Page 15 of Naughty Heart

Maybe it was just me beginning to feel a bit intimated by this whole thing. Malcolm had been kind enough, but he was who he was, and I didn’t even begin to compare.

Once we stepped off the elevator, I felt a change, but I couldn’t say it was any better than what I’d been feeling beforehand. If anything, I think it was worse.

With each step we took down the hallway, the trembling increased in my belly. I was nervous, but the strange thing was that I didn’t know if my nerves were related to the interview or Malcolm.

It had to be the interview. Why would I feel nervous about him?

Malcolm led me to an office, where he opened the door and urged me inside ahead of him. As soon as I stepped inside, he asked, “Would you like me to take your coat?”

“Oh, um, yeah, that would be great,” I replied, opening the button at my waist. I pulled the jacket open and slid it down my arms before holding it out to Malcolm. “Thank you.”

He took my coat, a look I couldn’t read washing over his expression. Then he hesitated for a moment as I smoothed my hands down the front of my dress before he swept his hand out in front of his body and urged, “Grab a seat.”

I did as he said and moved to one of the chairs in front of the desk. Feeling compelled to speak, but not knowing what to say, I asked, “So, who will I be interviewing with today?”

Malcolm moved away from the coat rack just inside the office door and toward the desk. He rounded it, sat down, and answered, “Me.”

“You?” I had already been a mess inside, desperate for a chance to impress the person in charge of hiring. Now I had to come to terms with the fact I’d be interviewing with him?

“Were you expecting somebody else?” he asked.

The last thing I wanted to do was lose my cool under pressure. Hoping he wouldn’t notice, I squeezed my hands together tightly in my lap to distract myself from the nerves in my belly. “Yes, I was.”

He let out a laugh, pressing his fingertips together in front of his face while his elbows rested on the arm of his chair.

The man was utterly confident, and it was slightly unnerving.

“But I was the one who asked you to come in for an interview,” he reasoned.

I nodded in agreement. “Of course. But, I mean, well, you’re the vice president of the company. I just assumed I’d be meeting with someone in HR for an interview.”

“Not today.”

Great.

Just great.

I was just going to have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

After licking my lips, I rubbed my palms back and forth and insisted, “Sure. It’s no problem for me either way.”

Malcolm reviewed my resume, which, save for the fact I’d been consistently employed from practically the minute I graduated from high school, left a lot to be desired. I didn’t exactly work in glamourous jobs.

“So, it says here that you were working at Hilborne Art Supply,” he started. “What did you do there?”

I swallowed down the embarrassment. “I worked in the warehouse. I didn’t have one specific set of duties, as my role could change from one season to the next. Most recently, I was responsible for packing Santa sacks.”

“Santa sacks?”

Nodding, I explained, “Yes. As an art supplies manufacturer, Hilborne did a wide variety of marketing to their buyers. When it was back to school time, we made up backpacks filled with school supplies, such as crayons, pencils, rulers, construction paper, and glue. Now that Christmas is upon us, we were putting together little red sacks that look like Santa’s sack, and they were filled with arts and crafts supplies that would keep kids busy over their holiday break from school.”

“I see. And what was the reason you left your job?” he questioned me.

“I was terminated,” I confessed, feeling my face burn with humiliation.

His eyes narrowed. “You were terminated?”

I blinked my eyes several times. The last thing I needed to do was break down into tears. This man would think I was a basket case, and he’d never hire me. Once I got a hold of my emotions, I explained, “Fifteen minutes before our shift ended on Friday, the boss came out, told us they were downsizing, and all of our positions were terminated.”