Page 12 of A Lot to Unpack
‘Very interesting,’ she replies.
‘I’m also great at researching, compiling evidence…’
AKA googling and writing things down.
‘You’re good at reading people?’ she checks.
‘Very,’ I reply. ‘But I think you already knew that.’
Okay, I’m getting cocky. I need to turn it down a notch.
‘Any experience with hacking?’ she asks. ‘What sort of clients did you have?’
I’m still using Ben’s Netflix – I low-key feel like a hacker every time I log in to watch old episodes ofGossip Girl. Wow, she really is more interested in my old job than she is in me.
‘I can’t really discuss it,’ I say, wondering if this is a test in confidentiality. ‘But everyone from businesses to people in relationships used our services.’
‘People in relationships – now that’s interesting,’ she says. ‘Then let me ask you this, and be honest – what do you think of Matcher?’
I can’t help but snort out a little laugh.
‘Something funny?’ she asks. ‘Come on, say what you think.’
‘I think we would have had fewer clients needing help with their relationships if Matcher never existed,’ I reply.
‘You sound like you hate dating apps,’ she points out.
‘I guess I do,’ I reply. ‘I’ve seen them hurt a lot of people.’
That might be the most honest thing I’ve said so far.
‘Very interesting, then, that you would apply for a job at Matcher,’ she muses. ‘Fascinating, really.’
I purse my lips and try to stop my eyebrows from lifting of their own accord. Shit.
‘You’re an investigator, you’re observant – you must have seen the sign on your way in,’ she points out.
Yeah, I most likely would have, if I hadn’t come up the emergency staircase… Probably. I’m not that observant, to be honest, not when I’m in a flap.
‘And yet you still want to work here?’ she continues. I’m not sure if it’s a question or an observation.
‘I’m a professional,’ I say – I’m not sure either of us believes that.
‘Well, thank you for your time, Liberty, we’ll be in touch,’ Paige says, clearly wrapping up our interview.
And I’ve blown it. My first interview in ages, and I’ve messed it up. I figured I might need some practice but damn, me and my big mouth. I was already exaggerating, fudging the truth, so why didn’t I just lie about Matcher? Or say I had no experience with it? Why did I give an opinion – why, why, why?
As I head out, back towards the lift (which appears to be working again now – still, I think I’ll take the main stairwell) I notice the large pink Matcher sign by the door. Fair enough, even I wouldn’t have missed that.
So, I’m not going to get the job. I never get the job – but I’m reeeeally not getting this one, am I?
5
‘Don’t sound too devastated,’ my mum says with a laugh.
‘Sorry, Mum, it’s not that I don’t love the idea of living around you all again,’ I reply. ‘It’s just that moving home feels like so, so many steps backwards.’
‘People move all the time,’ she reminds me. ‘It’s merely a coincidence that we’re already here.’
