“I- start?” My voice was strained and hoarse so I cleared my throat, “Um, wait. I- that is, I was under the impression that this was an interview.”
Carlos blinked his pretty lashes at me, his smile waning but not disappearing, “Oh, I see.” His eyes moved between mine, his gaze still warm, “Certainly, we can start with an interview if you wish.” He turned and motioned for me to follow him down the hall.
If I wish?
I matched his stride and tried to suppress a new flutter of uncertainty as I walked next to him, “I have extra copies of my resume if you need them.”
He softly chuckled, “No, no need. We’ve done a background check, you’re very qualified and have excellent references.”
My face warmed at the compliment I wasn’t sure I deserved. He led me past a series of offices and I noted the lack of cubicles. He paused at one office and asked me to wait a moment. I heard him ask the inhabitant to join us then we continued.
Carlos’s office was moderately sized, not huge but not small either, and seemed to be only slightly larger than the rest of the rooms we’d passed. He motioned for me to sit in one of two brown leather club chairs as he walked around his desk.
“So, Ms. Morris. Why don’t you start by telling me about yourself?” His voice was very soothing and his brown eyes sparkled as he leaned back in his chair.
As I was doing my best to give a good impression, carefully choosing my words and trying to stay on topic, another man entered. He was tall and lean; his blond hair disheveled as though he’d been running his hands through it, his grey eyes peered at me from behind fashionably black horned-rimmed glasses perched on a nose which was a little too pronounced for his thin face.
He immediately crossed to me and held out his hand, “Oh, thank God you’re here! I’m Steven, we’re going to be great friends.” He gave me a single shake then half sank, half collapsed into the empty brown club chair next to mine, “These people! There is so much to do. I spent this morning summarizing the projects for you.”
Carlos cleared his throat and gave Steven a friendly smile, “Ms. Morris is here for an interview. I don’t believe she has accepted the position yet.”
Steven looked between me and Carlos, his face betraying his inner horror, “What?!”
Carlos dipped his head, “Steven.” his voice was thick with warning.
Steven affixed his attention squarely on me, “Janie- can I call you Janie?” I nodded but he didn’t wait for me to ascent before he continued, “Janie, I need help. As Carlos explained it, you are a numbers person. You have experience managing client accounts. Your references say you are a hellva accountant. You have no criminal record. You tutor children once a week so that means you’re good with big babies. You look like a Scandinavian version of Diana Prince.” I coughed at the comparison between me and Wonder Woman’s alter-ego; but Steven continued, “And, assuming you can string three words together, you’ll be a smashing success with our business partners. I’ll be honest, Janie, they don’t like me. I’m not pretty enough to go out in public. I’m a hard worker and I’m a tax wizard but I make the clients uncomfortable. You’ll do nicely.”
“Steven, Ms. Morris was just telling me about her work experience-”
Ignoring Carlos, Steven scooted his seat closer to mine and drew my attention to an iPad on his lap, “Now, these are all the current accounts,” he trailed his finger down a column of numbers, codes which denoted account names, and I noted that the columns had no title headings, “and these are the payment terms, the filing terms, here are the estimated expenditures for this quarter and the actual for last quarter. This is the project balance for the year. Got it?”
I nodded, looking over the spreadsheet, “Why don’t you use column headings?”
“They slow me down.”
“Hm.” His response made no sense. I tried not to focus on the gargantuan size of the dollar figures but instead on scrutinizing the veracity of the calculated amounts, “Your formula is wrong here and-” I pointed to two separate boxes on the spreadsheet, “here. Also, when did this account open? The balance should be negative if the projected expenditure column is correct.”
I looked up at Steven, his thin lips were pressed together in a quivering smile. “Good girl. Test passed. I think I love you, Janie. Let’s get married and not have children.”
My eyes widened for a brief moment; I felt sure he was teasing me but, looking into his dancing grey eyes, I knew he meant it as a compliment. I returned his smile. I liked Steven.