Chapter 9
The deep masculine voice catches Lexi off guard. It takes her a few seconds before she opens her mouth to speak and holds the phone firmly against her ear.
“Good morning, may I please speak to Ms. Alexis Hayes?”
“This is she,” Lexi then answers. “May I know who’s speaking?”
“Hey Alexis,” says the person on the other line. His tone becomes lighter and more enthusiastic. “This is Jack Nicholson from Levi and Strohm Consultants. I’m calling about your application for the marketing associate position.”
The morning after the Fashion Saves gala, Lexi still couldn’t shake off the feeling of being wholly-dependent on Adam. She knew then having sex in public was more of a distraction rather than a solution. Not to say she didn’t enjoy having sex in a garden. That experience is definitely one for the books. Still, it didn’t solve her problems.
That morning after when Adam was brewing coffee for the both of them, she started coming up with ideas on how to resolve her insecurities. That same afternoon, she started applying to a number of jobs online. With her less-than-stellar resume, she honestly didn’t expect anything to come out of the applications. She spoke too soon.
“Oh yes. I saw you had an opening, and the job description suited my skill set,” she says.
“Yes, exactly.” Jack takes a pause before he continues, “That’s why we want to invite you to come in for an interview. Actually, your list of projects impressed us. We want to interview you for a marketing executive position instead. The job entails handling your own accounts and leading a small team. Are you free next week?”
Lexi can feel her eyes widen into saucers and the grin on her face reaching ear to ear. She knows it’s only a preliminary interview, but she wants to jump for joy. This is step one to gaining back her independence and self-esteem – knowing she can impress people with her own skills and talents.
“That sounds interesting,” she says, her voice going a few notches higher than usual. “I’m free to come in Monday, Wednesday, or Friday next week. Anytime in the late afternoon preferably.”
“Great,” Jack then says on the other line. “How about Monday at 4:30 PM? I’ll send you a Google Calendar invite after this call.”
“Monday, 4:30 PM then. Thank you, Mr. Nicholson. I’ll see you then.”
“Jack is fine. See you Alexis.”
When Jack hangs up and Lexi places the phone back in her bag, she can’t stop smiling. There’s no telling if she’ll pass or fail the interview. There’s a bigger possibility that she may not even get the job, especially since they’re interviewing her for a higher position than what she originally applied for. Even though Jack’s impressed with her past projects and responsibilities, that isn’t going to automatically translate into a job offer. Competition is tight, especially with marketing positions, and she knows she has to prepare for the interview. It’s only Thursday and she still has four days before Monday rolls around. That’s more than enough time to practice her interview answers.
“Hey babe…” Adam then says, his head popping out of the doorway. “Can you come in for a second? I need to talk to you regarding my trip next week.”
Lexi nods her head and takes his hand in hers. He closes the door behind them and walks over to his desk at the far end of the room. With the international offices of the company scaling at a fast rate, Adam has numerous business trips booked in the coming weeks, and Lexi’s been taking charge of smoothening the holes and cracks in his schedules.
She swallows the heavy gulp in her throat. Adam has no idea that she’s applied to other jobs. She has no plans of telling him about her interview on Monday. It’s not even a sure thing, and they may give the position to someone else more deserving. She only plans to tell Adam when it’s a sure thing. There’s no reason to worry about his reaction…
For now, she tells him about the itinerary she made for his trip to Hong Kong. She made sure to give him enough time for souvenir shopping.