Something About Lorelei(3)

Stepping off onto the tenth floor, I opened the door that was labeled “Human Resources” and stepped inside. When I walked over to the redhead who sported some really tight curls, she smiled.

“How may I help you?”

“I’m here to inquire about the personal assistant job that is available.”

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked.

“No. A friend of mine told me that there was an opening, so I thought I would come down here and apply in person.”

“I’m sorry—” She blankly stared at me.

“Lorelei Flynn.”

“I’m sorry, Lorelei, but you must call for an appointment. We don’t take walk-ins.”

Suddenly, a man appeared and shoved a file inside the filing cabinet. “What’s going on here, Amanda?” he asked.

“This woman was inquiring about the personal assistant job and I told her she has to call and make an appointment.”

“I see.” He smiled as he stared at me. “Did you just walk in here?”

“Yes. I thought maybe I could apply in person. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” I began to walk away and he stopped me.

“Wait. Lorelei, correct?”

“Yes.” I turned around.

“Come with me. I’ll have you fill out an application and then I’ll interview you. Since you’re already here, why have you come back?” He winked.#p#分页标题#e#

“Thank you, sir.”

He held out his hand. I shook it. “I’m Garrett Sullivan. Amanda, get the application and bring it to my office. “Follow me, Lorelei.”

I followed him down the long hallway and into his office.

“Please have a seat at the table and as soon as Amanda brings in the application, you can fill it out.”

“I appreciate this, Mr. Sullivan. It really means a lot.”

“No problem, and you can call me Garrett.”

The redhead named Amanda walked in and handed me the application and a pen. Garrett took a seat behind his desk while I filled it out. Once I was finished, I got up from my chair and handed it to him.

“Have a seat, please.” He motioned for me to sit across from him.

He studied my application for a few moments before speaking. Garrett Sullivan was a handsome-looking man. He stood about six feet tall with short blonde hair and green eyes. He looked to be in his early thirties and he was dressed in a nicely tailored dark blue suit. There was something about him that made me feel comfortable.

“What exactly did you do over at Praline?” he asked with a smile.

“I was the administrative secretary. I did just about everything.”

“How organized are you?”

“I’m a bit OCD when it comes to organization.”

“Are you a perfectionist?” He smirked.

“My mom says I am. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a perfectionist,” I spoke as I reached over and straightened the Statue of Liberty paperweight that sat on his desk.

The grin on his face grew wide. “You studied fashion design at Parsons?”

“Yes. I love fashion and I love to design clothes.”

“And you were working as an administrative assistant. Why?”

“I had to drop out of Parsons because my daughter got sick and I needed to be with her at all times.”

“You have a daughter?”

“Yes, she’s seven. Her name is Hope.”

“I hope she’s better now,” he spoke.

“She is. That was a couple of years ago. I wanted to go back to Parsons, but I had lost my scholarship when I left. I’m a single mom and every penny counts when you’re raising a kid.”

“I understand. You’re twenty-five, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to be blunt here, Lorelei. This job is working for Jack Sutton, CEO of Sutton Magazine. You seem like a great woman with a good head on your shoulders and it seems you’ve had to grow up quick. I’m not sure Mr. Sutton is the right person for you to be working for.”

“Mr.—Garrett, I’ve heard about Mr. Sutton and, to be honest, he doesn’t scare me. I’m not a weak and frail girl. Like you said, I had to grow up quick since I had my daughter at eighteen. I only want what’s best for her and, right now, I’m in desperate need of a job. It’s been two months and my bank account is nearly depleted.”

“You live in Harlem, which is forty-five minutes away. You’d have to be here by eight a.m. and your shift would end at five p.m. with an hour lunch. Would that be possible for you with a daughter?”

“I would do whatever I had to do to make sure my daughter was taken care of. So to answer your question, yes, it would be possible. In a perfect world, I’d love to be able to stay home and devote every single minute to my daughter, but we don’t live in a perfect world, do we? So I have to do whatever I have to in order to give Hope everything she needs.”