Page 55 of Love Me Ever After
I literally threw myself into the shower, getting in and out in less than two minutes. Deodorant and aftershave would have to hide any suspect aromas. Thank God I’d remembered to unpack before going out last night, otherwise my suits would have been crushed to fuck. I was still tying my tie as I left the room.
Ten minutes later, I stood at the Lane & Parks reception desk, smiling my best smile at the receptionist. Thankfully she recognised me from my secondment—apparently, she was a sucker for a British accent—and it didn’t take too long to get me signed in. I headed for the boardroom, where seven other candidates were already milling around. Almost as one, they swivelled to look at me. I didn’t want them to think I was getting special treatment because I’d worked there before. Whit stood by the drinks table, chatting to a couple of my competition. Holding my head high, I strode across the room to them.
“Morning, I’m Mason.” I flashed a confident smile to the man and woman, before turning it on Whit.
She fixed me with a look. “Hello, Mason. I’m Whitney, one of the Lane & Parks consultants.”
I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Whit grasped my hand, digging her nails into my skin. “You too.”
The two other people muttered something about getting a bathroom break before the day started and left us alone.
Once they’d gone, I let out a hard breath. “Jesus, it’s going to be a long day.”
Whit shook her head. “Seriously, Mason. You made it by the skin of your teeth. I haven’t said anything, so you’ll have to make up your own excuses if you get asked.”
“Understood.”
“And I’m coming to your hotel this evening, I brought all my stuff. My apartment is too far away from the restaurant to go home first and I was going to get changed in the bathroom here.” Whit flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Now at least I can get a decent shower and some good lighting to do my make-up.”
I laughed. “Glad to know I can be of assistance.”
She gave me the finger, then walked off to start her day.
While I waited for the session to kick off, I poured myself a cup of strong, black coffee. Sneaking a look at my phone, I spotted a message from Ems and smiled. I was pleased she seemed to be supportive of me, despite all the reservations and arguments we’d had.
Mason: Think I’m gonna need it! Looks like there’s some stiff competition. Hope you’re having a good day xxx
“Good morning, everyone.” Gareth’s voice pitched above the low-level chatter in the room and everyone turned to look at him. “First of all, I’d like to thank you for coming today and dedicating the next two days to the challenge of joining Lane & Parks. If you’d all like to follow me, we’ll get started.”
I was the last candidate to walk past Gareth.
“Good to see you again, Mason,” he said. “Looking forward to seeing how you perform in these assessments, even though I have first-hand experience of what you can do.”
One of the other candidates turned around, as if they’d heard the last part of Gareth’s sentence and glared at me.Brilliant start, Mason, brilliant start,I berated myself. Now they knew they were up against an internal candidate who would potentially receive favouritism.
By the end of the day, I was both mentally and physically drained. The first presentation had gone well, but the second one, where we were working as a group of four, hadn’t. Given my knowledge of the business, I’d tried to steer my team on the right track with the new business pitch we’d been expected to make. But they thought they knew better and I’d ended up stumbling over my words because I didn’t feel confident in what I was saying. During my speech, I’d clocked Gareth frowning and scribbling on his notepad, which dented my morale.
Finally, the first day was done. Gareth briefed us on the evening plans, which were dinner in a restaurant with some of the other members of the team. We’d have the opportunity to get to know our potential colleagues and ask any questions we wanted. The other candidates nodded and murmured their approval. I hoped this evening wouldn’t follow the same pattern as the previous one. Tomorrow was the panel interview and I needed all my wits about me, because Istillwasn’t sure of the answer to the question:why do you want a job in New York?
I made sure I was the last one to leave, hanging around reception waiting for Whit. Eventually, she arrived, carrying a small suitcase and a dress bag.
“Here, let me take those,” I offered. I sensed I still had some making up to do for making her cover for me earlier.
She shoved the bag and suitcase at me. “Thanks, I was hoping you were going to say that. How wasyourday?”
“Given I’ve felt like utter shit, I think I’ve done okay.”
“Rumour has it your group presentation matched how you’re feeling.” She gave me a side eye as we waited for the elevator.
I pulled a face. “Yeah. Guess my influencing skills aren’t up to much. We were terrible.”
Whit laughed. “That was one of the words I overheard.”
“Great.” I shook my head. “Can’t wait to spend the evening with these guys.”
The elevator arrived and took us downstairs. We went out to the sidewalk and made our way back to my hotel, dodging the early evening commuters.
