Love and Other Crisis | Season 1

Episode | 3

Kaliope stared at her phone on the bathroom counter as she brushed her teeth, daring it to ring or chime. Email, text message, phone call. Anything. She sent out half a dozen resumes in the past week. Was it too soon to expect a callback? It wasn't her first time scouring the job market, but this time felt different.

You'll be lucky if you ever find another job in this city again. Be nice, and I might forgive you.

She hadn't applied to any big firm, so perhaps it wasn't because Larry meddled.

With your brains, talents, and drive, working in some small nondescript firm will be like a shark swimming in a fish tank.

Kaliope spat out the toothpaste. Rinsed her mouth.

"More like a shark circling the drain."

Kaliope slipped closer and closer to insanity, unaccustomed to unlimited free time. She needed to be doing something. But every day fell into the same mundane routine.

Wake up, eat breakfast, sulk, and vegetate until evening. Kick and punch things at the gym because Larry's smug face wasn't an option. Pick up dinner at her favorite restaurant while skillfully dodging the flirtatious advances of the owner because romantic entanglements were not on her menu. Head home, vegetate on the sofa watching tv, consume an ungodly amount of ice, and sleep. It was monotonous and blindingly dull.

She was considering the pros and cons of a voluntary lobotomy over a tub of chunky monkey for breakfast when her phone chimed. A text message. She scrutinized the phone briefly, not wanting to get her hopes up.

Text message: Good morning, Ms. Barnes. You're invited for a job interview at Sage Towers Consul—

Kaliope gaped. Sage Tower Consultancy? She bolted upright, discarding her ice cream on the coffee table to read the message. Sage Tower was the country's number one crisis management and public relations firm. She slapped a hand to her forehead, hardly believing her luck. Then it hit her...

"Wait. I never applied for a position." Of course, she'd dreamed about applying, but the application process was grueling. Of the hundreds of candidates who applied each year, maybe two or three made it onto the payroll.

Was it a scam? The message said the interview was at noon, in three hours. Would they send such a last-minute message? And again, she never applied for a position. How did they get her information? There was a closing notice for her to call the number if she had any questions.

"Hell, yes, I have questions." Kaliope dialed the number. Two rings and a woman answered. "Hello, yes. This is Kaliope Barnes. I received a message about an interview at Sage Tower today at noon."

"Yes. Ms. Barnes. Our apologies for the late notice. Will you be able to make it? We can reschedule for another time if that's more convenient."

Kaliope pursed her lips. It was only possible to prove if the woman was actually from the company if she showed up and the security turned her away.

"Ms. Barnes?"

She started at her name. "I'm...I never applied—"

The woman laughed. The sound was as bright and playful as her speaking voice. "Think of it as an impromptu recruitment. We look forward to meeting you."

"Ah. Yeah. Yes. I'll be there."

Too stunned for complete thoughts, Kaliope neglected to ask the woman her name. She remained slack-jawed, her thoughts swirling so quickly it was hard for her to follow them. They all circled into one simple sentence.

Sage Tower Consultancy was recruiting her.

Reality torpedoed her shock, and she dashed for the shower. She wrangled her mop of brown curls into a low bun. Dressed in emerald green high-waist dress pants and a beige collared, long-sleeved, buttoned blouse, Kaliope examined herself in the mirror. She skipped the makeup. Donned simple nob earrings and necklace.