The Interview

“How do I look?” She did a turn.

“That’s the outfit?” Her furrowed brow and pursed lips were a clear sign of disapproval.

She frowned. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Claire, this is the job of your dreams. This outfit is so plain, how do you expect to stand out?”

Claire looked down at her white button up blouse and gray slacks. She sighed and flopped down into the chair closest to her. “Since you’re such a fashion expert, Abby, what do you suggest I wear?”

Abby skyrocketed out of her chair and toward the bedroom. “I thought you’d never ask,” she called back to Claire.

Claire remained in the chair anxiously chewing at the skin around her fingernails. This was the interview of her life. The job of her dreams was dangling in front of her and depended on her ability to stand out amongst the other candidates. Abby was right, waltzing into the interview in a plain outfit and a plain resume to follow up with wouldn’t secure the job. Her stomach churned as she thought about the interview. She felt the moisture forming under her armpits as she started to second guess attending the interview.

“Alright!” Abby strutted back into the living room with a bright red blouse with lace and black slacks in one hand, and a pair of bright red heels in the other. Tossing them toward Claire a large grin spread across her face. “This is the one. It screams you’re confident and mean business. The red will make you stand out and is totally your color. I picked the shoes because I thought they gave a sexy vibe to the entire outfit.”

Claire stared at the ensemble feeling uncertain. Red would make her stick out like a sore thumb. They’d remember the girl in red that complete embarrassed herself during that one interview. Her stomach churned more, and she swallowed hard, trying to choke down the nauseous feeling rising from deep in her gut.

“I don’t know Abby.”

Abby used her hip to push Claire to the side in the chair. She squeezed in next to her and threw a reassuring arm around her shoulder. “You’re overthinking it, Claire. Seriously, this is everything you’ve ever wanted and if they didn’t see something in you, they wouldn’t have called to interview you.”

Claire sighed, “You’re right.”

Abby gathered the clothing and shoes in her hand and extended her arms in Claire’s direction. “I know, now go get dressed before you’re late!”

The large windows of the office illuminated the waiting room. Two women at the front desk sat side by side. They’re fingers aggressively worked over their keyboards filling the silence with the tap, tap, tap. Claire’s leg bounced anxiously, and she chewed on the skin of her fingers. There were two others sitting with her. A young man with messy blonde hair and large glasses. His pants were too short and showed off a pair of bright pink socks with palm trees on them. He pulled at a green bowtie and kept looking down at his watch. A beautiful brunette sat in a seat over from her. Her hair was loosely curled and her make up done up nicely. She was scribbling on a small notepad.

Claire looked her over, she wore a black jumpsuit with a neon yellow belt and matching neon shoes. She nonchalantly adjusted her red blouse and wished she had stuck with her simple white blouse. The phone at the front desk rang loudly startling the young man.

One of the women at the front desk picked it up, her head nodded and in a hushed tone she said, “Okay, I’ll send him in.” She got to her feet and leaned over the desk slightly, “sir? Ms. Davis is ready for you now.”

He shot to his feet and grabbed a suitcase from under his seat. The woman from the desk led him down a long hallway past rows of desks and people bustling around. Claire looked down at the brown manila folder on her lap, documents outlining her entire adult life were safely tucked inside. Her mind wandered to what could be inside his suitcase. She pictured books highlighting all these incredible details of a significant life, one more significant and interesting than hers. The woman next to her dropped her pen and it rolled across the floor stopping at Claire’s feet.

Claire reached down and picked it up. She extended her arm to hand the pen to the woman next to her.

“Thank you,” she said and flashed a perfect white smile.

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you interviewing today?” Her voice was song like as she spoke, Claire felt the moisture under her arms again.

“Yeah, yeah I am.”

“Me too! I’m so nervous, I have wanted a position like this for so long. It is such an incredible opportunity to work with a publisher as big as Devito and Co. They hardly ever have openings because people stay with the company for so long.”

Claire was aware of the opportunity at hand. Devito and Co was a huge publishing firm that published some of the best authors she’d ever read. People hired into the firm worked many years and retired from the firm. Claire swallowed hard as it dawned on her the importance of nailing her interview. “Yeah, I know. I’ve wanted to work for this company for a long time. It’s a huge opportunity, I feel just as nervous.”

“What did you study, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I have a master’s in literature and creative writing. How about you?”

“I double majored in comparative literature and literature and earned my doctorate in philosophy. Where did you study?”

Claire felt her shoulders drop the slightest when she heard her mention a doctorate. “I studied at Saint Helena University.”

 She furrowed her brow and hmphed. “I haven’t heard of Saint Helena before, is that on the West coast?”

“Mid-west. Where did you study?”

