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“Fuck,” she whispered to herself.

Sophie was about to go into a video interview, picturing Bryce wearing a strap-on for her. That wouldn’t help calm her nerves at all. As her heart raced, now formultiplereasons, sheclicked on the link, opened the video chat, and pulled down on her shirt to make sure no wrinkles showed.

“Sophie,” the man said when he appeared.

“Hello,” she greeted professionally.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” he said.

“You have? All good, I hope,” she replied with a cheesy smile.

“All good,” he said. “I heard we lost you to the bayou, and now, you’re interested in coming back.”

“Yes, I am. I love New Orleans, and I’d like to stay here, but I’m looking for a new professional opportunity.”

“I spoke with Monica. She had nothing but good things to say about you and working with you. And I talked to a few others as well. You had my job when you left and worked your way up, right?”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

Sophie then gave him a brief overview of her time at Arnette, trying to cover as much as she could without sounding like this know-it-all at the same time. He nodded as she spoke and asked her a few questions. Most of them were softballs, but he had a good one in there that she found a little challenging in a good way.

“Honestly, I’m looking for someone to work with me, but I’m also looking for someone who could potentially take over for me should I end up moving into a new role, which is possible this year. The fact that you have experience in both roles is a huge plus for me. I want to make sure you’re here for a career and not just a job because I’d love to have someone grow into the role.”

“Yes. Definitely. That’s what I want,” she said, probably a little too eagerly. “I’m looking to stay somewhere for the long haul.”

“Great,” he replied and looked away from the screen. “All right. Well, I have all I need for now. Do you have any questions for me?”

Sophie had interviewed so many times now, she knew all the standard questions a candidate should ask, so she asked her top three, and he answered them well. It was only an hour-long interview, but she could see herself working with this guy, and that was a good thing. She didn’t have an ego, and it wouldn’t bother her that he had her old job while she’d basically be starting over. It had been her fault that she had to start over, anyway.

“So, here’s what I’d like to do,” he began the wrap-up. “I’ve got a few other interviews already lined up. I’m going to talk to those candidates and have recruiting reach back out to you with the next steps.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment.

The interview, she’d thought, had gone well, but this was a party-line approach to giving next steps that Sophie had heard far too many times. It had always ended in a rejection email or the company ghosting her entirely.

“Well, thank you for your time,” he added.

“Yes. You too,” she replied, trying to put the smile back on her face.

Closing the browser window, Sophie sat still for a while, not knowing what to do or how to react to what had just happened. They’d talked about role specifics. She had given him actual examples of what she’d done in the role before. She’d had answers to all of his questions, and they weren’t hypotheticals. She had good questions for him in return. Hell, she’d done the job, and his on top of it, so she had actual experience in the role at the company. She didn’t know what to do now. If he was brushing her off, there was only Atlanta now, and she didn’t want to move to Atlanta.

“Soph?”

Sophie tried to shake herself out of it and turned to see Bryce standing in the open doorway of her bedroom. She still couldn’t believe Bryce was there. It was also strange because seeing the woman standing at her bedroom door felt familiar, even though it hadn’t ever happened before, but it also felt like she could be a figment of Sophie’s imagination and that she might disappear if Sophie wasn’t careful.

“Hey,” she said.

“It got quiet, so I thought I’d check. How did it go?”

“I honestly have no idea.”

“Really?” Bryce walked toward her.

“He gave me the brush-off; recruiting will reach out to me with next steps.”

“Oh, babe… I’m sorry. Are you sure it was a brush-off, though?” Bryce cupped her cheek. “They just say that sometimes. Maybe he’s said it somanytimes, it’s a habit now.”

“I don’t know,” she replied with a sigh as she leaned into Bryce and rested her head against Bryce’s stomach, needing her solid body to provide some safety right now and also to remind her that Bryce was really there with her. “Maybe.”