“Fuck, I hope she says yes.”
Maverick smirked. “Yeah. Don’t know about the job yet, but this…”
“She’s a fucking minx. Forget the job, I just want her.”
“She responded,” Maverick said suddenly.
I looked over his shoulders and toward the computer, damn near crossing my fingers.
5
Henley
I had been on my couch for hours since leaving the interview. I’d never felt so dejected. I was a failure, knowing I had fucked everything up. The best opportunity I’d had in ages, and it had already been ruined.
Greasy food usually made me feel a little better, but as I lounged in my sweats and watched an old sitcom, it did nothing for me. I couldn’t stop feeling like my degree and hard work all meant nothing.
I pondered my next steps. Applying to jobs and rushing to interviews was tiring and disheartening, and I didn’t know how much longer I could stand it. If things kept up like this, I would end up as a barista or bartender just to pay the bills. And then I’d end up staying there for the comfort, getting on the management track to feel worthy, and looking over legal contracts just to feel important. Maybe I would finally end up a paralegal or switch to do public law or something. And maybe all of that was fine, but it just wasn’t what I wanted, which was to practice corporate law and protect people who built companies from the ground up to help the little people.
I didn’t want to call my parents because the last time I’d talked to them, they’d basically told me not to call back until I had a job. Since I didn’t have a job yet, I wouldn’t call.
It was close to nine o’clock when I got up for a snack break. I put some peanut butter cookies on a glass plate to feel fancy, and then poured myself a glass of almond milk, which was the best I could do since it was all Denton had bought and I didn’t have money to dictate groceries at the moment. After finishing my snack and watching a few more episodes, I was ready to retire to my bedroom to sulk some more, and maybe get myself hot and bothered just to fall asleep easier.
In my tee shirt and nothing else, thinking of the men who’d interviewed me earlier was enough. I mean, I had never seen men like that before—so powerful and in charge. While one had been rude and imposing and the other kind and accommodating, they had both been intimidating and intense in their own right. If I closed my eyes and thought hard enough, I could still smell their cologne surrounding me, strong and expensive.
I brought myself back to the present to check my phone, noticing a new calendar event I couldn’t remember putting in.
A dinner invite from H&P? When the hell did that happen? I wondered, eyeing it suspiciously. The dinner was set for the next evening at seven p.m. with both Jude and Maverick. I would have remembered if I’d responded…
But then I recalled the new update I’d installed that sent automatic replies since the only thing I got were interview invites that I wouldn’t want to decline. So apparently, hours ago, I had ‘accepted’ dinner with them at an elusive business restaurant, known for being the location of very important business deals.
Was I having a second interview? An extended interview?
My head began to spin. I would have to find the right thing to wear, and I certainly couldn’t be late again.
Any thoughts I’d had of making myself relax disappeared. I set my alarm and started planning my whole day in my head before eventually falling asleep.
~
For the first time in a while, I went for a run after breakfast to loosen my muscles and clear my head. And when I got back, I decided to clean up as a favor to Denton. I hadn’t seen much of him lately because he’d been so busy with work.
Once I finished tidying up, I showered and lounged around in my robe until four, giving myself three hours to pick out an outfit, do my hair and makeup, get dressed, and leave. So until it was time to start getting ready, I distracted myself by wondering what they could possibly want with me. There hadn’t been anything on their invite besides the date and time, which I double checked, even to the poin
t of making sure it was in the right time zone.
Finally, I began rummaging through my business clothes when a thought came over me…
I’d watched so many other women in my internships get offered full-time jobs just because they traded in their pant-suits for nice dresses on evaluation or observation day. I contemplated whether I should do the same.
I had the assets and knew how to work them, but could I do it for a job?
I groaned and leaned on my closet door in frustration. I needed this job, but at what expense?
Glancing at my closet, an old dress caught my eye. The fabric deep and blue, I knew it would set off my skin and hair. The neckline was a little low, but my bust would fill it out. It was fairly short, but not inappropriately so, stopping just above my knees.
Sighing, I went to do my hair and makeup—nothing too fancy, just light foundation, a bit of natural blush, and nude lipstick. Once I slipped the dress on and added the black Mary Janes, I was ready.
Ready for whatever the hell lied ahead of me.