“Harvard!” The high pitch of her voice as she spoke made Claire’s heart sink. She looked back at the folder on her lap and felt its contents were mediocre compared to the documents held by the woman next to her.

“That’s really awesome.”

“Thank you.” The woman did a quick scan of the room and tapped her fingers against her notepad. “What do you do work for work now?”

Claire glanced up at her briefly and sighed.

“I’m so sorry that I keep asking questions, I get extremely chatty when I’m nervous. You don’t have to answer that, and I can leave you alone.”

Claire shook her head and flashed a small smile in her direction. “Don’t be sorry. I work for a smaller publishing company and do a lot of freelance work on the side as well.”

“Wow, that’s incredible I –” The woman was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing at the front desk. Both their heads turned in the direction of the desk where one of the women nodded and spoke softly.

She hung the phone up and got to her feet, “Ms. Davis is ready for you.”

The woman nodded and gathered a purse from the other side of her chair. She smiled in Claire’s direction before following the woman down the hall and said, “It was nice meeting you.”

“You too.” She watched them disappear around a corner and felt a wave of nausea overwhelm her. She waved toward the woman left at the desk, “I’m just going to step out and make a quick phone call.”

The woman nodded in response.

Claire stepped out of a side door in a small courtyard. She pulled her phone out from the envelope and hurriedly dialed Abby’s number. It rang twice before she picked up.

“Please tell me you crushed it.” Claire could hear the excitement in her voice, which made her stomach churn even more.

“I haven’t even gone in yet.” She swallowed hard to choke down the bile threatening to slither up her throat.

“What? Claire! Why are you calling me then?”

“She went to Harvard, Abby. The other woman interviewing went to Harvard! She has a doctorate in philosophy. The other guy interviewing, I have no idea what kind of degree he has or where from.”

“Ugh! Claire!” Abby groaned. “You have a degree from a great university. You volunteer, assisted with running a department at the college. You were part of the honor society. It doesn’t matter where they went to college or what degree they have because you are just as incredible. Now, I want you to hang up and go back in there and crush this damn interview like it’s the last thing you’ll ever do.”

Claire inhaled deeply. “Okay,” she said as she exhaled. “I’ve got this. I’ll call you after.”

“You better!”

Time dragged on as she sat waiting for her turn. Her heart dropped into the deep depths of her stomach when she heard the phone ring. Her hands became clammy as the woman picked it up and started nodding her head. She felt dizzy when she then got to her feet and said, “Ms. Davis is ready for you.”

Claire steadied herself as she got to her feet. She clutched her folder to her chest and followed behind the woman. They walked down the hallway past the rows of desks. The sound of feet shuffling filled the air. The office smelled of vanilla and the woody aroma of book pages. Claire pictured herself at one of the desks. It brough a smile to her face. They turned a corner and entered a large office. A woman sat in the center at a large wooden desk. Glasses sat on the edge of her pointed nose as she scribbled on a piece of paper.

“I have Claire Evans for you, Ms. Davis.” The soft sound of the woman’s voice filled the silence of the room.

Ms. Davis hardly glanced up when she waved the woman away, dismissing her back to the front desk. Claire made her way further into the room and placed her folder on the desk. She took a seat across from Ms. Davis who still worked quickly scribbling something down.

“Claire Evans, is it?” She dropped her pen and pulled the folder closer to her. She pushed her glasses back to the bridge of her nose and looked toward Claire. Her hair was slicked back in a tight ponytail. She wore a black and white sleeveless dress.

“Yes.”

“Have you worked in publishing before, or done anything with writing in the past?” She spoke in an uninterested manner, her tone of voice flat.

“I currently work for a small company, Berkshire Publishing. It’s state specific so we publish works by people that reside within the state. I also do freelance work.”

Ms. Davis hmphed as she flicked through the documents inside the folder. “You went to a fine arts school?”

“Yes. I attended Bridgewood Academy of Fine Arts during high school. I participated in performing arts and their writing program. I have pieces published in compilations of poems and short stories. I’ve included copies of those in there.” Claire wondered if the woman from the waiting room had published anything, and if she’d done so in high school.

She hmphed again. “You’ve got quite the list going of private writing contest you’ve won. I’m familiar with some of these literary journals you’ve been published in as well. That’s quite the accomplishment.”

Claire tried not to blush. She’d never thought of them as achievements, but more as steps in her career. She reflected on the list Ms. Davis was reviewing and felt proud. She’d been published six times and won four contests before graduating high school and an additional ten publications and five contests in college. “Six of the publications I received prior to graduate from Bridgewood.”

Ms. Davis glanced up at Claire and smirked. “I’m seeing an additional ten times during your time at Saint Helena. A master’s in literature?”

