* * *
Two days later
“I’m so nervous.” I stood in front of the mirror and tried to keep my armpits from sweating as I waited until it was time to go to my interview.
“This is what you’ve worked for. Don’t be nervous.” Lola waved her hand under my armpits as I held my arms up.
My date with Cain the previous night had offered a little bit of distraction, but the nervousness was in full bloom again. We made our plans for the weekend and I told him about Lola breaking the rules with the guy she got set up with. We were both tempted to follow in their footsteps—god were we tempted. In the end, we pushed ourselves against the clock and my need to get in bed early so I would be ready for the interview gave us an out before we got a chance to take things further.
“Okay, I have to go.” I walked away from the mirror and grabbed my purse.
* * *
My stomach was a knot when I finally got to Cardinal Advertising. It’s a good thing I didn’t eat anything because I would have probably thrown up. Even the coffee wasn’t sitting right with me. My nervousness got worse when I walked into the room to wait for my interview and realized that I wasn’t the only person being interviewed. There were several other well-dressed people about my age, and I recognized a few of them from some of my classes. If I was going to earn my spot at the company, it appeared that I would have to compete for it.
I clutched my portfolio close to my chest and wished I had more examples of my work to show them. One the guys that was waiting was a little older and he had a three-ring binder full of what I had to assume were advertising campaigns he had worked on. If I was competing against someone with experience, I wasn’t sure I would be able to prove that I was worthy of getting the job before them.
I watched as others were called to an office by a brunette in heels and a pair of wire-rimmed glasses who introduced herself as Ms. Williams. The interviews seemed to take no more than fifteen minutes and after they were done, the candidate was either led to the exit or led to another room down the hallway. Most of them were escorted to the exit, including all of the people I recognized from school. That didn’t seem like a good sign.
“Ms. Chloe West?” Ms. Williams looked around the room.
“That’s me!” I held up my hand and stood.
Ms. Williams took me to the office, and I tried to steady my nerves as the door was opened. Inside was Dane Cardinal himself, the head of Cardinal Marketing. It definitely wasn’t his normal office and appeared to just be set up for interviews. I had no idea I would be interviewing with the CEO of the company—although it was probably a good thing that I didn’t because that would have made my knees buckle before I even walked into the building.
“Chloe! Hello, I’m Dane Cardinal.” He walked around his desk and shook my hand. “Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.” My words sounded like they came out in a squeak, so I tried to quietly clear my throat.
“According to your resume, you just graduated from college?” He walked back to his chair and sat down.
“Yes sir.” I nodded and took a seat, trying desperately not to start sweating from my forehead and armpits at the same time.
“Are you nervous? Don’t be nervous.” He gave me a warm smile, but it didn’t do much to ease the tension.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I would be interviewing with you. I wrote a paper about you in college…” I blinked and tried to clear the lump trying to form in my throat.
That probably made me sound like some obsessed fan instead of a potential employee.
“Let me guess—you wrote a paper about the Quash Cola account?” He tilted his head inquisitively.
“Yes sir.” I looked down.
Of course I did—that’s what everyone writes about when they do a paper on Cardinal Marketing.
“That’s a good account to research.” He looked down at his paper and picked up a pen.
The interview delved into the routine questions, which I had prepared for, and while Mr. Cardinal was intimidating due to his position, he seemed to be trying to keep the atmosphere friendly. It wasn’t a bad interview by any means, and I felt my nervousness fade after a few minutes. I answered his questions honestly, made sure he knew that I really wanted to work for his company, and as far as I could tell—I wasn’t blowing it.
“Okay, one last question.” He put down the interview sheet. “Why should I hire you over everyone else that I’m interviewing today. Keep in mind that some of them have years of experience.”
“I’ve wanted to work in advertising as long as I can remember.” I exhaled sharply. “I know I don’t have an impressive resume, but I’m loyal. My generation seems to have lost that. I know people that are five years older than me who have switched jobs twice since they graduated from college. I’m not looking to use this as a stepping stone to something else. I want to work for one company, prove that I’m the best, and move up when the opportunities present themselves. I want to earn my spot the old-fashioned way, through hard work and dedication, rather than jumping from one company to the next.”
Just like I rehearsed—and thank goodness I rehearsed it.
“Yeah, that sounds like a canned answer.” He leaned back and shrugged. “Did you read that on a website somewhere?”
Oh god.
