Her heart hammered in her chest. Was this Alex finally calling to apologize and give her job back?
She quickly dismissed that thought. There was no way Alex was going to go back on what had happened, not after so long.
Still, maybe this was finally good news. Maybe one of her many job applications had gotten a response.
She swiped to answer and heard a young woman’s voice on the other end.
“Good afternoon. Is this Ms. Boden?”
“Speaking,” Grace said.
“Wonderful. My name is Cecilia Carter, and I work for Boink Enterprises.”
Grace’s eyes widened. The unfortunately named Boink was a fast-growing dating app run by a young billionaire named Patrick Hale. Grace had seen a few openings there but had felt uneasy about the company and its mission, so she hadn’t applied. Or she didn’t remember applying. Maybe one of her late-night application binges had led to this.
“Nice to meet you,” Grace said politely. “What are you calling about?”
“Our CEO, Patrick Hale, would like to meet with you,” Cecilia said brightly. “Would this Wednesday work?”
Grace paused for a long moment. Something about this was very fishy. First, she was still pretty sure she’d never appliedfor a job at Boink. Second, despite her disgraceful exit from MatchupNow, she felt a little weird considering a job with their direct competitor. Third, and most importantly, the last time a CEO had taken a personal interest in her, Grace’s whole life had unraveled.
“Are you there, Ms. Boden?” Cecilia asked.
“Yes, I’m here. Um, what does Mr. Hale want to speak to me about?”
“He has an opportunity for you,” Cecilia said. “A good one.”
“I don’t remember applying for a job with you,” Grace said.
“Mr. Hale will explain everything when you meet,” Cecilia replied simply. “Can I tell him you’ll be in this Wednesday at two?”
Grace hesitated. A week or two ago, she would have listened to her instincts and shut Cecilia down without a second thought. Now, though, her financial situation was getting truly dire, and she hadn’t had any success with other companies. Maybe taking the interview would set her on a better path. Or maybe Boink, despite its reputation for being a hookup app, would actually be a nice place to work.
“Fine,” Grace said. “Tell him I’ll be there. Thank you.”
“Thank you,” Cecilia replied. She hung up, and moments later, Grace received a calendar invitation to a meeting with Patrick Hale at the Boink offices.
Grace spent the next few days alternating between tentative hope and extreme distrust. She tried on several interview outfits, submitted more job applications, and tried to distract herself by spending time with Susie. Still, she was so nervous that herstomach turned on her, and she spent most of the morning before the interview throwing up.
She couldn’t afford to pass up this opportunity, though, despite the fact that she was sick, so she took a shower, ate a box of mints, and dressed in a pair of slacks and a blouse. Then she drove to the Boink offices.
Where the MatchupNow offices had been all about employee comfort, creativity, and growth, the Boink offices had a different vibe. The walls were painted in bright colors, decorated with pictures of half-naked models, and the employees all had a bright red question mark, Boink’s logo, on their tops. The women all wore lots of makeup. The men all had slicked-back hair. Grace’s apprehension grew, but it was too late to back out now. She might as well hear about the job.
When she reached Patrick’s office, his secretary, whose voice Grace recognized as Cecilia’s, invited her right in. Patrick was seated behind his desk, looking at his phone. He glanced up when he saw Grace and stood, holding out a hand. He wore a perfectly fitted charcoal suit and a very expensive-looking watch, and he looked to be somewhere in his early twenties. He reminded Grace of the old-money jerks she and Alex had made fun of.
“You must be Grace,” he said.
“And you must be Mr. Hale,” Grace said, taking his hand. He shook it briskly, then sat and gestured for her to do the same.
“Thank you for coming by,” he said.
“Thank you for taking the time to interview me,” Grace replied.
“Interview?” Patrick looked artfully confused. “I’m not offering you a job, Grace. I’m offering you something much better.”
“Better?” Grace frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I know what happened at MatchupNow,” Patrick told her. “And I believe you were wrongfully fired. There was no evidence that you did anything to that laptop, beyond that it was checked out in your name. They should have looked more closely into what happened, and they certainly shouldn’t have fired you on the spot.”
