Page 13 of Another Lucky Number (Lucky Number #2)
Chapter Twelve
A fter breakfast, I return to my suite, while Cat and Amber head to the resort café to do some planning.
Closing the door behind me, the bang seems louder and more echoing than I’ve noticed before, triggering a stark feeling of being alone.
It’s just me and a scary amount of interview preparation.
As the feeling of overwhelm sets in, my first instinct is to FaceTime Lottie, which would serve the double purpose of procrastinating from the ominous task at hand, while providing me with the boost my self-belief badly needs right now.
I’m reaching for my phone when I have a moment of clarity.
This – like my date with Sébastien that turned out not be a date – is not something to call upon her for.
Because after all the drama of the last few weeks, Lottie was insistent that I should relax and enjoy myself, which means it’s probably best I don’t mention this job interview to her until I’m back home (and I’ve hopefully got the job).
She’ll only worry about me not taking time to rest and recover, and that won’t help her own recovery. I don’t want that on my conscience.
Deciding that a tidy room will help me focus, I clear away my clothes and accessories that are strewn around the furnishings, then I arrange my makeup and toiletries into neat clusters on the dressing table and re-jig the bits and pieces by my bedside.
Once my suite looks better, I catch a glance of myself in the mirror and remember that I haven’t yet had a shower today.
Well, I’m obviously not going to have a fresh mind until I feel fresh all over.
Nearly an hour and a half later, I’ve cleaned every part of me that can be cleaned, shaved my legs, tidied my eyebrows and refreshed my nail polish. And just as I’m dithering over whether some makeup would help me get in the zone, I look at my phone and notice the time.
Shit . I’m due to meet Cat and Amber in less than an hour and I literally haven’t done a bit of interview prep. They’ll kill me if I turn up having not even started, while they’ve been devoting their precious holiday time to me and my future CV. Quite rightly too.
Feeling stifled being stuck inside when it’s so beautiful and sunny outdoors, I grab the complimentary resort notebook and pen from my bedside table, and step outside onto my balcony terrace to do my thinking.
Some fresh air should give my brain the shunt into action it needs.
Unfortunately, however, my procrastinating mind is instantly alert to everything around me that I’m missing out on: the rhythmic crashing of the waves on the shore, the excited chatter and laughter of my fellow holidaymakers on the beach and by the pool, the enthusiastic chatter coming through the PA system from one of the resort’s playmakers, whose job it is to help the resort guests have fun by running games and competitions.
It’s almost too much to bear knowing all that is out there and I’m not.
To reduce my FOMO, I opt for a relaxed approach by stretching out on one of the sun loungers instead of sitting at the patio table. I make myself comfortable and read through the information again, this time paying more attention to the detail .
Our company values are part of our DNA. We live and breathe them. They are the reason our customers return to us over and over. We therefore only employ people who live by these same values and who we know have something special to offer our family of resorts…
It’s such an easy and inspiring read that I find myself wondering why I’ve spent nearly two hours avoiding it.
The content excites me in a way I’ve never felt about anywhere I’ve worked before, perhaps in part because I’ve already experienced some of what Paradis Resorts has to offer and – rather than just being words on a page – it rings true (from a guest perspective anyway).
The happy, energised employees also seem to point in the direction of it being a good company to work for.
Jotting down some initial thoughts, I can see that I’m a pretty good fit with what they’re looking for in this role, and I’m just getting into a flow when I realise it’s time to meet Cat and Amber. Oh well, at least I’m off the starting blocks. That’s half the battle.
I hop off the lounger and quickly apply a coat of mascara and some lip gloss. Then I throw my pitiful-looking notes and pen into my handbag, sling it over my shoulder and head of out of my suite.
On reaching the resort café, which is situated between the bright white sands and the beach club pool (not to be confused with the main pool – this place has multiple pools, multiples of everything), I approach my two friends, who are sitting in cushioned wicker chairs at an outdoor table.
I can see that Amber’s telling Cat a story of some kind and I chuckle to myself at how animated she is: her arms gesticulating at rapid speed, like she’s describing some kind of dive bomb off a cliff.
Cat’s laughing, hands to her face, eyes wide with disbelief.
Whatever it is, it must be a good story.
Ugh. This is the stuff we should be doing on this holiday, not mobilising as a team to try and get me through the toughest interview process I’ve ever faced.
‘How are you getting on?’ I greet them with a smile.
‘Good,’ says Cat, while I settle into one of the empty chairs and sigh contentedly as the heat from the sun hits my shoulders. ‘Amber had a few off-the-wall ideas but I managed to reel her in on the most extreme ones.’
‘Right…’ This I’m not overly pleased to hear.
‘Don’t worry, everything in this plan has been approved by me. So please feel reassured that, even if it’s uncomfortable for you, it’s necessary and for the sole purpose of getting you that job.’
‘OK, that makes me feel a bit better. Although I still can’t say I’m relishing the thought of it.’
Amber surveys me disdainfully. ‘Emma, the process itself – sitting in front of Sébastien and your whole bloody presentation audience – won’t be comfortable , will it?’
I look to the ground. ‘Well… no. I do get that.’
‘So why are you expecting this to be?’
‘I’m not. I’m just… you know… hoping you’ll ease me in gently.’
‘How is easing you in gently going to help you?’ she demands. ‘Especially when you have two and a half days to prepare. It’s like preparing for a skydive by jumping off the bottom step of your stairs.’
‘I think what Amber’s trying to say,’ says Cat. ‘Is if you face some more challenging tasks in the run up to Monday – all aimed at strengthening the skills you feel less confident about – then the event itself might seem less of a shock. And you’ll be ready for it. ’
‘That’s exactly what I was saying.’ Amber throws her hands up as if this was obvious.
