Job Hunt
1853 Words
Avery
“Damn,” I curse as I stare at yet another rejection email. I have been home for a couple of weeks now and have been trying my best to find a job to help my mother and siblings keep the house. I was able to finish school before leaving, so now I have a degree that isn’t going anywhere.
“Avery?” Mom walks into the living room where I am sitting.
My twin sisters are watching a new Netflix show.
“I think she was rejected again,” Amanda says.
“Amanda,” Mom hisses.
“She’s right,” I speak up. “Another rejection.”
“You will find something,” Mom sighs.
“Yeah, but in the meantime, we have a deadline to meet or- “
“Avery, I wish you wouldn’t worry about that,” Mom says.
“You are my mother,” I say. “Of course, I worry.”
She smiles softly and kisses the top of my head, “Your father would be so proud of you.”
“I doubt it,” I mutter.
The doorbell rings, and we all jump. Mom stands to answer it. Seconds later, I heard Cynthia’s bright voice greeting my mother. Then her two kids, Luke and Chloe, run into the living room.
“Hi, Amanda, Kaitlyn,” Chloe flops on the floor beside my sisters.
“Is Jayden here?” Luke asks.
“I think so,” I say as my little cousin runs to go bother my brother.
“Avery,” Cynthia comes into the room with Mom. “I am sorry for dropping in, but I wanted to tell you in person.”
“What?” I ask.
“There is an opening at my job, and I told my boss about you,” She explains. “He says you can apply, and he’ll look at your application right away.”
“What kind of job?” I ask.
“It’s just a secretary for one of the executives, but you can do it,” She grins.
“I guess,” I say. “I have a degree in office management.”
“See? I know it’s not much, but they pay really well,” Cynthia explains.
“You did just go on that trip to Italy,” I mention.
“Exactly,” She grins. “So? Should I tell Steve to expect you tomorrow?”
I look at my mother, who gives me a hopeful smile. “Yeah,” I say. “I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Now, it will just be an interview at first, but I am pretty sure Steve will hire you,” Cynthia says.
“Thank you for doing this, Cynthia,” Mom tells her.
“Oh, it’s my pleasure, Aunt Sally,” Cynthia grins.
“Leave me alone,” I hear Jayden yell as Luke comes running down the hall.
“What did you do?” Cynthia asks.
“I just wanted to play his PS5,” Luke pouts.
“Well, we have to get going anyways,” Cynthia tells her son. “I’ll give Steve your number, alright?”
“Fine,” I nod and hug her. I ruffle Luke’s hair. “Stay out of trouble, Luke.”
“Come on, Chloe,” Cynthia calls to her daughter. “Bye, everyone,” she waves while corralling her children out of the house.
I sit back on the couch to text my best friend, Sean. A few minutes later, the phone rings, and I step into the kitchen to answer it, “Hello.”
“Is this Avery Anderson?” A deep male voice asks me.
“Yes,” I reply.
“I am Steven Carr or Steve,” He replies. “Your cousin Cynthia Meyer told me about you.”
“Yes,” I say. “She did.”
“Are you still looking for a job?” Steve asks.
“Yes,” I reply more enthusiastically than I meant to.
Steve laughs, “Okay, your cousin highly recommended you. Even so, I would like to conduct an interview. Can you be here tomorrow at nine a.m.? I will text you the address.”
“Yes, I can be there,” I say as I cross my fingers.
“Good, then that is all we have for now,” Steve says. "Have a good day, Ms. Anderson.” He concludes and hangs up. Seconds later, I get a text with the address and other instructions.
My eyes bug out when I look up the address. “Emerson Industries,” I mutter to myself.
“What about Emerson Industries?” Mom asks as she walks into the kitchen.
“That’s where I am going for an interview tomorrow,” I say, and Mom slams a cabinet door shut.
“You can’t go there, Avery,” she says.
“What? I need a job, Mom,” I huff.
“Not there,” she shakes her head. “Please don’t go.”
“What’s wrong with it? Cynthia works there,” I say.
“Please,” She pleads. “I just lost Trenton. I can’t lose you too.”
“I’m not going to die, Mom,” I say.
She shakes her head, “Avery.”
“Mom, what is wrong?” I insist on an answer.
