he replied, extending his hand to me. “Apologies for my
rudeness. My name is Jim. What's yours?”

I
shook his hand gingerly. “I'm Jennifer, but my friends just
call me Jen.”

“
Well,
Jen, if I may call you that, there's a great little coffee shop down
the street a ways. I hope that will be alright with you.”

“
Fine.”
I nodded, flanking Jim's side as we walked toward the coffee shop.
“Thank you for rescuing me. It's amazing how many people just
passed me by.”

“
I
saw you from my office. You looked like you needed help, so I came
down.”

“
Well,
I'm glad you did. Who knows how long I would have been out there if
you hadn't?"

“
What
brings you downtown?”

“
Job
hunting,” my voice conveyed distaste.

“
Is
that so? Syngex has a few positions open. What kind of work are you
looking for?”

“
I
was just at Syngex. I applied for the office assistant position, but
I don't think the interview went very well.”

“
Why's
that?” His interest seemed piqued.

“
The
HR guy didn't seem interested in me. It was like he was staring
through me the entire time, not really listening to what I had to
say, just going through the motions.”

“
Hm.”

As
we rounded the door to the coffee shop, my nose filled with the
enchanting aroma of fresh brewed coffee. It was a bit late in the day
for coffee, but who was I to deny this kind man's offer. This was far
better than the cheap instant stuff I normally drank anyway.

“
Are
you sure this is alright?” I asked timidly.

“
Why
wouldn't it be? I offered.”

“
Good
morning, sir. The usual?” a young bright-eyed barista inquired
of Jim. I could tell she found him every bit as attractive as I did,
if not more. It made me feel special to be by his side, even if it
was only for the few minutes that we'd be sharing coffee.

“
Yes,
Lynn. And I'd like a coffee for this young lady as well.” Jim
glanced at me.

“
And
what will you have?” The barista's eyes darkened with jealousy,
though it was so slight only a woman would have noticed.

“
I'll
have what he's having,” I replied nervously.

“
Two
caramel macchiatos with an added shot of espresso, coming up,”
she said before running his card and then sending us off to wait.

It
wasn't until we had our coffees and were seated that Jim took off his
sunglasses, revealing pale blue eyes that I was afraid to look into.
He was definitely more attractive than I had imagined. No wonder the
barista was so eager to please him. What woman wouldn't be?

“
So.”
I stirred my coffee, avoiding Jim's gaze. “What do you do over
at Syngex that allows you to rescue damsels in distress whenever the
mood suits you?”

He
chortled. “I work on mergers and acquisitions, as well as other
stuff.”

“
Sounds
important.”

“
It
is. The business would fall apart without me.”

“
Impressive,”
I tried to feign interest. “How long have you worked there?”

“
A
long time. It's the only job I've ever had. That's enough about me
though, let's talk about you. Are you from around here?”

“
Yup.
Born and raised. My life isn't too interesting though.”

“
Why
do you say that?” He smiled up at me, and I felt my pulse
quicken as our eyes met.

“
I
um . . . don't go out much. I mean, I can't really afford to.”
My nerves were getting the better of me, quickly rendering me
speechless.

“
A
lot of people are going through hard times right now. How long have
you been looking for a job?”

“
A
while. I'm actually probably going to lose my apartment if I don't
get one soon. I have a roommate, but she's tired of flipping my
portion of the rent, which is understandable.”

“
That's
unfortunate. I would think a bright beautiful girl like you would be
able to get a job just about anywhere.”

My
cheeks flushed at the compliment. “You haven't seen my resume,”
I laughed uncomfortably.

“
Do
you have it on you? I could give it a look over if you want and tell
you how to improve it. I'm pretty good at that sort of thing.”

“
I
appreciate it, but you've helped me enough. Besides, I'm not sure you
could work it over to make it look better.”

“
What
makes you say that?”