‘Maybe. Not quite so diplomatically though.’ I see Cat give her a come-on-we’ve already-discussed-this look.
Glancing from Cat to Amber, my mind is in overdrive, thinking of all the awful things they could have me doing over the next couple of days.
‘It’ll be OK, honey, I promise.’ Cat puts a supportive hand on mine.
‘We’ve also factored in some fun so it doesn’t feel like such a chore.
We’ll be out and about around the resort, still enjoying the things you would have been doing if this hadn’t come up.
There’s no point in the three of us being cooped up in your room like a group of teenage study-buddies, when we have all this at our disposal.
’ She waves her arm around to emphasise our luxurious surroundings.
‘Oh, good.’ I exhale with relief. ‘I was getting cabin fever just spending the last couple of hours in my room.’
I decide not to mention that fact that I only managed about forty minutes of real work.
‘Amber, how about you share our plan with Emma?’ says Cat. ‘Or do you want to tell us where you got to first, honey?’
‘No need for that,’ I say. ‘I’m doing the boring stuff. Let’s see what you’ve come up with.’
I mentally cross my fingers that they won’t come back to my prep. Amber will see through me in an instant.
‘OK, let’s do this.’ Amber turns over a piece of paper with what appears to be a well-structured and impressive-looking schedule on it.
‘Wow, you did it by hand,’ I say. ‘I forgot to mention that Sébastien offered me use of one of the resort laptops. Though maybe that offer was just for me. Where did you get the stationery from?
‘We asked Charnice at reception,’ says Cat. ‘She was so keen to help us, we had to stop her from giving us a truck load of supplies.’
‘Aww… they’re great here, aren’t they? So cheery and—’
‘ Anyway .’ Amber interrupts me. ‘How about we look at this plan before the afternoon is gone and you’ve done no prep – again .’
‘Hey, I’ve been prepping. I did at least…’
‘Ten minutes?’ Amber raises a smug eyebrow.
Dammit. She knows me too well.
‘More like forty to fifty.’
‘Not what you planned though, was it?’
‘No.’ I feel like a teenager getting a telling off from my parents for watching TV when I should be studying. ‘But getting started is the hard part. Especially being here. It would be fine if I was back home in the crappy Scottish weather.’
‘Well, as you don’t have time to piss around, aren’t you glad you have me and Cat to kick your backside for you?’
‘I guess I am.’ I give an apologetic grin.
‘Good. Here you go then...’ Amber turns the page around so I can follow as she talks me through it.
‘This is your “School of Amber and Cat” interview prep plan. The days are broken down into sections – so, breakfast, morning, lunch, afternoon, dinner and evening. We’ve allocated a leisure activity to each non-meal slot – as Cat says, things we would have been enjoying had it not been for this coming up.
And within each of those slots there’s an activity that will help you prepare for Monday. Make sense?’
‘Yeah, it does.’ My eyes roam the page, taking in the detail of the plan.
‘What do you think?’ Cat asks, once I’ve had the chance to read through it.
‘Do we rock or what?’ says Amber.
I’m momentarily lost for words. ‘It’s… incredible . I mean, I don’t know exactly what it entails, and I can see it’s going to be full on… but, yeah… you seem to have everything covered. That as well as still making the most of our holiday.’
‘Exactly what we were aiming for.’ Cat looks pleased at my reaction. ‘We don’t want this to be a miserable, gruelling experience for any of us.’
‘You’ve almost got me looking forward to it now,’ I say. ‘Still dreading the actual interview, but what better way to prep for it? I do have some questions though.’
‘Shoot,’ says Amber.
‘OK, to start with, are we really having cocktails this afternoon? That doesn’t sound like the most productive way to kick off a plan like this. Particularly when these surroundings are making me more prone to procrastination.’
‘It’s exactly the right way to kick it off. You need a motivational boost as well as a creative approach for your presentation to make sure you stand out. Some of the best ideas I’ve had have come to me after a couple of drinks. The usual boundaries go out the window.’
‘Do you have any boundaries?’ I give her a wink and turn to Cat. ‘How did she get you to agree to that one?’
‘I was a bit sceptical,’ she admits. ‘But it can’t hurt to try it out.’
‘OK, great.’ I shrug. ‘Why not? So then, what about the “company research” in the evenings? What’s that? Other than you not wanting to give up your nights out.’
Amber cocks her head with a judgemental look. ‘Actually, dipshit , that’s about seeing what kind of guest experience is being created by the resort. I’ve said before, you need an in depth feel for what this place is all about—’
‘I know, I was only kidding.’
‘Good. Glad there’s a brain in there somewhere. Even if it needs a bit of a kickstart.’
‘ Hey , I object to that ,’ I complain. ‘Facing a scary interview while on the holiday of a lifetime would be a challenge for anyone. The heat and humidity doesn’t help either. It gets to me.’
‘And to your hair.’
‘ Stop it .’ I self-consciously reach up and try to flatten it. ‘My hair’s a pain in the arse in this climate. You don’t need to point it out.’
Amber sits back, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
‘Amber, seriously…’ Cat shakes her head in despair. ‘Do you want to destroy Emma’s confidence before you’ve even started working with her? All you’ll do is give yourself an even bigger job.’ She shifts her focus to me. ‘Honey, your hair is fine. And I love that lip gloss on you.’
I cease trying to plaster my unfortunate barnet to my head as if that will somehow make it better.
‘ Whatever .’ Amber rolls her eyes. ‘That was your first test, Emma – which you failed. For this job, you need to be confident and not give a shit what others think of you. You also need to let things wash over you. There are nasty politics in every workplace, no matter how good it might appear from the outside looking in, and you need to be prepared for that. What will you do if one of the resort team takes a shot at you during the Q to stand tall and come out confident and composed. The question is: can I really achieve that in two and a half days?