The Job Offer - By Eleanor Webb Page 0,7
of old jeans and a tee shirt with the Superman logo on the front. He still sported his slightly shy expression behind his wire rimmed glasses, but his hazel eyes were warm with welcome. Anne noticed that he was getting a slight paunch around the middle, and his blond hair was receding slightly. Anne decided that there was nothing really exceptional physically about him. But Gary had a keen mind and a wicked, offbeat sense of humor that complimented Carla to a T. Perhaps the thing that struck Anne the most about Gary was that he had a loving expression whenever he looked at his wife. For that reason alone, Anne had always liked him.
While Gary took care of grilling steaks, Carla and Anne worked together in the kitchen pulling together a salad and broiling vegetables. They decided to eat outside at the table and enjoy the warm evening. Anne watched the easy manner between Carla and Gary and thought about how nice it would be to be married to your best friend. Her mother and Jim had that same ease between them. Anne smiled happily at Carla and Gary who, at times, seemed oblivious to anyone other than each other. Then looking out at the back yard and the late sun, Anne thought that a sunny day and great friends were the perfect way to welcome her back to the Seattle area. Getting the new job would make her trip complete.
* * * * *
Monday morning dawned with the promise of a day as equally beautiful as the day before, and Anne finished getting ready for her interview by running through all possible questions and her answers over a cup of coffee and a bagel. Then after stowing her suitcase and new clothing in the trunk of her rental car, she made her way up Interstate 405 to the Highway 520 exchange and headed east to Redmond. She did not bother playing with the radio station but, instead, listened to the NPR station someone had previously programmed in. Traffic was light due to missing the morning rush hour, and she made good time as she drove and listened to the morning news report. About two miles after merging onto Highway 520, she saw the exit for the frontage road she would need to take and followed it until she reached the campus for Stanford Enterprises a few blocks away.
The Stanford Enterprises campus consisted of a large two story red brick building with two white concrete buildings located behind it, flanking it like raised wings. The sweeping campus was covered with mature maple and pine trees and had several large grassy areas, a small parking lot in front of the red building, and a larger parking lot located in back between the two concrete buildings. A well maintained shrub and flower garden filled with azalea and potentilla bushes, blue lobelia, red impatiens, purple and white petunias, red astilbes, and several other annuals Anne could not name followed the sidewalk that led to the front door of the red brick building from the smaller parking lot. She parked her rental in one of the Visitor Parking spots in the lot and looked at the dashboard clock before locking her vehicle and following the sidewalk to the main door. With fifteen minutes to spare, she entered Building One, the red brick building, and checked in at the reception desk. Then she excused herself and went to the Ladies' room to freshen up her hair and makeup and attempt to calm her racing heart.
Her reflection did not reveal any of her nervousness but, instead, showed a woman who was calm and collected. Her long curly dark brown hair that she had put up in a neat French twist that morning still held. This should not have surprised Anne because it was so covered in product that a hurricane would not let loose a strand. But it did. She said a quick "thank you" to the god of good hair days for keeping her hair looking neat. Her white silk shell showed a few wrinkles from the seat belt, so she buttoned up her blue suit jacket to hide them. Her light blue eyes were bright and alert not showing any effects from the sleepless night she had experienced due to her nervousness over the interview and sleeping in a strange bed. At least she looked good, she thought, as she touched up her lipstick and powdered her nose.
When she was finished she went