“Yes, of course. Whenever is good for you.” The excitement is obvious in my tone, and Beth listens in.
“How about today?” she answers eagerly.
“Oh, well, I ...” I start to answer, but Beth nods emphatically, stopping me from making an excuse.
“Can you hold one second?” I ask, and the lady cheerily agrees.
“I don’t have any clothes,” I reason to Beth in a whisper.
“So! You can wear something of mine. Don’t delay this, it won’t look good.” She’s so stern I have no choice but to believe her.
“Hi, yes, today will be fine,” I answer after unmuting the phone.
“Great. How about I see you in an hour?”
Beth begins nodding before the woman has even finished her sentence.
“Sounds great! See you soon,” I chime before hanging up, high-fiving Beth as soon as the call is ended.
“Okay, let’s get you ready!”
I follow Beth’s slow pace to her bedroom closet, watching as she picks a black pencil skirt and white silk blouse for me to wear.
She’s like my stylist, pinning my hair back into a chignon that makes me look more sophisticated than I am, before powdering my face with her high-end cosmetics.
“Wear these,” she insists, pushing a pair of small glasses on my face.
I scrunch my nose defiantly. “I don’t need glasses.”
“They’re not prescription, silly. They just make you look smarter.” Her laugh is infectious as we stumble through the last steps of preparation.
By the time we finish, I can barely recognize myself in the mirror. I look like a taller Beth, and feel like a smarter me. Her designer clothes feel lush against my skin. Running my fingers over the soft fabric sends a sexy chill through my body.
“You look hot,” Beth announces over my shoulder, looking at my reflection in the
full-length mirror.
“You know your clothes are good luck, so you may not get this outfit back after I finish this interview,” I joke, referencing the night I met Adam wearing her dress.
“Listen. The next time you have a night that amazing, I want in,” she giggles, walking toward her bathroom, but again I find myself wondering how serious she is.
Would Beth really want to join me in a night like the one I shared with Liam and Adam? I don’t have long to contemplate the possibility, because after a few splashes of perfume, she all but throws me out of the house.
“Punctuality is key,” Beth yells as I climb into my car. She’s serious about getting me a job.
I’m so nervous about the interview, I make a wrong turn twice, and my fingers shake when I change the radio station. It’s been a long time since I had a job interview.
I started working at the cookie shop after meeting the owner with Beth at a nightclub. We jokingly asked if he was looking for a cute cashier, and he hired me on the spot. It was nothing like working in a law firm, and I couldn’t stop the doubt from taking over in my brain.
How would I fare at a law firm anyway? I didn’t know a thing about law and had never even been in a courtroom. Would they expect me to know about jurisdictions and statutes of limitations?
My mind races through every other law term I can think of as I turn onto Wilshire Boulevard. The GPS loudly announces I’m two hundred yards away from my destination, and my heart rate increases.
Pulling into the underground garage, I force a few deep breaths before making my way onto the elevator. There’s one man inside, middle aged with a salt and pepper goatee. Glancing over at his athletic shoes, I wonder what type of lawyer dresses so casually.
When he gets off on the third floor, I assume this must be some type of office building housing different businesses, because the law firm is on the fifth floor. The rest of the ride is somehow tenser, the silence making my thoughts louder in my mind.
The elevator chimes and the doors slide open, revealing a stark front office with an older woman sitting behind a glass desk.