Page 3

Paige swallowed hard as she gazed after the quad-lingual Rhodes Scholar interviewing for the same position as her. Or was it quint-lingual? Was there a word for fluent in five languages?

“Ms. Turner?” Veronica’s voice called, pulling her to reality.

Paige snapped her head toward the woman, shoving her glasses up her nose again. “Yes, that’s me. Paige Turner.”

She offered a lopsided smile before she gasped, offloading her tote bag to her left hand and shoving her right hand out to the woman.

With a crinkled nose and a tentative smile, the woman grasped her hand. “Come in.”

She motioned toward the office and stepped toward it.

Paige followed her before retreating to retrieve her wayward resume from the floor. She hurried into the well-lit office, cursing the overhead lighting that highlighted every dirty spot on her skirt and blouse.

She plopped into the chair opposite Veronica’s before shooting back up to stand, realizing she hadn’t been invited to sit yet.

Veronica slid the glasses onto the edge of her nose, then glanced at Paige, who hopped from foot to foot in front of her.

“Please, sit, Ms. Turner.”

“Thank you,” Paige squeaked as she collapsed into the chair again.

She set her tote bag on her lap to cover her stained outfit. The ungainly handles smacked her on the nose as they settled backward. She squeezed her eyes closed as she slid the bag to the floor.

She smoothed her crumpled resume against her thighs before setting it on the desk. “I brought a copy of my resume in case you need it.”

The woman arched an eyebrow as she grabbed it between her thumb and index finger, tugging it toward her. She forced another smile. “Thank you, though I do have a printed copy. Unless this one is updated?”

She glanced expectantly at Paige.

“Oh, no,” Paige said, waving her hand in the air before she shoved her glasses upward again. “Same one that I sent in when I applied.”

The woman offered a tight-lipped smile as she swept the mangled CV into the trash can next to her desk. “Let’s begin, shall we?”

Paige nodded with another adjustment of her glasses, clasping her sweaty hands together in her lap.

“Give me an example of a time during any previous employment positions where you’ve had to use ingenuity to solve a problem, and how did the situation turn out?”

Paige licked her lips as her mind scoured her previous employment experience for anything that could be used as a form of ingenuity. She blew out a breath and launched into what she hoped would be an inspiring story.

“Once when I was working at the Shop N’ Go, we ran out of straws for the Icees. And a mom came in with her eight-year-old. Or nine-year-old, maybe. I’m not sure. Let’s go with eight and a half. Anyway, he wanted an Icee, but there were no straws. So, I opened a candy straw and gave them that.”

She grinned at Veronica who raised her eyebrows high.

“Oh! I didn’t finish my answer. The kid was pretty happy, so I’d say the situation turned out well.”

Veronica flicked her gaze to the CV on her polished desk. She jotted a short note before she used her pen to peruse the other lines. Paige swallowed hard as her interviewer arched an eyebrow at the paper.

“It says here you studied the classics. I didn’t see this in your coursework, though. Can you expound on the training you received?”

“Ah, sure. So, I don’t have any formal training in terms of coursework, but I have read all the classics. Actually, I’ve read quite a bit. I’m a real bookworm. Always a book in my hands. I’m familiar with everything from the classics to cozy mysteries. The library is really a dream job for me because I love books that much. I’ve been interested in reading since I was small. I got shuffled around a lot in the foster care system, and reading was really my safety net. No matter what house I was in, I could always escape by reading.”

“So, you didn’t actually study the classics. You’ve just read them,” Veronica repeated.

“Yes, along with many, many other things. Like I said, I just love books!” Paige grinned at her.

The woman nodded with narrowed eyes as she tapped her pen against the resume. “Uh-huh. So, you believe your love of books qualifies you to be the librarian?”

“Well, no,” Paige said, adjusting her glasses for the umpteenth time. “But I think it’s an added bonus for both the library and me! Having someone who really loves books and understands how important they are to society can make a big difference in how the library runs.”