Page 5 of Devil in the Details

Olive

Several days later

“ M iss Morris, can you give me your day-to-day at your last employment?”

I felt my throat tighten as the woman in front me gave the interview.

“Of course.” I was trying to act professional, but I knew what would come after this.

I started telling her about my activities at Brookwood Financial Holdings.

I guess I’d been a glorified coffee maker, and a pro at making copies and taking appointments.

I swear she didn’t even blink as I told her the rundown.

And once I was finished, she leaned back in her seat and gave me a small smile. “It says on your resume your employment with Brookwood Financial Holdings ended just last week?” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

I licked my lips and nodded. “Yes, unfortunately it did.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“It says here you were only there for about two months. Can you let me know the reason for the short employment?”

I shifted on the seat a little uncomfortably, knowing that as soon as she found out I’d been fired this interview would be over. She’d probably give me this condescending smile and tell me she’d be in touch.

“Well, as much as I enjoyed the position, my employer, Mr. Brookwood, let me go.” My voice was tight at the end, strained.

She didn’t say anything right away, but I could see in her expression she already knew this. She’d probably already contacted them to find out my work history and why I’d left, which meant she wanted to see what I had to say about it. She wanted to see if I’d be honest and admit I got fired.

And I was pretty sure the only reason I was sitting here right now for this interview was because she’d found out about me being fired after the interview had been scheduled.

“So they let you go?” Why she would ask when I knew she was aware? Was this like some kind of sadistic play?

I smoothed my hands down my pencil skirt and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”

“May I ask the reason for them letting you go?”

I brought up my stay calm and act like your shit doesn’t stink attitude. “There was a scheduling error, and Mr. Brookwood wasn’t happy about that.”

She nodded slowly. “I see.” She started lookingat my resume again. “Okay, well we have a few other interviews lined up, but we’ll be sure to keep in contact.”

And just like that, I was denied. But I plastered on a fake-as-hell smile and stood, shaking her hand, thanking her, and leaving her office.

Once I was on the sidewalk outside the building, I closed my eyes, wanting to scream. I was so damn frustrated. This was the second interview. And both of them had given me the same look, the same “we’ll be in contact” spiel once they’d found out I’d been fired from Brookwood Financial Holdings.

“Do you want me to come over and help you get ready?” Michael said from the other end of the phone.

I was currently bent over with my head nearly in the fridge as I looked for that last can of Dr. Pepper I knew was in here. I needed the caffeine. Well, honestly, I needed something a lot stiffer than a can of pop, but I was fresh out of the hard stuff.

“No, because I’m not even going to try tonight, if I’m being honest.” I pushed the jar of pickles to the side and spied the brownish can. “Ah-ha! There you are, you little bitch.”

“You talking to yourself again, Olive?”

I shut the fridge and started laughing. “No, I found my last Dr. Pepper, which makes my day marginally better.” I heard some shuffling on the other end of the phone. “What are you doing tonight?” I could hear David in the background, his voice muffled.

“We’re just staying in, ordering pizza, watching some horror movie David picked out.” A moment of silence passed. “Hey, if the date doesn’t pan out, you can always swing by and join us for a late movie.”

I popped the cap of my DP and brought it to my mouth, taking a long drink. “The way my week has been going, I’m sure the date will be a bust, so I might take you up on that offer.”

“Don’t you have one more interview?” Michael asked, and I exhaled over-dramatically.

I took another sip from the can and turned around to lean against the counter.

“Yeah, but in less than two weeks, I lost my job, got three interviews, failed two of them, and am going on a blind date. Only good thing that came out of all this was the fact that I got a month’s severance from my fucking ex-boss, and I found the last Dr. Pepper in my fridge. ”

Michael burst out laughing. “Hey, there’s always that silver lining, right?”

I shrugged even though I knew Michael couldn’t see me.

“Besides, the date tonight might be really incredible.” There was Michael again, always optimistic even in the crappiest times.

“Have you actually seen David’s brother?”

Michael cleared his throat. “I mean, I’ve seen pictures. Like, older pictures, but still. He couldn’t have changed that much. He’s not bad-looking.”

I snorted at that. “Not bad-looking” usually meant he wasn’t good-looking at all.

“Pope’s successful and nice, and I’m sure you guys will hit it off. But like I said, if you don’t, well, you’re still getting a meal at your favorite place.”

I exhaled slowly and finished off my pop before tossing the can in the recycling bin. “Yeah, I guess. I should probably get ready though.”

“Okay, but you tell me the moment you’re home and how it all went.”

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah. You’ll be the first to know how much it sucked.”

Michael chuckled. “You’re so dramatic.”

“I know it.” I hung up the phone and set it on the counter then just stood there for a moment. The burger joint wasn’t anything fancy, so I didn’t have to worry about dressing to impress, which was a little bit of weight off my shoulders.

It had been a long time since I’d been on an actual date, so not having to worry about prepping and primping was always a plus. But still, maybe Michael was right. Maybe Pope would exceed all my expectations and make this crappy week turn out to be pretty incredible.

I wouldn’t hold my breath though.