I have a gorgeous smile, extensive experience talking on the phone, and a lovely demeanor.
The last section asked for references, and she wrote down Viv’s name and phone number. She didn’t remember her exact address, although it was something Country Road and she had the directions in the truck. She thought about putting down Daddy’s name but didn’t bother. No one here would know who he was anyway.
The door opened and Mr. Hudson appeared with two mugs and placed them on the desk. One hadThe Clementine Timeslogo on itand the other one said I May Be Wrong, but It’s Highly Unlikely. Kalista got the logo mug.
“I’m finished,” she said, grinning proudly as she handed him the application. He started to read over it while Kalista took an eager sip of coffee. Instantly she started to choke.
“Too strong?” he said, still looking at the application. He took a sip, unaffected.
“No,” she rasped. What in the world did he brew this with—nail polish remover?
“I made it weaker than normal.” He took another drink and set down the mug, then started to frown. The frown deepened as he kept reading. Finally, he looked at Kalista. “This is...”
She folded her hands on her lap and smiled.
He kept watching her, and she kept smiling. His expression was blank, and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Her smile dipped as he remained silent.
Finally he shrugged and tossed the application aside. “Doesn’t matter. You don’t have to have experience to do the job. Tyler will train you. Wait, one question. Have you ever thrown a baseball?”
“What does that have to do with being a receptionist?”
Mr. Hudson tilted his head, then chuckled. “Didn’t Bo tell you what you were interviewing for?”
“I haven’t met him yet, and Viv didn’t know.”
He leaned forward. “This is a delivery job.”
Kalista frowned. “Delivering what?”
“The paper.”
Her jaw dropped. “I applied to be a delivery boy?”
“Girl. Woman.” He waved his hand. “I saw you driving Bo’s truck. It’s got four-wheel drive, so you should be fine in the mountains, if you can get your parking under control.”
“Mountains?”
“You’ll start at 3:00 a.m. A little earlier than our other two delivery guys.”
That was insane. So was driving in the mountains. She’d only ever skied on them. And throwing newspapers? No way. “I think there’s been a mistake.”
“Is that right?” He slowly sat back in the chair, his gaze landing on hers. “Obviously you can’t do the job.”
She went very still. How dare he tell her that? How hard could it be to toss a paper on the porch? Did he think she couldn’t do such a simple task? “Oh, I think I can.”
“And I’m sure you can’t.”
The nerve of this man. He didn’t know her, or what she was capable of. “You’re wrong, and I’ll prove it to you.”
A slight smile. “So you want the job?”
“Yes.” Wait, what was she saying? She didn’t want to deliver newspapers. She was above that.
“Then you’re hired. I’ll let Tyler know you’ll meet him in the press room tomorrow at three for training until noon. After that, your hours will be three until you finish the route, usually by five or six o’clock.”
Kalista’s stomach slowly sank inward. “Uh...”
“Great. Welcome toThe Times.” He motioned to the door and turned to his typewriter, then began tapping on the keys like she wasn’t even there.
