“MR. EVANS? I’ll show you to the conference room now.”
“Thank you, Tracie.” I smiled at the receptionist. The young woman with short and spiky black hair was an excellent first impression of Aurora Advertising. She was stylish and friendly with a bubbly voice. I was a stranger to everyone in this town, but she made me feel welcome instantly.
I stood up from my chair and buttoned my suit jacket as I followed her down a short corridor. When we reached the conference room door, Tracie turned to me.
“May I offer you anything to drink? Water? Or coffee perhaps?”
“Water would be wonderful. Thanks again.”
She gestured to the doorway and I stepped into the room. Tracie followed, and walked toward a small counter in the back corner. There were only two other people seated at the large conference table—an older man and a younger woman. The man I recognized as the owner and current CEO of the agency, Robert Brighton. He rose from his seat, dominating my attention. He made his way over to me, extending his hand in greeting.
“Welcome to Oregon, Mr. Evans.”
“Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Brighton. It’s an amazing place.”
“You have a pick of empty seats here. Please take whichever one you’d like.”
The table was long, and the space was large, so I chose to occupy the empty chair next to Robert. My back was to the window and my spot was directly across from the unfamiliar woman, who was too busy taking notes to look up. I unbuttoned my suit coat and prepared to sit down.
“Here you are, Mr. Evans. Is there anything else I can get for you?” Tracie delivered a glass of water, complete with a fresh slice of lemon.
“No, thank you. This is great.”
“You’re welcome.”
The receptionist closed the door behind her, and I turned to look at the mystery woman in the room. She had yet to say a word and left me wondering how much influence she might have in who was hired. I was uncertain if I should go ahead and sit down, but when Robert returned to his chair, I followed his lead. I placed my hands on the table and waited for the job interview to begin.
“Allow me to introduce Kathleen,” Robert said. “I’ve asked her to sit in on the conversation.”
I glanced from Robert to the woman who now had a name.
She paused her note-taking and nodded politely. “Hello, Mr. Evans.” Her voice was soft and pleasant. She had long, golden hair that absorbed the incoming sunshine. Her face was hidden from view either from a bashful nature or a preoccupation with her notes.
“Hello, Kathleen.”
I decided she was Robert’s administrative assistant. As he launched into the interview, I gave him my attention and we fell into a comfortable discussion as he tested my various skill sets. We spoke for twenty minutes before he turned to look at the woman across from me. She had been so quiet I’d forgotten she was there.
“Kathleen?”
She abruptly halted her note-taking and looked at Robert.
“Why don’t you ask Jack a question?”
Surprised with his curveball, I shifted toward her and waited for what was next.
A faint blush appeared across her cheeks. She appeared flustered by Robert’s request. Maybe she wasn’t prepared to ask me anything. It was a potentially awkward test for us both. I decided that no matter what she asked of me, I wouldn’t take offense at her lack of preparation. Instead, I was more curious about what had motivated Robert’s impulsiveness.
Maybe it’s a West Coast thing.
Kathleen set her pen down and leaned back in her seat, raising her head up and away from her notes for the first time since the interview began. She made eye contact and her sparkling green gaze distracted me. In addition to their vibrant color, her eyes held both astuteness and true femininity.
She’s pretty. The thought flashed unbidden through my brain, but I’d been married long enough to tune such frequencies down.
“You live in Baltimore now?” she asked me.
Easy question. Easy answer.
“Yes.”
“Are you from Maryland?” she pressed.
She should have been able to figure that out from my résumé. She must not have seen it. I couldn’t decide what her role was in this interview, and until I could, I was going to answer her inquiries with minimal detail. “Not originally, but I’ve been there for almost ten years.”
“Are you from the Pacific Northwest?” she prodded just a bit further.
If these questions had been coming from anyone else, I would have begun fidgeting with impatience. However, we were both improvising this part of the interview, and I couldn’t deny that I was enjoying this game of twenty questions. The tender lilt of the woman’s voice was soothing.
“No. This is my first time out here.”
“Why now? Why Bend?” she asked.
Suddenly I perceived a deeper reasoning for her geographic inquiry. As I began to formulate my response, she offered up her own theory.
“I think Portland or Seattle would be more appealing to you.”
“You do?” I asked. “Why do you think that?”
She studied my face before she regarded my chest with her green eyes. There was something intimate in the way she studied me. I reached for my glass of lemon water, enjoying her contemplation.
“You look a bit too polished for life in a mill town.”
I should have taken her remark as a compliment, but coming from Kathleen it stung.
“Bend is much more than a mill town these days,” Robert said, startling me.
As soon as I heard the reproach in his voice, I forgot my disappointment from Kathleen’s conclusion. His tone was disproportionately harsh. My knee-jerk reaction was to speak up and defend her, but I managed to hold both my tongue and my poker face.
I took another sip of water, hoping it would cool my rising temper. As I did, I watched Kathleen and saw she was staring right back at me, unfazed. She completely ignored Robert, her attention set on me. I was impressed by this glimmer of her inner strength. She hadn’t reacted to her boss’s chastisement, and I realized that she was both intuitive and disciplined.
I set my glass back down on the table as I debated how to answer her. I was having personal problems, but I wasn’t about to disclose my marriage woes in a job interview.
“Sometimes… it’s good to make a change.”
The answer was evasive. I was nervous and stalling.
“Bend is very different from Baltimore,” she pressed.
“Yes, it is. In this case, I think Bend may be choosing me. I’m not set on moving to any one place. The opening just appeared at the same time I decided that my life needed something new.”
“So, you’d basically go anywhere? Bend isn’t so special after all?”
Fuck. Walked right into that one.
Kathleen had put me on the spot, but rightfully so. Now I was in the position of convincing both my potential boss and this woman why their home city was an exciting possibility.
“Bend has many attractions,” I began. “The outdoors, for example. The opportunity to enjoy the high desert, or the mountains. My family could use some time away from city life.”
Robert connected with my response and resumed the interview. He was telling me the story of how he’d moved his family business from Portland and the advantages that had resulted from his decision. The story was interesting, and I hoped that Kathleen would contribute more, but she had apparently served her purpose. Robert never gave her another thought, and she went back to her note-taking without missing a beat.
When my allotted time was up, the three of us rose from our seats. I reached across the table to shake Kathleen’s hand.
“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Evans.”
“Likewise, and please, call me Jack.”
She nodded and offered a friendly smile that illuminated her entire face. “Have a safe trip home, Jack.”