She’s still waiting for an answer and repeats herself. “I said, you’re late.”
My eyes go to her necklace. It’s a thick, gold chain, with a gold key.
If I can’t apologize, I need to change the topic. “That’s a gorgeous necklace,” I say.
She smiles. “Very good.” She waves for me to come into her office.
This office isn’t as fancy as the vice president’s office on the floor above us, but it’s very elegant. The desk has two computers, with all the cords tucked away from sight. Over to the side, there’s a sitting area with a round table and four upholstered chairs. We take a seat at the round table.
“Gray isn’t a good color for you,” she says. “Gray isn’t even a color at all.”
“I’m sor—” I close my mouth to stop myself from apologizing. Why would I even say I’m sorry for wearing gray? I must be going crazy. I take a deep breath and then say, “Thank you, Stephanie. What color would you recommend?”
She studies me with her golden brown eyes. Now that we’re sitting together, I can see Stephanie is more than just pretty. She’s gorgeous. Like a movie star or a model. Her delicate features are like a doll’s face. Being across from her starts to make me feel calm.
“With your skin tone, you could wear blue or green. Tell me something, Jess. When your mother was expecting you, did she think she was having a boy?”
The calm feeling gets yanked away. My mother. Painful feelings.
I try to keep my composure, keep smiling. “I don’t know.”
Stephanie sees right through me with her golden brown eyes. “You’re not close with your mother? Is she dead?”
I give her my best dazzling smile and try to change the topic. “Do you think I should wear blue?”
“Let me think.”
She brings her manicured hands up to her necklace and twists it around so she can see the clasp. She unfastens it, then slides the gold chain and key across the round table to me.
“A gift,” she says. “And I changed my mind about blue. You should wear pink, because they’ll never expect someone like you to wear pink.”
I pick up the gold necklace, still warm from Stephanie’s skin. This isn’t some cheap trinket. I can’t know for sure, but my gut tells me it’s definitely real gold.
Stephanie twists a lock of her bright red hair between her fingers as she studies me.
After a few moments of silence, she says, “You applied for an internship here hoping to get into marketing, right? Why?”
“I love music, but I don’t have any talent for singing. My whole life, I’ve dreamed about being in the music business.”
“Why?”
I look around her office. The walls are decorated with album covers. Some of the artists are extremely successful, and others I’ve never heard of. Mixed in with the album covers are framed photos of Stephanie standing next to stars. The pictures don’t just look like candid shots people get taken when they meet a celebrity. It looks like she actually knows these people. And they know her.
“Because music is the only form of magic in this world,” I say to Stephanie.
Her perfect reddish eyebrows raise and she rubs her forearms. “You just gave me goosebumps. I love that. Definitely keep saying things like that. Music is magic.”
“Sure. I’ll start wearing pink. I’ll stop apologizing. And I’ll keep telling the truth about how music makes me feel. Is there some other job you have in mind for me, besides working in the archives?”
“Would you be offended by being promoted to a position called Eye Candy?”
Chapter 12
I snort with laughter. “Are you joking? There’s a position called Eye Candy? And you think I can do it?”
She gets a very serious look. Her golden brown eyes turn cold. “The position is officially called Talent Coordinator. That’s what it will say on your pay checks. Never forget what you are.”
“Eye Candy?”
“Yes. This new job comes with a twenty percent raise, but that’s not all.”
I shift forward on my chair. I’m literally on the edge of my seat with curiosity. Talent Coordinator sounds amazing. I don’t know about Eye Candy, but I’m hoping it’s just a joke. Either way, it sounds better than Intern.
“What else?” I ask.
She points to the gold necklace I’m nervously fidgeting with. “That charm is worth a thousand dollars.”
I drop the necklace with a thunk. “I can’t accept this.”
She reaches across the table and grabs my wrist. She’s got a firm grip, much firmer than her handshake. Stephanie puts the necklace in my hand and closes my fingers around it forcefully.