Page 24

“Yes, I knew you were busy with… Yes. Yes. Of course, but I… Right. I understand. I will. Thank you, Ms. Lauren.”

Olivia replaced the receiver and swallowed hard as she slowly let her eyes rise to Paige’s. “You can go on up.”

“Oh, great. Thank you! And good morning again.” Paige offered the woman a wide grin, her excitement building as she spun on her heel and crossed the entrance a second time and bound up the circular stairs toward Veronica’s office.

The woman’s voice floated from within the room through the open door.

“I understand. Unfortunately, there is nothing… Of course not.”

Paige inched closer, tapping lightly on the jamb. Veronica’s eyes shot up from the paperwork on her desk and waved Paige inside. She held up a finger. Her head bobbed back and forth as though she had tired of the conversation long ago. She rolled her hand in the air as she listened to the other party.

“We had a number of excellent candidates.” She paused. “Well, I do agree your credentials are phenomenal. However, there are a number of things we consider when filling the–“ She paused again. “Uh-uh. I understand your frustration, but I’m certain with your CV, you’ll find an excellent position in no time.”

Veronica waved Paige into a seat. Paige eased into it, hanging the straps of her tote around her knees.

“Sorry,” Veronica mouthed and pointed to the phone.

Paige waved the concern away with a smile.

“Well, Ms. Reynolds, as I said, you should have no trouble finding another position. And I wish you the best of luck. Yes. Yes, of course I will. Good day.”

Veronica slammed the receiver onto the cradle and slouched forward over the desk. She massaged her temples with her fingertips before pushing her hair back.

“Sorry,” she said, blowing out a breath. “I’m fielding phone calls and emails thanking me for the recent interview. All this politeness crap designed to better your chances at landing the job is really exhausting. And the moment I tell them the position is filled, the politeness goes right out the window! The complaints start, and I’ve got to explain what happened.”

Paige smiled and nodded. She questioned the same thing though. What happened to give her the job over the Rhodes Scholar or one of the other applicants with a bevy of qualifications beyond hers?

“But that’s not your problem. You have enough on your plate learning the ropes around here.”

“I’m excited to start. I’ve got all my paperwork done and my ID badge, keycard coded, and everything. I’m ready to start!”

Veronica tapped her palms against the desk. “Perfect.” She stood, swiped her keys from the desk’s polished top, and smoothed one side of her hair behind her ears. “Follow me.”

Paige leapt from her seat and swung her tote over her shoulder.

Veronica led Paige down the curved staircase and through the library to the back corner.

“Your workspace will be downstairs under the main library. This is the first security door. You’ll need to use your keycard to gain access. So, be sure you carry it with you at all times. I think they probably explained that to you in HR yesterday. If you ever lose that keycard–“

“Report it immediately,” Paige said with a nod. “Right.”

“Exactly. It is vitally important.”

Paige pressed her lips together and nodded. “Got it.”

Veronica waved her own ID badge in front of the access panel and tugged the door open, waving for Paige to precede her into the long hall.

Lights hung from the ceiling at regular intervals, illuminating the hall and portraits gracing it. Paige recalled seeing the space with only her flashlight. It looked different, less ominous during normal business hours.

They strode down the hall as Veronica explained the meaning behind the portraits. “These are former librarians. We document each of them for a very important reason.”

Paige nodded politely, smoothing an escaped lock of hair behind her ears and adjusting her glasses again. “May I ask a question?”

“Absolutely.”

“My ID badge says I have security clearance level eight. What does that mean? How many security levels are there? And why are they needed at a public library?”

Veronica ceased walking, her heels clicking against the hard floor as she stamped in place and waved her hands. “That was quite the bevy of questions, Paige!”