Worlds Apart

Chapter 5

 Max sat as proper and professional as she could in what was probably the world's comfiest armchair, however despite her attempts at keeping herself still, she couldn't help the slight bouncing of her leg.

She wasn't being impatient, no, she was trying to keep her nerves at bay, and having her leg practically vibrate seemed to be the only thing that would do the trick. Besides, it wasn't as if there was anyone around to judge her at that moment. As long as she didn't actually do that in the interview, she figured she was safe.

The Stark Industries Headquarters building was just as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. Well, at least that she'd seen so far - which was only the lobby. The whole design felt very modern - as modern as 2009 could get anyway - and the whole building gave off this sort of vibe like you were less important than it. Maybe that was just because of the significance this building had for her in particular, but either way, stepping in through the front doors had immediately made her feel three times smaller.

She knew couldn't let whoever was interviewing her see that, however. Even if she had to channel her inner theatre kid - despite not having done theatre since she was about eleven years old - she would find a way to put on the world's greatest poker face, even if it killed her. Her outfit definitely helped her look more confident, she felt. She had purchased a really nice - and reasonably priced - suit just for this occasion, along with a pair of one-inch heels and a watch. The watch being a knockoff, of course. All of that plus the tan business folder with her resume and a few other papers inside really gave the illusion that she was a professional and had maybe done this before, so she was hoping that if all else failed, her appearance would let her potential employer know that she wasn't incompetent.

In all honesty, Max had never interviewed before. Well, not to this level, anyways. She never had to. She'd had a couple of small retail jobs when she was a teenager, but those were part time, and the interviews were fairly casual since most of the people applying to those types of jobs were teenagers. She hadn't worked since she started college, and the last time she'd applied for a job she was seventeen, so either way it had been a while since she'd had any practice with this sort of thing.

"Ms. Bowen?" she heard her name being called.

Sitting herself up a little bit straighter, Max forced her leg to stop bouncing and turned her attention towards the direction of the voice. "Yes?"

"Hi, my name is William Lyman - I'm the head of the cybersecurity department and I'll be conducting your interview today," the man introduced himself as Max stood up from her seat. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you on back and we can get started."

Max shot him a friendly smile and gladly followed him further into the building. They continued along a corridor until finally, he ushered her into what seemed to be a small conference room. The two of them took a seat at the table, Max placing her folder neatly in front of her.

"So," William began, readying his pencil to begin taking notes. "First thing's first - tell me a little bit about yourself."

"Well, as you saw from my application, I'm an M.I.T. graduate with an MS in computer science," Max explained, and she watched as William started scribbling down some notes. "I started programming in the fifth grade, and ever since then it's become my life's passion. It was in my sophomore year of high school that I decided I wanted to go more into cybersecurity, but I still do some side programming projects here and there for both myself and my close friends and family."

"So I also see here in your application that you've been working at Microsoft since last May, why are you leaving that job? And why for Stark Industries?" he asked her.

"Well, to be honest, Stark Industries has always kind of been the goal for me," she said, saying her lines exactly as she'd rehearsed them. "I've always admired and been interested in the work that goes on here, and I'm sort of a science nerd, so I've had my eye on this place for years. When I accepted my job at Microsoft it was because I'd been interning there already, so it was the safe option. I don't know, I suppose I just decided that I didn't want to play it safe anymore, and I submitted my application here to see if you'd even be interested in me - which I'm honored that you have."

"What would you say are your greatest strengths?" William asked.

"Definitely my attention to detail and ability to get things done under pressure," Max nodded, with a small smile, which, surprisingly to her, was relatively genuine at this point. She was starting to find that the longer she talked, the more her nerves seemed to calm themselves, so it wasn't as much of a struggle to keep her voice from wavering or her legs from bouncing all over the place.

"And what about your greatest weaknesses?" he asked.

"Uh... I would probably have to say my ability to delegate how much work I can actually handle," she said. "But I've really been trying to work on that by being more self-aware and being more willing to say no if I really feel that the work is too much to take on. It's taking a little while for me to get used to it, but it's getting there."

"That's good," William said. "Now, tell me, where do you see yourself in five years?"

"In an ideal world I'd like to head of cybersecurity for a big technological company like Stark Industries, though realistically I know it'll probably take longer than five years to get there," Max told him.

"You never know," William shrugged. "It's always good to aim high. Because if you believe you can do it, so will everyone else around you."

Max smiled - it was a good sentiment, after all.

"What did you like most about your last job?" William continued his questioning.

"I really liked that it gave me the opportunity to keep my hacking skills a bit fresher. I used to dabble in that sort of stuff in high school, but once college came around I didn't really have time to use it all that much. And it was nothing illegal, of course," Max lied. In fact, most of the hacking she did do was illegal, but William didn't need to know that, and it's not like there was any evidence in this universe that she had.

"Tell me, why do you think we should hire you?" William asked, pressing the tip of his pencil against his paper.

"Because I'm not only qualified for the job, but this is my passion, so this isn't really work for me, most of the time. I'm a team-player, a hard worker, and I'm very good at what I do," she told him.

"Okay, I think that just about wraps up my questions for you," he said. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"I do," Max nodded. "What does the training process look like?"

"There's a ten-day training period that all new employees in our department go through, where you'll be working side-by-side with one of your co-workers - getting to know our system, our policies, and just the overall view of how we run things, here. At the end of your training period, your trainer will then shadow you to make sure you're getting things okay on your own, and then, assuming all is well, you'll be on your own after that. Well, you'll still be able to work with your co-workers and ask questions, of course, but you'll be on your own in the sense that you won't have anyone assigned to you anymore."

"Okay," Max said. "And who would I be reporting to? Would that be you, or do I have a direct supervisor that's not you?"

"Good question - yes, you'd have a direct supervisor that's not me. Her name is Ashley. You'd be taking all of your general questions, concerns, or reports to her. Obviously, you're still welcome to come to me for any of that, but in general, when possible, most of that should be directed towards her."

"Okay, thanks," Max said. "I think those were the main two things I was really wanting to ask."

"All right," William said. "Listen, Ms. Bowen, I'm going to be honest with you. When I first saw your resume I was very impressed. In fact, you are by far the most qualified applicant we've had so far, and after this interview, I'm positive that you're the right person for the job. So, that being said, I would like to officially offer you a position in our cybersecurity department."

It took everything in her in that moment to not either squeal out in joy and relief or fall out of her chair. Instead, she took a brief moment to compose herself and smiled widely at her new boss.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lyman," she said, as she reached out to shake his hand. "I would gladly like to accept."

William smiled back at her and accepted her gesture by reaching out and grasping her hand to shake it.

"Welcome to the team, Ms. Bowen," he said. "Glad to have you on board."