“Thanks. Now let’s hope that I don’t have to take you up on that offer.”
He gives me a reassuring smile, his auburn hair wild and windswept from the ride. “You’ve got this. After the way you were talking to Reid at dinner last week? These people would be idiots not to hire you. Now you just need to show them what they’re missing.”
Nodding, I take a deep breath, checking in at the security desk and getting a temporary badge before he waves me past. I glance back at Cinjin one more time before I enter the next elevator, and he’s shooting me a double thumbs up in encouragement that has me smiling.
Emmeline’s pretty damn lucky, growing up with such a supportive family.
Licking my palm and smoothing out my hair, I straighten myself up as best as I can, and by the time the doors are opening, I’m feeling far more at ease about the situation. Crossing a bustling main area of people lounging on laptops near the wall of windows, lost in conversation as they cross from one set of elevators to the ones across the room, I work my way to the main desk. After giving my name and getting directed to the far elevator, I take it all the way to the top floor, this one filled with only a secretary, waiting area, and six offices.
Waltzing up to the gorgeous woman seated at the desk, I flash her a confident smile. “Sabrina Laroque, here to see Mr. Chamberlain?”
Her umber eyes lock onto mine with a friendly smile before asking to see my badge, tapping it against a sensor beside her computer and passing it back within seconds. “Eric’s waiting for you whenever you’re ready,” she declares, and I’m a bit surprised at the casual reference to her boss. She tucks one of her braids behind her ear before blinking up at me, her smile turning into a knowing one as I don’t move. “There’s a bathroom to the left if you need a minute to collect yourself, but I assure you, there’s no reason to be nervous. Eric’s abrupt, but not in a rude way, more like he has a thousand things constantly waiting for him and is itching to scratch them off of his to-do list.”
Clearing my throat, I stand straighter, gripping the strap of my purse. “Then I suppose I shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
Smiling appreciatively, the woman passes me a tissue. “So you don’t need to wipe your sweaty palms on your gorgeous dress.”
Laughing, I take her up on it, tossing the balled up tissue in a trashcan as I stride down the hall to Eric Chamberlain’s office. With one more breath to clear my head, I knock on the wooden door with five minutes to spare.
“Come in,” he calls, and I push the heavy door open, finding a decently sized office, though not intimidating like I’d expected.
The shelves behind his desk are lined with a handful of binders, folders, and hardcover reference books, the rest filled with an assortment of wires or computer parts. There’s a single, plush chair opposite his desk, currently cluttered with a three screen monitor setup, and enough notes to fill another binder. The man himself is off to the right in front of a massive dry erase board that’s been wheeled in, scratching something out.
He’s mid-thirties, with tousled brown hair and glasses, wearing a t-shirt and jeans rather than a suit. Distracted, he vaguely gestures behind him towards his desk. “Miss Laroque, a pleasure. I appreciate you rushing over here so quickly; I hope I didn’t disrupt your plans for the day."
Carefully taking the seat in front of his desk, I shake my head before realizing he’s not even looking at me. “Not at all, sir, nowhere I’d rather be.”
“No need for formalities, Eric is fine,” he states distractedly, scratching something else out with a huff. He remains engrossed in his project for several minutes, almost as if he’s completely forgotten the fact that I’m here for an interview in the face of a more pressing issue.
Scanning the board, I start to wonder if the interview is actually a test, and nervously interrupt. “Line forty-seven.” He pauses, tapping his marker on the board as he counts down. “Simple syntax error. You capitalized an ‘e’ that shouldn’t be, and on line fifty-two, you used a parentheses instead of a bracket.”
He turns to face me, surprised. “I have been fighting with this for three days.”
I shrug a single shoulder. “So you were too close to it. It’s easy to gloss over typos when it’s your own work. Sometimes you need a fresh set of eyes to look it over.”
Underlining the spots I mentioned, he shakes his head, walking away from the board to flop into his seat. Years seem to shed off of him as he deflates, like a massive burden’s been lifted from his shoulders. “Thank you. I’m sure that looked like some sort of test, but I assure you, Miss Laroque, it wasn’t. It’s a project I’ve been wrestling with on the side, and I was trying to slip a few more minutes in on it before our interview, but it sucked me in again.”
Rummaging around his chaotic desk, he eventually unearths a folder, plopping it in front of him and slipping my application out. “So, shall we begin?” At my nod, he scans over the information once more before setting aside, focusing on my face. “Mal Tech is a reputable company. May I ask why you wish to leave it?”
Weighing my options, I decide to go with the blunt truth. I’ve spent enough time trapped in a position that made me miserable, and I’d rather discover now if this place is run in a similar fashion. After filling him in on my various issues, watching the severe frown cut across his face, I sigh, knowing how it sounds.
Like I’m a bitchy, ungrateful employee that doesn’t want to fall in line and will give trouble to management.
“I’m going to be perfectly frank with you, Miss Laroque, that is absolutely delightful news to hear.” At my startled expression, he grins. “I just lost three people to Mal Tech because they were offered an enticing sign on bonus. As much as I was fond of them, they abandoned us in the middle of a massive project with no warning after weeks of not pulling their weight and several complaints against them. I have to appreciate the karma the situation provides.”
Matching his smile, the tight knot in my stomach unfurls. “I can assure you the sign on bonus is a desperate effort because we’ve lost twenty in the last month. I can’t even afford health insurance at the rate they offer it.”
He scoffs, disgusted. “Well, then be it my pleasure to inform you that after the thirty day mark, a single individual is fifty dollars a week with a two thousand dollar yearly deductible. But we actually have an on-site clinic that’s free for basic services and a discounted prescription program if you participate in yearly physicals and vaccinations.”
I flutter a hand to my chest, quoting Cin. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Mr. Chamberlain. Affordable health careanda doctor I don’t need to wait three months to get in with? Where do I sign?”
He chuckles, making a note in my file. “So the position I’m technically interviewing you for is in program development, though I can’t swear it’ll stay as such. Depending on the project that comes up, it’s entirely possible you’ll be transferred to another department if the need arises.”
“I’ve floated before, no worries. I was only stuck in the secretary position because they needed someone to make Mr. Holcomb look like he knew what he was doing because the board has been taking more of an active interest the last six months. Before that, I’d rotate to wherever they were short staffed.”
Humming his approval, he folds his hands on his desk, pinning me with a stare. “I’m going to level with you, Miss Laroque. We’re on a deadline that I’m not entirely sure we’re going to be able to meet. If you think you’re up for this, it will mean some long hours until the project is complete, but there’s a hefty bonus in it foreveryoneif we get this contract. After that, things will be far more relaxed until the next exciting thing comes along. I don’t typically run my people ragged, things have just been working against us left and right on this one.”
I tilt my head. “So why did you lose three people at once, if I may ask? What you’re offering sounds far too good to be true; they’d be fools to leave if there wasn’t a good reason.”
