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“Is your family here?”
She shifted nervously on her feet, and I could tell that I’d hit a sore spot. So the girl wasn’t interested in talking about her family. Who could blame her? Family was a sore subject for me too, although everyone knew where I came from.
“Sorry,” I said. “Family isn’t relevant to the job. I just wanted to know.”
“It’s fine,” she replied, shaking off the stress of my clumsy question.
“Tell me about yourself,” I opened the negotiations, sitting down to signal the start of the interview.
“I have a bachelor’s in journalism with a minor in theater.” She settled into a chair opposite me, holding herself stiffly. “I had an internship with the local news where I was helping the journalists in the field.”
“What kind of stuff were you doing?” I wasn’t sure how a theater major was going to help my cause..
“A lot of getting coffee and fetching scripts but also I was sitting in on interviews and helping make arrangements.”
“What kind of arrangements?”
“Like if we were going to interview someone at a bakery about their new scones, then I would call to arrange for the manager to sit down with our people and make sure to have a display of scones.”
“Okay.” That sounded like a skill set that could be useful. I would need someone to arrange for meetings and possibly travel. The logistics involved would be similar, although on a much larger scale. “Do you have experience keeping a schedule?”
“Yes.”
“And making travel arrangements?”
“Yes.”
“How’s your typing?”
“Fifty-five words per minute,” she replied.
That wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible. I didn’t need a typist anyway; I just needed someone to help me stay organized and to greet people as they came into my office.
“What about computer programs?” I asked, already bored with the questions. Whoever I hired could learn Microsoft Office. It wasn’t that hard, and there were plenty of online courses to teach it.
“I know Word, Excel, and PowerPoint,” she said. “I’m good with Google, and I know some of the more popular project management packages.”
“You know project management?” I sat up, interested.
“We used them in school,” she replied, as if every woman I had interviewed with a degree should have been able to say the same thing.
“What school did you go to?” I asked.
“Lafayette.”
I gave her a hard look, and she took it. She didn’t squirm or look away. She didn’t volley it back to me either. She simply held her head up and weathered my glance, the way a true aristocrat would. I was almost sold.
“Tell me honestly why you want to work here,” I said.
This time, she did look away. I could see some of the determination leak from her shoulders and wondered what her story was. Everyone had their own reasons for wanting such a prestigious job. I was expecting a packaged answer about wanting to be on the cutting edge of fashion or wanting to grow within an international organization. But what Ava gave me was far more personal.
“I got involved with a man who wanted me to be someone I couldn’t be. I tried to change myself to fit his idea of a perfect girlfriend. I moved in with him, and I thought that I was in love.” She allowed her eyes to settle back on mine, her voice clear if a little bit soft. “I had plans to become a newscaster, but I got my priorities wrong. I thought he was more important than my dreams, and so I let myself get carried away.”
I let her go, curious to see where it would lead. Her face was a study in light and shadow. Facing the window, I could see the sun dancing across her features. She held herself tall, even as she revealed her greatest weakness. I knew then that I had to have her—as my secretary, of course, not as my lover. She would be perfect to show people into my office, to maintain my files both digital and paper. She knew the meaning of hustle, and she needed the job more than anyone else. She was going to prove to me that she deserved every consideration I gave her, and I knew that motivation couldn’t be bought.
“I want this job because I am fighting to win myself back,” Ava said in conclusion. “I was diverted from my path, but I’m determined not to let anything stop me ever again. I will be the best executive secretary you’ve ever heard of, if you just give me a chance.”
I looked her straight in the eye and said, “You’re hired.”
