Page 3 of Perfect
Suzie orders us wine for the table, and I force myself not to drink as much as I want to as we make small talk. After we order our food, Suzie peers at me over the rim of her wine glass appraisingly.
“So, Alexandria, how much work experience do you have?”
I give her a bright smile. “Please, call me Alex. And I’ve been incredibly involved in charity fundraisers over the years, at leasttwo a year. I’m exceptionally organized, to the point that I’m a little obsessive about color coding my calendar,” I say jokingly, even though it’s not a joke. I like the feeling of control it gives me.
Suzie smiles at me. “Well, I’m fairly unorganized, so you’ll have to show me your system sometime. Did you go to college?” I blink quickly and freeze the smile on my face, trying to seem nonchalant. I didn’t even graduate high school, but I’m not telling her that.
“No,” I say, keeping my voice even, “but I was in all AP classes in high school, I’ve done a tremendous amount of reading over the years, and I’ve taken various online classes in my spare time. I’m not stupid.” I sound defensive even to myself, so I smile and try to play it off. Suzie raises her eyebrows and sips her wine.
“No, you’re not.”
I take a small sip of my wine before asking her questions about where she went to law school. When the waiter brings us our food, I act charming, thanking her and complimenting her earrings to show Suzie I’m personable.
I look down at my plate and try not to groan. I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu in case I had to pay, and the salad looks delicious, but it’s meager portions. Suzie looks at my plate and at her pasta dish and stops the waiter before she leaves.
“Excuse me, but we asked for plates to share. Would you mind bringing those over?” Suzie gives me a small, conspiratorial smile as she pours me more wine. I want to cry, but instead, I smile back at her and ask her the right questions about the job. She tells me the job won’t be hard, mostly just filing, organizing, and scheduling.
“That sounds like something I’d be good at, and I’d love the opportunity to work in the legal field.” God, I hope I don’t sound as pathetically desperate as I feel.
“Well, Alex, I think you’d be a good fit. I have no idea why thetemp agency,” she says slowly, making air quotes with her fingers, “we’re hiring you from asks us to pay you in cash every week, but you’ve come so highly recommended that no one will ask any questions. No one will even know about it.” I stare at her for a second, realizing that not only is she offering me the job, but she’s saving me from saying that I need to be paid under the table.
I give Suzie a genuine smile, trying extremely hard not to cry.
“I promise I won’t let you down.”
She smiles at me warmly. “I don’t think you will.”
Suzie orders us dessert and coffee, and I finally start to relax as we chat about the town I’m moving to. On our way out of the restaurant, we exchange phone numbers, and she tells me she has a client who might have an apartment available, and that he’d most likely take cash.
I look at her, overwhelmed and confused by her kindness. I don’t ever accept help, and I don’t understand why she’s so willing to offer it.
“Can I ask why you’re helping me?” I blurt out, wincing slightly at how vulnerable I’m being. Suzie levels me with a serious, knowing look.
“Good help is hard to find sometimes, isn’t it?”
***
The next morning, I’m going through the small stack of bills in my bag and panicking.
Between transit tickets, the hotels, the ID, and everything else, I’ve managed to go through almost three thousand dollars in the last month. Suzie said I had the job, but that’s not a guarantee. She might have changed her mind about me.
I’m about to start going through the other responses to my Craigslist post when my phone chimes.
Suzie, 10:30 AM:
Good morning, Alex. The apartment I mentioned yesterday is available.
It’s not a great part of town or a great apartment, but it is inexpensive.
Please let me know if you’re still interested.
Alex, 10:31 AM:
Absolutely. When could I move in?
Roger can drop the keys at our office today.
When would you be able to start work? I assume you’ll need time to relocate.