“It’s a master’s in literature and creative writing. I earned a bachelor’s in English with a minor in editing and publishing at Saint Helena as well. I completed their online program in both instances and doubled up on courses so I could complete the programs in half the time.” Claire stated more confidently. Her nerves melted off her in the sweat she could feel forming on her spine. She’d worried the other candidates had brought more to the table than her, yet she had an immense pile of accomplishments laid out in front of her. Her plain life was being brought to life before her eyes.

“Definitely a hard worker then. I see here you managed the school journal at Saint Helena and assisted with directing the performing arts program as well.”

“I did. For the school journal, I reviewed and edited entries. I also oversaw recruiting students for the journal. It gave them the opportunity to practice editing and get a feel for publishing. As for the performing arts program, I worked with the director for a few years and when she left, I filled the position until they were able to fill it. It was an incredible opportunity though.”

Ms. Davis placed the documents back in the folder and slid it across the desk toward Claire. She peered at her over the top of her glasses. “You also have quite the volunteer history and a great history of freelance work. I see multiple book reviews on there as well.” Ms. Davis clasped her hands together and sighed deeply. “So, why Devito and Co?”

Claire was overcome with a newfound confidence. A confidence that no suitcase or Harvard degree could fill her with. The confidence was stemming from the years she’d put into her career. The long nights writing, editing, and reviewing and all the other nights that included assisting students from her university so they could also be successful in the writing world.

She smiled brightly at Ms. Davis and said, “I’ve been in the position of being the writer, so I know what it takes to write a good book. I’ve written a variety of book reviews for work; I know what people are reading. I have invested time in volunteering so I can go out there and get to know people and learn more about the world. It’s increased my emotional intelligence. I have devoted my personal time to devouring books that Devito and Co has published. From Young to Hobbs, I’ve read Stewart and Lord, Henry, and Lankford. The list goes on.”

Ms. Davis sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest.

“I’m familiar with this industry and the audiences that the industry targets. I believe for that reason I’d be an asset to this company because of my background. Books are what I love, writing is what I love, and I’d love to work for this company.”

Ms. Davis raised an eyebrow in Claire’s direction. “You know, Miss Evans, I’m impressed by your accomplishments. Impressed by your education and work history. That answer you provided me as to why Devito and Co is nowhere near what the other candidates stated.” Claire’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. Ms. Davis got to her feet and extended her hand to Claire. “It was lovely to meet you, Miss Evans. There are a few great candidates for this role, all of which we must consider. I do thank you for your time today. We’ll be in touch.”

Claire firmly shook her hand and retrieved her folder. She walked as quickly as she could in her heels out of the office. As soon as she stepped out onto the street, she dialed Abby.

“How did it go?” Abby’s voice came through the phone on the second ring.

“I honestly have no idea, but I can’t believe I was sweating the other candidates so much. I mean, so what if one went to Harvard and the other carried a suitcase of God knows what. I’ve accomplished plenty myself.”

“I told you, Claire! You’re always thinking everything you’ve accomplished is so minor compared to everything someone else has accomplished. It’s about time you start to recognize all those accomplishments and achievements for what they are! HUGE!”

Claire smiled. “I know, Abby. You were right.”

“I always am,” she giggled. “Well, did you get the job or what?”

Claire started the walk back to her apartment complex, her heels clicked against the sidewalk with every step. She shrugged slightly, “I don’t know. She said there are a few other candidates they’re considering, and they’d be in touch.”

“How do you feel about that?”

Claire sighed, “Honestly? I’m okay with it. After that interview I realized just how much I bring to the table for an employer. If I don’t get hired here, there are plenty of other publishing companies out there.”

“That’s the spirit!”

The phone beeped loudly in Claire’s ear, and she pulled it away from her face. Another call was incoming. “Hold on, let me call you back.” She answered the other call, “Hello?”

“Claire Evans?”

“Yes?”

“This is Ms. Davis, from Devito and Co.”

Claire felt her heart flutter in her chest in excitement and fear. “Oh, Ms. Davis, hi!”

“I’m calling because I believe you forgot something in my office.”

“I did?” Claire asked confused.

“Yes,” Ms. Davis said in a matter-of-fact manner, “you forgot your contract. You’ll need to take it home to review it before you sign off on it. It has all details regarding the employment opportunity at Devito and Co.”

Claire wanted to scream with excitement but worked hard to gather herself, “I can come back for it.”

“No need, I’ll have one of my assistants drop it off at your apartment. We’ll see you Monday at eight.”

“Eight o’clock Monday, I’ll be there.”

The call disconnected and Claire dialed Abby back, “You’re not going to believe what just happened!”