“It’s a little late for that,” Ryan reprimanded when I came back out.
“Fine. Then have HR do it.”
“I don’t know if I can find anyone on such short notice.”
“Then you do it,” I growled. He opened his mouth again, but my phone burned a hole in my jacket, and the need to escape these four walls thumped like a pulse inside me. I held up my hand. “Just handle it, Ryan. It’s why I pay you as much as I do.”
With that, I headed out, deciding a bar sounded like a nice place for lunch. Whatever Joseph called about, I was sure a bourbon would make it easier to handle.
For a moment, a tinge of guilt tried to flood my system, but I shoved it down, reasoning that the last interview would most likely be a dud like the rest of them.FourVera“Welcome, Miss Barrone. I’ll be conducting your interview today.”
I shook his hand and couldn’t help my eyes narrowing at how young he looked. The last person I spoke with let me know the owner was conducting the interviews. The man, who didn’t look much older than me, with his bow tie and thick-rimmed glasses, didn’t scream owner of a burgeoning business.
“Mr. Rush?” I asked.
His soft laugh lacked humor as he dropped his gaze and readjusted his glasses before looking up with a forced smile. “No. I’m Ryan Saunders, Mr. Rush’s personal assistant.”
“Oh,” I answered slowly, trying to process the change. I knew the ins and outs of a shipping company, and it was already odd enough that the owner would conduct the interview instead of HR, but I was told he liked to vet his employees himself. But to have an assistant interview me threw me off. “Not to be rude, but do assistants usually perform interviews at Rush Shipping Industries?”
“No, we sure don’t.”
I took note of his irritation, and my mind raced with what was going on. Was this a joke? Had they figured out who I was, and now my father was humoring me by letting me interview, but wasting my time with an assistant?
“Unfortunately, Mr. Rush had to run out, and we had hoped HR would take over. However, no one was available on such short notice,” he explained, all irritation mostly gone.
“I understand.”
“I assure you I know the position you’re applying for and know each role as well as Mr. Rush himself.”
“Of course.”
It still pricked at my irritation that a company would be so aloof with their hires that they couldn’t find someone to properly vet their employees, but I let it go. It wasn’t like I was searching for my future career, just something to put at least an ounce of my degree to use.
Taking a deep breath, I sat up straight and smiled.
I wanted this job.
More to prove I could have one than any other reason, but I still wanted it.
“I see you graduated Magna Cum Laude at The Wharton School of Business.” His brows rose high above the edge of his black glasses. “Wow. That’s impressive.”
“Thank you. I definitely enjoyed learning at Wharton. It offered me a plethora of experiences.”
He looked up from the papers and tipped his head to the side. “Did you plan on continuing your MBA elsewhere?”
Why bother? The degree I have now would be useless in a year.
Covering my almost snort at his question with a soft laugh, I answered, “No. Not that I don’t want to. It’s just that now isn’t the time.”
“I see.” He nodded and closed the folder holding my resume. “What makes you interested in the assistant project manager position? Your experience in college is impressive enough for a higher position. Unfortunately, we’re not hiring for that now. So, what is it about Rush?”
It was small enough to not be on my father’s radar and seemed to have minimal connections that my father could use to shut me out, which would prevent me from delivering the big fuck you to him and Camden.
“Rush Shipping is growing, and I want to grow with them.”
He smiled and flipped open the folder again, making notes off to the side. But that small smile was all I needed to know. This job was mine.
The rest of the interview flew by, and by the end, I was determined to recruit Ryan into becoming my friend, no matter what I had to do. He had a sarcastic whit that reminded me of Raelynn.
“Well, Verana, I’ll need to pass all this information along to my superiors, but you should be hearing from us soon.”
Beaming, I stood and shook his offered hand, feeling lighter since I arrived home from college. Ryan walked me to the elevator and offered another smile. It took all I had not to break out into a full victory dance as soon as the door closed. Instead, I managed to keep it to a small bounce from one foot to the other, getting it together by the time the doors opened.