Comfortable Chaos

Chapter 22 Part 2

I glance around at the office. Everything is so neat and clean. I wonder what I would be doing if I got hired. Another secretary perhaps.

"So," Kim puts on her glasses and picks up my application. "tell me about yourself, Brandi."

I sigh. Here goes nothing. "Well, as you know, my name is Brandi Stewart. I attended Lake Hutton High School. Um. I was on the Volleyball team. I was a straight A student. I'm a quick learner. I get along well with others and I'm looking for a job."

Kim nods. "You don't list anything about a previous work history."

"I haven't. Well, I did have a brief job in a restaurant but I chose not to put that on there."

"Why?"

"It didn't last that long."

Kim leans forward. "Why?"

"It wasn't a good job for me."

"Why wasn't it a good job for you?"

I draw a blank. This interviewing business is harder than I expected. I don't know what to say. I only know that I really want a job and if I don't get one soon, Andre and I might have to move out of our room and sleep in the woods again.

I shake my head and look around the room. Tears threaten to escape my eyes.

Kim must have picked it up. "Hey. Take a deep breath." She models it for me and I follow her example. "Now let it all go." I exhale.

"Do it again," she said.

I inhale and exhale slowly, in attempt to calm myself down. It helps a little.

"Now. I want you to stay relaxed. You're not on trial. I want to get an understanding of what type of work you're looking for and what type of experience you have. Okay?"

I nod.

"Let's try this again. Why wasn't your last job a fit for you? Were the hours too long?"

"No. Actually, I would have loved to have more hours."

"That's good. You wanted to work."

"Absolutely. I mean, I need the money."

"Then, what was it?"

"I had this issue with a customer. She was so mean to me and she talked to my manager and made it seem like it was my fault."

"Would you say that you have problems dealing with customers?"

I shake my head. "No. I never had a problem with a customer before."

"This was a lone incident?"

I nod. "Yes."

Kim leans back in her chair and drops my application back on the desk. "Okay. You say that you're a quick learner. Give me an example of that."

I stare up at the ceiling, trying to think of an example. "When I took math in school, we had a really hard pre-calculus problem and nobody really knew how to do it. I was the first person to figure it out and the teacher let me go up to the front to explain it to everybody else."

Kim smiles and nods. "That's very good, Brandi. Well, let me talk a little bit about this job."

"The ad said Associate, right?"

"Right. Basically, the position is like a hostess. Clients call in or log onto our website. They may need someone to accompany them to an event or dinner with important people or whatever and we meet that need. This position requires discretion, professionalism and a certain amount of, um, decorum."

Listening to Kim talk, I can't help but feel like this position is way out of my league but, like the restaurant position, I want to try. I'm not used to giving up on things so quickly without first giving it a shot.

"I think I can be those things. Do you train?" I asked.

"We do, if we determine that a person is a fit."

"Do you think I'm a fit?"

Kim smiles. "Do you think you're a fit?"

I really hate the way she answers a question with a question. Didn't she know that if I knew I wouldn't be asking her? "I'm not sure but I want to try."

She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms. I can tell she isn't entirely convinced but I need the opportunity so bad. I'm not willing to walk out of the building without being given a chance.

"Can you at least give me a try? A probationary period. I'll do what I can to improve myself. I wanna do a good job. I wanna be like you all."

I can't tell whether I'm winning her over or not. I hope so.

"I'll be honest with you. Can I do that?" Kim asked.

I frown but nod. This doesn't sound like it's going to be good.

"You have a lot less experience than I like to see. I feel that you would require a lot of training and that's time consuming and expensive. You'd be quite green."

I look down at my hands and prepare myself for the walk of shame back to the car with all my hopes and dreams dashed. I don't know how I'm going to make it. What are Andre and I going to do?

"But," Kim sighs. "I like you."

I look up.

"I think you're a sweet girl. I see that you want to work and have a chance to succeed. So, I'll make you a deal."

I clasp my hands together waiting for what she's going to say.

"We'll take you through training for a week to see how it goes. If you make it through that, we'll start by giving you some small assignments. But it will depend on the feedback, I get from the people that train you. Understand?"

I nod enthusiastically. I'm so happy she's giving me a shot that I don't even ask how much it pays. I want to start, prove myself and get to a point where I look like Kim and the secretary.

"That would be great!" I said.

"Okay. First things first. Do you have any other types of clothes?"

"Like what?"

"Ah, anything a little more upscale?"

I shrug. "Not really."

Kim clears her throat. "That's okay. We can fix that." She stands up and presses a button on her phone.

"Mary, block out two hours on my schedule tomorrow," Kim said into the phone.

Kim looks back at me. "We're going to take you shopping tomorrow."

My eyes grow wide. "Really?"

"Um hmm."

"Oh my gosh. This is the coolest birthday ever."

Kim smiled. "Well, happy birthday, honey.

"ROe