Chapter 4
1451 Words
Chapter 4: Jennifer
The morning of the interview comes way too fast. I wake up to Ann shaking me and telling me to get my ass out of bed because it's almost seven and I have to be at McCall Industries by nine and I still don't have anything to wear.
I sit up and my head is pounding and I feel like I barely slept at all. I spent most of the night tossing and turning, going over the interview in my head, trying to imagine what they're going to ask me, trying to calm myself down.
"I don't have anything to wear," I tell Ann, rubbing my eyes. "I've got like two pairs of jeans and a bunch of basketball stuff and nothing professional. I didn't think I'd actually get this far."
Ann looks at me like I'm the dumbest person she's ever met. "You're going to an interview at a Fortune 500 company and you're telling me you don't have a suit?"
"You know I don't have a suit, Ann. I've been living on your couch for weeks."
She sighs and throws her hands up. "Fine. Come on."
"Where are we going?"
"To my closet, genius. I've got some corporate stuff from when I used to work at that law firm. It'll fit you."
I follow her to her room and she pulls open her closet and starts pulling out clothes. A black blazer, a white blouse, some matching trousers.
"Here," she says, shoving them at me. "Try these on."
I look at the clothes in my hands and I'm about to say something but she pushes me toward the bathroom.
"Go. Put them on. We don't have time for you to be weird about this."
I close the door and look at myself in the mirror. My hair is a mess. I look tired. I look like someone who's been sleeping on a couch for weeks.
I put on the blouse and the blazer and the trousers and I step back and look at myself.
It fits. Actually fits.
I open the door and Ann is standing there waiting.
"Wow," she says. "You actually look like a real adult."
"Shut up."
"I'm serious. You look good. Professional."
I turn to look in the hallway mirror and she's right. I look like I belong in a corporate building. Like I'm someone who has their life together even if that's the furthest thing from the truth.
"Okay," I say, turning to her. "How do I look? Be honest."
She steps closer and adjusts my blazer. "You look great. Now go in there and nail this interview, okay? I believe in you."
I smile at her. "Thanks, Ann."
"Don't thank me. Just get the job so you can get your own place and I can have my couch back."
I laugh and grab my purse.
---
My phone rings just as I'm about to leave. I look at the screen and it's my mom.
I almost don't pick up because I'm already nervous enough and I don't need her adding to it. But I answer anyway.
"Hey, Mom."
"Jennifer, honey, how are you? I've been thinking about you."
"I'm fine, Mom. I'm actually about to head out for an interview."
"An interview? That's wonderful! Where?"
"Some company called McCall Industries. It's a big tech firm. Computer analyst position."
"The one you studied for? With the computer thing?"
"Yes, Mom. Computer science."
"That's so good, honey. I'm so proud of you. But you know, if it doesn't work out, you can always come back home. Your father and I, we'll figure something out. You don't have to stress yourself too much."
I roll my eyes even though she can't see me. "Mom, I'm fine. I got this."
"I know you do, sweetheart. I just worry about you. You've been through so much with that painter lady dying and everything. I don't want you to put too much pressure on yourself."
"I'm not putting pressure on myself. This is just a job. It's not that serious."
"Just promise me if it gets too much, you'll come home, okay? We miss you."
I feel a lump in my throat but I push it down. "I promise. But I'm not coming home. I'm getting this job."
"Okay, honey. Good luck. Call me after."
"I will. Love you."
"Love you too."
I hang up and let out a long breath. Ann is watching me from the couch.
"Your mom?"
"Yeah."
"She want you to come home?"
"She always wants me to come home."
"She just cares about you."
"I know. That's the annoying part."
Ann laughs. "Go. You're gonna be late."
---
The subway ride to McCall Industries feels like it takes forever. I keep looking at my phone, checking the time, checking the address. Forty-seventh street. The building is supposed to be huge. All glass and steel and the kind of place that makes you feel small when you walk in.
I step out of the subway station and there it is. McCall Industries. The logo I've seen on billboards and on TV and on the side of buildings. I walk up to the glass doors and they slide open and I step inside.
It's huge. The lobby is enormous, all marble floors and high ceilings and people rushing everywhere in their business clothes. I feel so out of place it's almost funny.
I walk up to the reception desk and a woman looks up at me. "Can I help you?"
"Hi, I'm Jennifer Morgan. I have an interview."
She types something on her computer. "Yes, I have you here. Take the elevator to the thirty-second floor. Someone will meet you there."
Thirty-second floor. Of course.
I thank her and walk toward the elevators. My stomach is in knots. I press the button and wait and when the doors open I step inside and press the button and the elevator starts to rise.
My phone buzzes. Ann. Good luck! You got this!
I smile and type back: Thanks. I'll let you know how it goes.
The elevator stops and the doors open and I step out into another huge space. More marble. More glass. More people.
A woman comes toward me with a smile. "Jennifer Morgan?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Great. Follow me."
She leads me through a hallway and into a conference room and tells me to wait, the interview panel will be here in a few minutes.
I sit down and try to breathe.
I'm going to get this job. I have to get this job.
---
The interview goes better than I expected. Three people ask me questions and I answer them all. They nod and take notes and smile at the right places and when I leave the room I feel like I have a chance.
The woman who first met me is waiting outside.
"How did it go?" she asks.
"I think it went okay."
She smiles. "Well, one more thing. The CEO would like to meet with you before you leave."
My stomach drops. "The CEO?"
"Yes. He has a habit of meeting all potential hires personally. Just a quick conversation. Nothing too stressful."
"The CEO," I repeat. "Of McCall Industries."
"Scott McCall. Yes. He's on the top floor. I'll take you up."
Scott McCall. The name sounds familiar but I don't know why. I'm probably just stressing myself out over nothing. My head's all over the place.
She leads me to another elevator and presses the button for the top floor.
I try to calm my nerves.
Just a quick conversation, she said. Nothing too stressful.
The elevator rises.
The doors open.
And I follow her into a huge office. Floor to ceiling windows. A massive desk.
And a man sitting behind it.
Dark hair. Broad shoulders.
And when he looks up, I see his face for the first time.
Blue eyes. A small scar above his eyebrow.
Something flickers in my chest. Something I can't quite name. Like I've seen him before.
But no. That's crazy. I've never met this man.
He's just staring at me. And I'm staring at him. And for a second nobody says anything.
Then he smiles.
A small smile. Almost like he knows something I don't.
"Please," he says, gesturing to the chair across from him. "Sit."
I sit.
And my mind is racing.
Why does he look familiar?
Why does he look at me like that?
I don't know. I don't remember. But something about him—his voice, his eyes, the way he holds himself—it's making me feel like I've been here before.
I push it out of my head.
Focus.
You're here for a job. That's it.
- Writer
