Page 53 of Eleanor & Grey
Silver linings are back in action.
“Thank you, Susan. Really. That’s more than I deserve.”
“It’s not a problem at all, really.” She sat back in her chair and grinned. “I’m going to need the keys to the house and BMW back now.”
“Oh? I thought the BMW was a goodbye gift,” I joked.
She didn’t laugh this time. She just gave me a tight smile and held her hand out.
Well then.
I handed her the keys, and she stood up from the table after laying down cash for her part of the bill. “OK, well, good luck with everything, Eleanor! I wish you the best. Stay warm out there, and Happy New Year!”
She hurried away, leaving me a bit stunned by how fast everything had unfolded.
I picked up the envelope and opened it to see two twenty-dollar bills sitting inside.
Forty dollars.
She’d given me forty dollars after firing me without any notice.
It really was the least she could do.
I pulled out the forty bucks and placed it on the table to cover my half of the bill, feeling annoyed that, on top of everything, she hadn’t even bought my lunch.
I waved the waitress over and tapped my champagne glass. “We’re gonna need another round of mimosas, stat.”
22Eleanor
I wasn’t good at being interviewed. I never had been. When I was a teenager and had gotten my first babysitting job for Molly, I’d cried my way through it, actuallysobbedin front of Mrs.Lane. She’d patted me on the back, given me a tissue, told me it wasn’t as serious as I was making it out to be, and then said I did a good job. I was fairly sure she’d given me the job only because she’d felt bad for me, mother’s guilt or something.
My interview process for Susan hadn’t been much different, but she’d been only a few months postpartum and a bit delusional, so that had worked in my favor.
Maybe I can cry my way through this one, I thought to myself as I tugged on the bottom of my black skirt.
My thighs were sweaty and rubbing against the folding chair as I sat in the living room of the employer’s home. I didn’t realize the skirt was too short until I’d actually sat down in the chair, and if it had been an inch shorter, I was certain parts that shouldn’t be seen during an interview would’ve been exposed.
I wanted the job, but notthatbadly.
I kept wondering about the crying option, even though I knew that was ridiculous. A grown woman crying to get her way seemed a bit dramatic. I supposed I would have to suck it up and power through.
There were a few other women sitting around me,interviewing for the same position. They seemed much more confident in themselves than I was, which was alarming. Why weren’t they puddles of sweat? And why had I worn a light blue blouse?
The sweat stains beneath my armpits were disgusting. If I had raised my hand, the whole room would be able to tell exactly how unprepared I was that afternoon.
Thank God for extrastrength deodorant.
I pulled out my cell phone and sent Shay a quick text.
Me:I’m sweating like I stole something. I’m so not prepared for this interview.
Shay:Fake it till you make it! You got this!
Me:There’s not enough faking it in the world to help me make it through this.
Shay:$65k for a nannying position, Ellie. You can fake it that much. Promise.
Sigh.She wasn’t wrong.
