I think about Colt. He’s been pretty busy since he’s married Kinsley, and most likely he hasn’t noticed that there’s something going on with his little sister and one of his best friends. “I don’t think so, but you know he’s going to find out. It’d be better if he heard it from you.”
“I know,” he says. He takes a deep breath and stands up. “I’m outta here.”
I nod. “Me too.”
I get Logan’s attention to let him know we’re heading out and then I walk out with Aiden. “See you tomorrow.”
We go our separate ways, and even though it’s still early, I’m going to go home and get some sleep. There’s no telling how long downtime will actually last, and the sleep will do me good. With nothing exciting in my personal life, I’m already looking forward to our next mission.
Karina
I have myself so worked up that when the guy draws near me, I leap away and turn to engage him. If he’s here to hurt me, I’ve already decided I’m not going down without one hell of a fight. I’ve taken self-defense lessons, but I’m not entirely sure I’m not going to freeze up if I ever have to use them.
The guy’s eyes go round, and he steps back, holding his hands up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
The elevator arrives, and he steps in. He puts his hand on the door to stop it from closing. I’m panting as if I just stopped running, and my hand is still on my chest. “Are you getting on?”
I look behind me at the dark parking garage and then to the man in front of me holding the door. He has a briefcase in one hand and a suit on; no doubt he works in the building. “Uh, yeah, I’m getting on. Sorry about that.”
I step onto the elevator and notice the man is giving me as much room as possible in the little space we have. I’m sure he thinks I’m crazy. How could he not? He pushes the button, and I notice he’s going to the same floor I am.
I’m so embarrassed. What is wrong with me?
The whole ride up, I’m trying to figure out what to say to the man to try and explain my behavior, but I can’t think of anything. When the elevator dings and the door comes up, I rush out and stop at the reception desk. “Hi. I’m Karina Anderson. I have an interview for the social worker position.”
“Please have a seat. They’ll call you when they’re ready.”
I nod and go sit down and then realize the man from the elevator is here to interview for the same position. I do my best to give myself a little pep talk. Just because I had a bad dream doesn’t mean I have to let it affect my whole day. I can still salvage what’s left of it.
“Karina Anderson,” a woman calls from across the room.
I stand up and walk away with the man’s eyes watching me with a wary expression. I shake it off. I apologized to him; there’s not much more I can do.
The interview goes really well. “Your resume is impressive. You’ve accomplished a lot in a very short time. You must have had very little time for socializing in college to get so much done.”
“Yes, well, I’m very driven and passionate about sociology and psychology. I want to help people. I worked while I was in college so yeah, I didn’t really waste time socializing outside of school and internships.”
We talk about the job, and even though it’s an entry level position I know it’s exactly what I need to one day be able to get closer to my goal.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
In all my preparation, I had assumed there would be a question like this, and I’m ready for it. “I want to help injured veterans. Help them acclimate back into society, show them there is still a great future for them. They are heroes in my eyes, and I want them to see it too. That is my ultimate goal.”
She sits back and taps her pen on the desk, looking at me curiously. “That’s very interesting, and it seems you feel very passionate about that. Why is that?”
“My brother-in-law is in the military,” I tell her, leaving out the fact that Hollywood is part of a special Delta Force team. That’s the only explanation I give. I can tell her about Fish, another man on Hollywood’s team and how he lost his arm and it took him a while to figure out how he fit on the team, but I don’t get into all that. If I did, I’d be vulnerable, and that’s not something I do.
She’s looking at me as if waiting for me to go on, and I shrug my shoulders and smile broadly at her.