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“My pleasure, Sir.”
“Thanks everybody. You can go now, crisis averted.”
“For now,” Diana joked.
The baby looked up at me with wide, affectionate eyes, as if he knew what I was trying to do for him. As if he loved me already.
I patted his back, my hand practically covering all of it. “You and me, buddy. We’re gonna get this figured out.” He cooed, and I snuggled my nose against him, scenting him. He smelled like family, my DNA, with that sweet baby scent and what might have been a hint of bear cub.
Then I got a whiff of his diaper.Oh, no.I ran toward the hallway.
“Help!”
Chapter 2
Riley
“You’re just not cutout for this company. Not the right material.” I gaped, my heart shattering right along with my hope.
I put my hands together like I was praying. “But I need this job. I need an assignment. I have to feed my son-”
The interviewer, whose manicure probably cost more than my rent, cut me off. “What more do I need to explain? You’re not what we’re looking for.” She said the words calm and factually. It would have hurt less had she been mean.
“Can I change myself somehow? Am I not presentable enough? Is it my clothes or my hair, maybe?” I tried to smooth it down, which did nothing for the wild brown tufts, always sticking up no matter what I did with it. I was a squirrel through and through. My clothes were humble, but they fit my small, wiry frame nicely and I looked formal enough, or so I thought.
My interviewer shuffled her papers on her desk, done looking at me. “There’s nothing you can do. We have your resume on file in case we need to get in touch. Thank you, and have a great day.” She nodded toward the door.
There was nothing left to say, so I dragged myself out to the lobby. What did I do now? I was out of a job and a place to live, and the only reason I’d gotten an interview with the most prestigious childcare company in Mondello was because of a referral from my richest former client, whose kids were teenagers now. Even worse, my three-year-old son, Jack, was waiting for me with a babysitter that I’d only been able to pay for a few hours. Once I picked him up, I had no idea where we were going to go.
I collapsed in on myself. I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on my knees, holding my head in my hands. My hair was going to look even wilder, but what did it matter? I wasn’t good enough to even sit in this fancy waiting room.
As I pulled my hair, trying to think of my next move, there was aclickof expensive high heels headed toward me. Hope raised my head for me. Was there a job for me after all?
It wasn’t my interviewer coming toward me. It was a different lady, and she looked upset. Uh-oh. Was I supposed to get out of the lobby immediately after getting rejected? Could I get in trouble for that sort of thing?
With no preamble, the lady shoved a folder into my hands. “What are you waiting for? You're expected to report for training in thirty minutes.”