She stares at me momentarily, “Look, promise me that if there is trouble, you will leave, okay?”
“Okay, Mom,” I narrow my eyes. “I promise. But what is wrong?”
“Promise me, Avery,” she says again in a firmer tone.
“Mom, I promise.”
She wraps her arm around me, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I say slowly.
Mom shakes her head and rushes out of the kitchen, leaving me confused.
“What’s wrong with Mom?” Jayden asks a few seconds later.
“I don’t know,” I shrug.
My brother pokes his head into the fridge, “What’s for dinner?”
“Spaghetti,” I respond.
Jayden grunts as he pulls a slice of cheese out and devours it, “Cool.”
I sigh and text Cynthia. While waiting for my cousin to respond, I get started on dinner. While the food is cooking, I look up Emerson Industries. I see nothing negative about them, but I do see some articles about the mysterious nature of the CEO. My heart thrums when I see his picture.
“He’s cute,” Amanda remarks from behind me while looking over my shoulder.
“Dammit, Amanda,” I huff. “I could have been looking at porn.”
She rolls her eyes, “Is dinner almost ready?”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Do you want to set the table for me and tell the others?”
“Sure,” my sister shrugs.
Mom joins us for dinner and starts talking to my siblings like nothing happened between us. “Did you get your history project done, Jayden?”
“It’s almost done,” Jayden says. “I just have to print out a few things.”
“Kaitlyn, do you have everything you need for soccer tomorrow?” She asks.
I zone out while she is talking. I look at my phone and send a few messages to my best friend, Sean. He seems excited for me to have an interview but seems cautious, like Mom.
After dinner, the twins help me clean up, and then I retreat to my bedroom. I lie on my bed, still texting Sean, before deciding to put the phone away to sleep. The following day, I get up, shower, and put on my best pair of slacks and a blue blouse. I brush my shoulder-length brown hair and put a headband in it.
“I wish you would reconsider,” Mom says as I walk towards the door.
“It will be okay, Mom,” I reassure her. “Trust me.”
She takes a deep breath, “Good luck.”
I kiss her cheek and walk out of the house. I get in the family van and head for the interview. It takes about twenty minutes to get there, and I manage to find parking along the busy city street. The tower looms above me as I look up at it. Something about it gives me a strange feeling, though. It dissipates as I walk in, and a tall, thin man comes forward to greet me.
“Are you Avery Anderson?” He asks in a familiar voice.
“Steve?” I ask, and he nods.
“Yes,” He smiles warmly. “Right this way,” He gestures and leads me past security into an elevator.
“This is a nice place,” I say.
Steve nods but says nothing.
The elevator opens, and he leads me down a hall of offices and into one.It’s a standard office with a desk and filing cabinets. He directs me to sit in front of the desk. I dig out my resume and set it on the desk.
Steve takes his seat and picks up a pen, “Okay, Ms. Anderson,” He grabs my resume. “This looks good.” He sets it down. “So, you have some office experience?”
“I interned at the Holland Group while in college,” I state.
“Oh, that’s a good firm,” he mutters. "And you have open availability?”
“Yes,” I nod. “I will take anything.”
“Don’t worry; we are a pretty standard 9-to-5 office here,” he says, "though some overtime may be expected.”
“Okay, I can do that,” I say.
Steve spends another ten minutes asking me questions. At one point, he freezes and looks at the door. I turn to see what he is looking at, but nothing is there. “Everything looks good,” he says. “I will let you know within a few days.”
“Okay, thank you,” I say as I stand up.
“Do you need help to exit the building?” He asks.
“No, I think I have it figured out,” I say as I grab my purse. “Thank you again.” Steve nods and turns his attention to his computer. I rush out of the office and down the hall. “What is that smell?” I wonder as I detect something akin to a campfire as I approach the elevator. As I am exiting the building I see the man from the internet picture staring at me. Or at least I think he is staring at me. He looks away when he notices me looking, too. I sigh and head outside to the van and head for home.
Two days later, Steve called to tell me that they had decided to hire me. “You start tomorrow at eight a.m. Meet me in the same place you did the other day.”
“Oh, thank you so much, Steve,” I say and hang up the phone.
- Writer
