Searching for Mr. Darcy

Scene Eighty-Three

Maisie spent the rest of the weekend researching the USHA, its causes, and current fundraisers.  By the time she walked into the Cary office, she was prepared to answer any question they asked about the Heart Health 5K, the Open Heart Masquerade Ball, or heart disease statistics.

Another candidate waited in the lobby, anxiously fiddling with his watch as she took a seat beside him.  "They're running behind," he told her.

"Oh yeah?"

"My interview was scheduled for 9:30."

Maisie glanced at her phone: 9:45.  "Guess that doesn't bode well for us."

"What - why?"

"They must like the person they're interviewing right now to go fifteen extra minutes with them."

"I didn't think of that."  He began tapping his heal against the leg of his chair.

"Don't worry about it.  I'm sorry I said anything."

"Are you trying to psych out the competition?" he asked.  The grin on his face told her he was joking.  She was glad, because it was a very handsome face, and some flirting would help pass the time while they waited.

"Oh, absolutely.  All's fair in love and unemployment."

He laughed and extended his hand.  "I'm James Connelly."

"Maisie Frampton."  They shook, and Maisie inwardly delighted that he had both a firm handshake, and didn't break contact quickly.

"Unemployed, huh?" he asked.

"Recently.  I had to leave my last position."

"Because...?"

She cocked her head to the side.  "We just met."

"Fair enough."

"What about you?" she asked.

"Still employed, but looking for a new opportunity.  I've climbed the ladder as high as it goes, so to speak."

"Gotcha.  I would say good luck, but I think I need it more than you."

He laughed again.  "Don't go making me like you, I won't be able to subtly undermine you during my interview."

Maisie leaned forward, as if to tell him a secret.  "If you lower the expectations it's much easier for me to go in and wow them."

"You have an answer for everything."

"I'm more than just a pretty face, James."

"I guess so."

The door across the hall opened and two women stepped out.  The taller of the two appeared to be the interviewee, as she was thanking the shorter woman for the opportunity.  She was the kind of beautiful woman Maisie hated to admit she was intimidated by.  Her designer suit was perfectly tailored, her hair appeared to have been on the receiving end of a salon blow out.  She smiled at James and Maisie as she passed them.

"Don't worry," she said.  "They were all extremely nice and professional."  It was addressed more to James than Maisie, but Maisie appreciated it all the same.

The shorter woman beckoned to James, so he stood and buttoned his jacket.

"Good luck," Maisie said.  He turned back and flashed her a pearly white smile even the fifth dentist would approve of.

After a few minutes of sitting and doing nothing, Maisie got out her phone and scrolled through Facebook.  Her Darcy page notifications had dropped off significantly - there was only one.

She clicked on it and nearly dropped her phone when the post came onto the screen.  It was a link to an article on Yahoo! - a follow-up to her interview, apparently, though she hadn't been contacted for comment.

Bastian had spoken with Priyanka and given an exclusive interview about Maisie's "scam" to sleep with hot men and swindle free meals and fancy dates out of them.  He described how after they slept together, she'd dropped him like a bad habit and said she'd gotten everything she wanted from him.  He wanted other men not to "fall for her shit."

Maisie nearly crushed the phone in her hand.  She absolutely did not need to be fuming when they called her in for the interview, but until she responded, it would color her entire day red.

She copied the link and pasted it into a new email to Priyanka.  "I see you didn't even bother to verify facts or contact me for comment on this article.  If you had, you'd find it was completely false.  I paid for half of the dates I went on with Bastian, and all the other men I met through this process.  I can provide receipts if you'd like.  I also did not sleep with Bastian, though it certainly would have been within my rights to do so as long as we both consented, and based on what happened to cause me to stop seeing him, he would have consented.  Bastian, in fact, lied to me about his profession, his financial security, his house, and his feelings for me.  When I asked why, he said it was because it was more fun that way.

"I'd appreciate if you would include my comments, which are the correct version of what happened with myself and Bastian, as either a separate article or an update to the one linked here."

She saved the draft and read it over.  Part of her really wanted to send it as it was, but the other part thought it would probably be best not to respond at all.  She knew the truth.  Her friends knew the truth.  She'd been planning on deleting the page anyway.  This new article had three comments on it, and it certainly hadn't driven new people to the page.  It was probably best to just leave it.

She closed her mail app, feeling better just having written it.  She could always decide later whether or not to send it.

The door across the hall opened again.  James and his brilliant smile stepped out.  He shook the short woman's hand and waved to Maisie as he headed to the exit.  "Nice to meet you," he said.

"You, too."

"Come on in, Maisie," the woman said.

Maisie gave one more quick smile to James, then took a deep breath as she stood and straightened her skirt.