More Than Love (NG3)

22 - Interview

Reed attempted to keep his distance from his father, but every time he turned around, he tried to talk to him. It was hard to ignore Davis when he approached him as the boss. Reed felt guilty every time he thought about the resumes he had sent.

He told Sasha about the resumes when he finally woke up. She teased him like he was a teenager. At eighteen and nineteen, he felt fine after drinking four beers on the beach. He remembered giving two to Lilli before he decided hitting on her would be a horrible idea. Especially since she would probably shoot him down. There was no way a girl with legs like hers wouldn't have guys hitting on her all the time. She worked in downtown Boston and probably had drinks with lawyers and other hotshots every day after work. Reed worked in the suburbs and after work, drinks never happened. Besides, there were no trendy bars, like in town.

Sasha paused before responding. "It can't hurt to see what's out there. Is that why you drank last night?"

He groaned. "I drank like I used to, and apparently no longer can." He studied her. "What's going on with you? Are you seeing someone?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I haven't met anyone new in a long time."

He resisted asking about his father's newest relationship.

A week after he sent out the resumes, Davis tried to take him to dinner on Friday night.

"Where's your newest babe?"

Davis laughed. "Babe. I have never called a woman babe with my clothes on."

"Seriously, you are still my father."

"Fine, but I haven't seen anyone since I ended things with Carley months ago."

"You aren't acting like single Davis."

"I don't know why you say that."

"Last Friday, you ran out of here."

"I had plans. I met friends for dinner."

Reed stared at him in disbelief. "Friends?"

"Yes, I have friends. What's with the twenty questions? Do you want me to buy you dinner or not?"

"I'll pass. I have to finish up Sasha's lasagna before it goes bad."

Davis' eyes grew wide. "Do you have enough for two?"

"Sorry. Have a good weekend. I'm heading to the beach in the morning."

He might have lied about the lasagna, but Davis lied about his dinner date. He went home and tried not to think of Laney with his old man.

The following week, a firm contacted him for a screening interview. The human resource manager said they were pleased to see he had commercial experience. He wouldn't leave his father to design more office buildings.

A week later, a local residential builder asked him to come in for an interview. At least, it would be houses, although the work would most likely be customizing existing plans. He told his father he had a meeting with his own contractor. Reed cringed, because if Davis wasn't dating he would be in his 'work takes priority' mood. Reed had worked enough overtime to take every Friday afternoon off for the rest of the summer.

It wasn't until he was on his way to the interview that it occurred to him he had never had to interview for a job. Even though he suspected the job wasn't what he wanted, he suddenly felt very nervous. He arrived at a building that was built to look like a house. At least it wasn't a typical rectangle box.

He hadn't expected to meet with a woman. It was a family business, but the middle-aged woman ran things. His interview kept being interrupted by phone calls. He listened as she troubleshooted everything from delayed supplies to a misplaced window. Each time the phone rang, she said, "Sorry, my foreman."