Chapter Nineteen
No reference. No job.
It was as simple as that.
Maggie scanned the situations vacant website and clicked on the various accountancy related jobs suitable for her qualifications. Three weeks of job hunting and ringing around recruitment agencies had made her cognizant of the realities.
She didn’t have enough money to pay the rent due next week.
Barker & Johnson wouldn’t give her a reference.
No, not quite right. They’d give her a reference, but one stating the period she’d worked for them. That was all.
So far, prospective employers had taken one look at the damning sentence and asked pointed questions. There was no point lying, because all they needed to do was ring Barker & Johnson. Despite the privacy act, they could do this because she’d completed a form to say they could ask for information.
A vicious circle. Screwed no matter what she did.
Maggie picked up her pen then tapped it on her counter, each rap louder than the last. Maybe she should try something else. Huh! No maybe about it. With one hundred dollars in her check account and a rent payment due, she couldn’t afford to be picky.
Maggie studied the rest of the jobs, ones she wouldn’t have considered in the past. She noted several. Shop assistants. Jobs in cafes. Waitressing. She had experience with most of them after working during her student days. Maybe they wouldn’t mind the lack of a reference, if she could round up some character references to prove her honesty and reliability.
Sighing, she picked up the phone and rang for appointments. Several required email applications, and she followed the instructions in each advertisement.
The phone rang and her heart leapt. Connor? He’d rung a lot during the first week, but she’d ignored his calls and thumps on her door, leaving her apartment only when she knew he wasn’t outside. Now, she was feeling her solitary state and had thought about ringing him, giving him a chance to explain.
“Hello.”
“Ms. Drummond, this is Max Lynn from the National Bank. I’m ringing to talk to you about your check account. It’s gone into overdraft.”
“No. No, I have just over one hundred dollars in there. One hundred and twelve dollars.”
“You are two hundred and four dollars in OD.” The clipped voice rang with truth and her gut roiled. “You need to bring the account back into credit. When is your next paycheck due?”
“I…I’m not working at the moment.”
“I see.”
Maggie swallowed. What did he see? She wanted to ask, but didn’t think smart-ass questions were appropriate right now. “I’m looking for another job and have several interviews this afternoon. Is it possible to arrange a short-term overdraft facility?”
“We can discuss your situation,” he said, although Maggie heard the silent doubt in his voice. “Can you come into the branch tomorrow at ten-thirty?”
“I have job interviews for most of the morning. I could come in around two.”
“I will see you then.” He hung up, leaving Maggie gripping the phone so hard it left an imprint on her palm. Unshed tears shrouded her vision. She blinked and one trickled down her cheek. Her hand shook when she set down her phone.
A sob tore free. Everything had gone so wrong. And she was lonely with no one to talk to. She missed Connor more than she cared to admit, her heart aching with the loss.
A glance around her apartment brought memories she didn’t want. Her naked, stretched over the back of the couch. A quiet drink with Connor. Down and dirty laughter and off-color jokes with her girlfriends.
Loneliness gnawed at her, underlining her current position.
She had to pay her rent. And tomorrow she had to get a job, no matter what it was. She could always keep looking for something better once she was back on her feet.
A second glance around the room brought an idea. She had to sell some of her stuff to at least to make the next rent payment. Without friends, she hardly needed furniture.
With a new sense of purpose, she wandered around her apartment and made a list of things to sell. She’d list them on the Internet auction site,Trade Me. That would bring her some cash, and once she’d paid her rent, she’d clear her overdraft.
It felt good to have a plan.
