way? Am I interviewing for a job, or a spot on a game show? She tried not to think about it, since she knew it would make her cry.
Part of her wanted to stand up and leave before Valetta returned to say that she didn’t get the job because of her poor pop culture identification, or whatever it was that she had been trying to learn about Sabrina during the barrage of strange photos.
The floor was crumbling beneath her, or so it felt, and the prospect of finally getting a college education was actively shattering along with it. This job was her first real ticket to a better life, but she could feel it slipping through her fingers.
Valetta reentered the room and gave her a warm smile.
Sabrina clenched her hands in preparation for bad news.
Valetta took her time sitting down. She no longer carried the manila folder and instead had a large stack of papers. Sabrina hoped they weren't more photos for her to identify.
“Before we continue, do you have any questions for me?” Valetta asked as if she had never left.
“Um... no?” Sabrina's mind went blank. Way to impress your potential employer, she thought.
“Before we go any further, I need you to sign this nondisclosure agreement.” Valetta slid the packet of paper across the table. “It's fairly standard, but it basically says that you won't tell anyone who you met here today.”
“Okay,” Sabrina replied. She read through the paperwork, trying her best to understand the dense legalese wording. It matched with what Valetta said, so after a moment, Sabrina signed the paperwork and sent it back across the table.
“Excellent.” Valetta turned in her seat and gently tapped her knuckle on the glass behind her. Then she stood and went to stand by the door.
The door creaked open, and a man stepped into the room. Sabrina recognized him instantly from one of the photos.
It's the guy from the second picture. The one with the shoulder-length black hair and beautiful dark eyes.
The man was tall and wore an expensive-looking white dress shirt tucked into a crisp pair of dark grey slacks. It was a similar outfit to the one he had been wearing in the photo. Immediately, it felt as if the room got smaller, his large persona crowding the space.
He nodded toward Sabrina with a smile that grew from the hard edge of his chin and curled into his lips.
“I’d like to introduce you to Marco... Smith,” Valetta said. The way she said it made it obvious that 'Smith' was not the man's real name.
The man’s smile grew even more as he neared the table and extended a hand while Sabrina stood to shake it. His grip was firm, but his skin gentle and smooth.
“Hello,” he said with another nod. His voice was tuned with a deep accent that was as melodic as it was foreign.
“Hello,” Sabrina said, a smile spreading across her face. “I’m Sabrina.”
“I know who you are,” the man said, still smiling. It was then that Sabrina realized she was still gripping his hand. She quickly released and sat back down. “I came in to offer you the job.”
“Really?” Sabrina said, a little shocked that she was being offered the position on the spot. It was a good thing she was sitting, or her knees might have buckled.
“Really,” Marco assured her, taking a seat in the chair Valetta had vacated a moment earlier.
“Marco and I feel that you would be great for the position,” Valetta said and turned toward Marco, who nodded in agreement.
“I think you would be wonderful,” Marco said, every word sounding like its own subtle, musical note. His accent had a slightly different ring than Valetta’s, whose chipper voice overshadowed her inflections.
Marco was directly across from Sabrina with both forearms rested against the table. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, creating contrast against his tan skin. At the end of his wrist was a tightly fitted gold Rolex.
Sabrina’s first thought was that she’d just been hired to assist some sort of model, a rather wealthy one, looking to spend some time in the United States in order to escape his fame. She also toyed with the idea that he was a foreign athlete. Although concealed, his frame and shoulders indicated a sturdy figure beneath a layer of expensive clothing.
“Wow,” Sabrina said, taken aback both by the sudden offer and the aura of the man sitting in front of her.
Both Valetta and Marco smiled back at her, as though they anticipated her level of shock.
“Take your time making a decision,” Valetta said. “But do keep in mind that we hope to begin traveling before the end of the week.”
“Can I accept the job right now?” Sabrina asked, giddy with excitement.