AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
She was wearing pink, which was still her favorite color; it had been ever since she was a child.I probably should have outgrown it by now,Paige thought, swiveling around in the buttery beige leather tub chair, casually absorbing the spacious, modern reception area of JFI Advertising, located on the fifteenth floor of the John Hancock Tower in downtown Boston. Black-and-white photographs covered the few walls that weren’t windows; the ultramodern furniture sat low to the dark hardwood floor. Paige noted that the young woman with geometrically cut white-blond hair sitting ramrod straight behind the emerald-green marble desk in the middle of the room was wearing all black.I should have worn black,she thought, tugging at the pearl buttons of her blush-pink cotton blouse and smoothing the nonexistent wrinkles from her gray A-line skirt. At the very least, she should have selected an outfit that was bolder, less conservative, more fashion-forward. This was a cutting-edge agency after all, and she was a grown woman, not a little girl.
Except she’d never felt more childlike, more vulnerable, in her entire life. Over six months of rejection had taken their toll, dug deep into the core of her self-esteem. Having been let go, through no fault of her own, from a job she loved was bad enough, but what followed had proved even worse. While she’d approached her first post-firing interviews full of confidence and optimism, by the third rejection that optimism had started to wane, and her confidence had fallen on decidedly shaky ground. It hadn’t helped that Noah had picked that time to reject her as well.
Paige felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. That slap on Saturday night had gone a long way toward making her feel better. Not that she would normally condone such violence, she thought, picturing Chloe, and hearing the fear in her friend’s voice as she’d recounted the events of her own Saturday night. Damn Matt anyway. What was the matter with him? Hadn’t he caused Chloe enough pain? Did he have to terrorize her now as well?
She’d urged Chloe to take out a restraining order against him, but Chloe had texted an hour ago informing her that the clerk at the courthouse had advised first speaking to her lawyer, and her lawyer had confirmed that a judge was unlikely to issue such an order based on the scant evidence she had.Looks like I’ll have to wait till he shoots me,had come Chloe’s follow-up text.
A horrifying thought.
So, no, violence in any form should never be considered acceptable. Still, goddamn it, there was just no getting around it—slapping Noah had felt great.
Paige had spent a good part of Sunday morning imagining the scene that might have taken place later that night between Noah and Heather. How she’d love to have been a fly on the wall of the bedroom they’d once shared! Still, knowing Noah, he’d probably managed to come up with some plausible excuse for his behavior. He was a lawyer, after all, skilled at creating reasonable doubt. He and Heather had likely ended the evening having wild, crazy sex, which was the last thing Paige wanted to picture.
Then there was Sam.
Another scene she tried not to imagine. Except, of course, she didn’t have to imagine it. She had only to remember all but dragging the poor man into his bedroom, shedding her clothes along the way, and virtually attacking him. What had gotten into her?
Not Sam, she thought, and almost laughed.
Another rejection. She sighed audibly.
“Ms. Lyons shouldn’t be much longer,” the receptionist said, misinterpreting Paige’s sigh for one of impatience.
Paige nodded, hearing her cellphone ping in her purse. She quickly checked her messages.Well, what do you know?she thought, finding a text from Mr. Right Now. She’d texted him yesterday morning, apologizing for having had to cut short their contact the night before—how many apologies did that make?—and he’d been very gracious, telling her no apologies were necessary.Just glad you’re here now. Looking forward to getting to know you.
Looking forward to getting to know you too,she’d texted back.
And then nothing. No suggestion that they should meet up. No trying to schedule another rendezvous. A case of once bitten, twice shy?
She’d checked her phone repeatedly throughout the day, but there were no further messages. She’d considered sending him another text, then decided against it. She was through throwing herself at men. If Mr. Right Now was reallylooking forward to getting to know her,he knew exactly what he had to do.
And now suddenly, he was doing it:Hey, there, Wildflower,his text read.My turn to apologize. Unexpected visitors. What’s going on?
Waiting for a job interview,she messaged back.
What kind of job?
In advertising. Strategic planning.
Sounds impressive. Good luck.
Fingers crossed.
That was it. Their longest exchange so far.Making progress,she thought, returning the phone to her purse when it became obvious there’d be no more texts. She wondered if he’d check in later, inquire how her interview had gone. She shrugged, deciding that she wasn’t going to waste time worrying about it. If he messaged her again, fine. If he didn’t, also fine. She had more important things to worry about at the moment. Like her interview with Molly Lyons, senior vice president of JFI Advertising.
Not that there was anything to worry about, Paige told herself. Her previous interview with the head of HR had gone well, and she was well prepared for this one. She’d done her homework, going over the critical aspects of the job she was seeking, and what she could say about the skills and capabilities she possessed that made her the ideal candidate to fill that job. She’d visited the agency’s website multiple times and checked out assorted industry publications to familiarize herself with key information about the company. She’d looked up Molly Lyons’s profile on LinkedIn to get a sense of her background and any connections they might have in common.
She’d also brushed up on her own CV, recapping her career history and reminding herself of all she’d accomplished, her various wins and achievements. Details were important. In discussing her achievements, she had to take care to properly set up each situation, discuss how she’d handled it, and explain the results.
There were bound to be questions about past challenges she’d overcome or times in her previous position when she’d gone above and beyond. Perhaps there was a current advertising campaign she found particularly exciting or innovative.
Paige also had a few interesting questions of her own prepared. Employers liked that.
But ultimately, she knew that chemistry was the key. It mattered less how good she’d been at her previous job, or how deeply she understood the business, than how well she connected with Molly Lyons. She had to banish negative thoughts of past rejections. She had to appear upbeat and positive. It was as important to listen as to talk. She had to be seen as both an individual standout and a team player.
In the end, of course, she could only be herself.
