place to bring this up but I figure if anything will convince her how seriously I’ll take this job, it’s this. “My mom had a stroke last month and insurance won’t fully cover the cost of her rehab.” I pin her with my most earnest look. “I’m not telling you this because I’m trying to play the sympathy card, but I think you should know the reason I’m no longer willing to just scrape by on a part-time paycheck and ramen noodles while I work on the software I’m trying to develop. I promise you, if you hire me this job will become the second most important thing in my life. And I’m not the kind of person who’d just walk out on someone who took a chance on me.”
Emily nods thoughtfully. “I have to say, I appreciate your candor. I think we’ll leave it there for now.” She offers me a warm smile before getting to her feet. “Thanks for coming in, Will. I still have a couple more applicants to see, but we’ll let you know this weekend whether or not you were successful.”
I nod at her and stick out my hand for her to shake. “I appreciate you taking the time to see me.”
And then I make my way out of her office and back down to the ground floor. As I head out the front doors that lead onto Lexington, I scrub my hands through my hair in frustration, because I know I totally just blew that interview.
* * *
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, loser, will you stop looking so glum?”
I glance up from my drink to offer my other best friend, Mac, a deadpan stare. “Gee, thanks, your affectionate tone has sure helped to cheer me up.”
Mac merely rolls her eyes. “You’re being overdramatic, I’m sure it went fine.”
I shake my head and lift my drink for another sip. “I shouldn’t have mentioned Mom. It was completely unprofessional.”
“I thought you said she was really nice about it?” Mac asks curiously.
I shrug. “Yeah, but it’s not like she was going to be mean when someone says their mom’s just had a stroke.” I set my drink back down and rake a hand through my hair. I haven’t been able to stop berating myself since leaving the interview this afternoon; it was a dumb move, mentioning my mom’s situation. All it did was make me sound like I was the kind of person who would use emotional extortion to get ahead, and that’s not how I want to be perceived.
Mac lets out an annoyed huff and sets her drink down with a loud clunk. Then she steps around the table we’re standing at to grab me fiercely by the shoulders and stare determinedly into my eyes. Usually, I’m at least a head taller than her but she’s wearing boots with a sky-high heel tonight and the effect is a little intimidating. She definitely went all out with her club attire tonight. Between the boots, the tight dress, the red lips, and the way she’s fixed her pink-tipped black hair into a high ponytail, it all screams one thing: she’s looking to dance and hookup tonight. And considering I won’t be doing either of those things with her, it looks like I’ve got about an hour before we go our separate ways. Her to find a girl, or guy—or both—and me home to bed.
“William. Get a fucking grip. If she doesn’t hire you because of that one single slip up then this isn’t somewhere you want to work anyway.”
“I need a job, Mac,” I say, my voice full of the frustration and fatigue I’m feeling after so many unsuccessful interviews.
“And you’ll get one.” She lets go of my shoulders and steps back to the other side of the table. “And look on the bright side—at least if you don’t get this one, you won’t be working for a sexual predator.”
I shake my head, unable to help a soft smile touching my lips. “Sunny assured me that report wasn’t true.”
Mac arches a brow. “And you’re sure her judgment is sound?”
I offer a wry grin. “Where this kind of thing is concerned? Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I think if she thought it were true the next headline we’d be reading would be about the receptionist who stabbed her CEO in the groin with a fork.”
“Yeah, you may have a point there,” Mac concedes. Then she rubs her hands together, anticipation flashing across her face. “Okay, I know what will cheer you