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“Oh, Erika. The envelope on top is for Crawford. He needs to sign for it. The sender wants proof of receipt. You can bring it to me at lunch.” I turned and took only one step before Erika stopped me.
“Oh, no. No way. I’m not going in there today. He’s been crusty all morning.”
“You have to,” I said.
“No, I don’t. If you need the signature, then you need to get it.” Erika pointed her finger toward the end of the hallway at Colton’s office.
“Please. For me, will you go in there and get the signature?”
“Frances, I would walk through hot coals for you, but I won’t go into that office today.”
“Fine,” I said, realizing I was making a bigger deal about it than necessary. “He probably won’t notice me, anyway.”
Erika looked me up and down. “Oh, he’ll notice you.”
Rolling my eyes at her, I grabbed the envelope from her desk and marched to the end of the hallway. I slowed my pace when I nearly reached Colton’s office. Closing my eyes, I raised my fist and knocked on his door.
No answer. But the door creaked open and his desk sat empty. Poking my head in, I checked the room and didn’t see him. Should I just drop the envelope on his desk and tell Clive that I personally delivered the package myself?That was proof enough, wasn’t it?
Not sure why I tiptoed to his desk, but I did and planned to scurry out of his office as quickly as I could when something on his desk caught my eye.
Ava Grady. Her name was in bold and underlined, with a blue and violet logo stamped underneath. I picked up the paper, realizing it was a resume, and studied it. It looked great and I thought perhaps I could do something similar to my resume. If I didn’t get the job at the mall, I would need to find something soon.
Scanning the page, I noticed Ava attended the same program in college as me, only she hadn’t graduated with honors. I grimaced; it was petty of me to notice. Looking down the page, I read that she belonged to a Youth Group at her church and served as President for three years. Her resume had a lot more extra-curricular activities than mine did, but we were similarly qualified. Maybe Erika was right and I should apply for a PA position. Definitely not this one, as I wouldn’t want to work for someone I imagined naked at least once a day. But maybe somewhere else.
“What are you doing in here?” A deep voice called from the side of the room.
I jumped, clutching the paper to my chest. I opened my mouth, but Colton Crawford’s incredulous face as he stared at me rendered me speechless. His gaze raked across my body until his eyes landed on the paper. He walked over and plucked it from my hands.
“Ow,” I hissed, shaking my hand. A faint red line sliced through my index finger, and I instinctively put it in my mouth and sucked. His eyes followed my movement. I felt the heat behind them and dropped my hand, as though burnt by his stare.
Leaving him to read the resume, I turned toward the door.
“Wait,” he called.
I halted, prepared for his scolding, an apology ready on my lips.
“Take a seat, Ms. Grady.”
Ms. Grady?
Still holding the paper in his hand, he said, “Look. I won’t waste both our time with interviews. Your resume looks fine, and frankly, what I need to know about you will come through your work, not your words. When can you start?”
“Oh, no,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not. I mean, I didn’t come here for…”
“Right. You came to talk about salary. I understand how these interviews work.” He took a seat at his desk. “The position pays eighty grand a year to start, with benefits. You can go over the details with Frank in HR.”
“What? Eighty thousand?” I asked, certain I hadn’t heard him correctly. “You’re kidding, right?” That was more than double what I made in the mailroom.
“I wasn’t. But I don’t have time to waste, Ms. Grady,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “One hundred thousand, but I need you to start tomorrow. Can you do that?”
One hundred thousand dollars. Holy Mother of… gah! That would take years for me to earn, and he was offering it to me in twelve months. Well, to Ava Grady.
I couldn’t take the job. I wasn’t Ava Grady. But that money would pay for Marco’s entire college career and clear my own debt. No. I couldn’t lie, and especially not for an entire year.
What if it were only for two weeks? A voice whispered in my head.
That first two-week paycheck would be enough to pay for Marco’s first semester. We’ll figure out the rest later, but it would be enough for now. Two weeks, ten business days. I could keep up the pretense for that long.
