Learning to Trust

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  Tears started forming around the corners of my eyes and I quickly gave her a hug before I really started crying. “You’re a lifesaver, Hannah.”

  Before I could say anything else, she stepped back surveying my hair. “So, what do you plan to do with your hair and makeup?”

  “I hadn’t really thought about anything specific. I guess minimal makeup and possibly my hair down?” I turned towards the mirror and started playing with my hair.

  Next thing I knew, she had me sitting in front of the vanity in the bathroom, trying desperately to straighten my wavy auburn hair. We soon realized it would take too much time to straighten all of it, since it fell to nearly the middle of my back. We tried a French braid, a ponytail, a tight bun, and finally a twist with a decorative comb to hold it in place. Hannah looked happy with the twist and pulled a couple of curled tendrils down to frame the sides of my face.

  She leaned in close beside me and spoke to my reflection in the mirror. “Whoever this guy is, interviewing you, he won’t want to interview anyone else after seeing how gorgeous you look. I think you’re right about keeping the makeup minimal. Your complexion is flawless, so maybe use a touch of blush for color, some light pink lipstick, and maybe some mascara to highlight your eyes.”

  The rest of the day and weekend were spent packing and practicing potential interview questions. I was thankful Hannah had already gone through the whole interview process; her advice was more comfort than anything I could imagine. And she obviously knew how to ace an interview; she’d successfully landed a job in Chicago with an engineering firm that focused on designing machinery that reduced the number of toxic emissions into the environment.

  I was so nervous and consumed with preparing for the upcoming interview that I failed to notice that my phone had died. When I recharged it, I noticed a message from Friday evening from Garrett Andrews, my interviewer.

  His voice was soft and to the point. “Good evening, Laurel. I just wanted to confirm that we will be meeting on Monday at 11:00 AM to interview for a position with Bio-Medical Life Solutions. Dr. Leonard has graciously secured an empty office where I can talk with all the potential candidates. His department’s secretary will show you where you need to go. Enjoy your weekend. I look forward to seeing you soon.”

  There was something about his tone that seemed oddly familiar, sending a tingling through my entire body. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, knowing that the job interview had nothing to do with those enticing green eyes I couldn’t get out of my mind.

  I awoke early Monday morning to give myself plenty of time to get ready for my interview. I took a shower to calm my nerves and made sure my legs were clean shaven so the stockings would go on easily.

  To say I was nervous was an understatement. I had my resume, a copy of my thesis, photos of my completed senior project and anything else I could think of that would help aid in securing this opportunity.

  I walked up to where the secretary, Mrs. Sharpes, sat and before I could say anything, she looked up from her desk with a warm smile. “You must be Laurel.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I have an appointment for an interview with Mr. Andrews,” I said, returning her smile.

  She got up from her chair, came around the desk, and motioned for me to follow her. “Right this way, dear. Mr. Andrews is just down the hallway.”

  I nodded politely and followed closely beside her. “Mrs. Sharpes, may I ask how you knew who I was?” My voice was shaky. Gosh, I hope that goes away.

  She patted me lightly on the back. “No need to be nervous, dear. There are only two interviews and you’re the only female.”

  As we rounded the corner, her steps began to slow and she motioned towards the door. “Feel free to go on in. Mr. Andrews is waiting for you.” Then, without warning, she turned on her heels and scurried away before I could thank her for her time.

  I wasn’t sure whether I should knock on the door or go ahead in as she had suggested. I opted to knock lightly.

  “Please come in,” a commanding voice stated.

  I took a deep breath in hopes to calm my nerves and opened the door to find a desk placed in the center of the room with the chair turned so the occupant looked out onto the campus grounds.

  “Would you be kind enough to close the door behind you and take a seat, Laurel?”

  My voice was a little higher than a whisper. “Yes, sir, Mr. Andrews.”

  After closing the door, I turned towards the desk just as he turned in his seat. I was instantly floored when I came face to face with HIM! Oh my God! Not him! How am I going to get through this interview without drooling?

  I found myself frozen in place, wondering if I was imagining things, and heard him inhale sharply. He glanced over my appearance from head to toe, then stood and offered his hand.

  When our hands met, the current of electricity was stronger than ever, surging through my entire frame. I tensed briefly when he placed his other hand on top of mine and looked deeply into my eyes. “It’s about time we formally met, Laurel.” He smiled warmly, then continued, “And please, call me Garrett.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to compose my thoughts, remembering I was there for an interview with this confident, handsome man. He wore a dark gray suit, pale blue linen shirt, blue satin tie, black dress shoes, and silver cufflinks with a matching tie clip. I’d never been around someone who looked like they’d just stepped off the cover of GQ. “Okay, Garrett,” I replied nervously.

  He released my hand and gestured towards one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Have a seat and we’ll get started with the interview.”

  As I stepped towards the chairs, his hand came down to rest on the small of my back, guiding me towards the one he wanted me to sit in and sending shivers up my spine. You can do this, Laurel. He’s just a guy and it’s just an interview. Talk to him like you would anyone else and focus on getting the job.

  I sat down, expecting him to walk around and talk to me from his chair, but instead he sat on the edge of the desk, placing his body within just a few inches of mine, touching my legs. My breath caught at the sheer closeness of him.

  He must have sensed my alarm, because he asked, “Do you mind if I sit here? I’ve never been a fan of the overly formal interview process. I find it overwhelming and pointless. I prefer to talk to a potential candidate on more friendly terms to see if they’ll be a good fit to our company.”

  “N-No, I don’t mind at all,” I stammered.

  Garrett crossed one leg in front of the other as he leaned back farther on the desk. “Let me tell you a little about the company I represent. Bio-Medical Life Solutions is a recently acquired subsidiary of Waters Medical Industries. WMI focuses on developing new equipment and advancing aging technologies to increase efficiency in the operating room and in the overall treatment of patients to decrease their healing time. Life Solutions’ focus is on improving prosthetics and developing new equipment that increases the quality of life for those who have lost limbs and people who suffer from decreased vision, hearing, and other maladies that affect everyday functioning. We also recently opened a sports training facility called Waters Athletics International Training Center, to optimize performance of all types of competing athletes from around the world.”

  I tried my best to soak it all it. I had done a little research to prepare for the interview, but it all sounded so much more exciting coming from him.

  “We were initially offering an internship to the right candidate,” he continued, “but after seeing your project up close and discovering you have a minor in Kinesiology, we’ve decided to create a new job within two of our facilities. It would be an entry-level position, working with prosthetics at Life Solutions, though we would also like to utilize your knowledge to help develop equipment to be used in training our athletes at the Training Center. You would create specific routines designed to increase an athlete’s physical performance. Would this position interest you, Laurel?”

  I couldn’t believe my ears; my two
favorite passions, engineering and sports training, all rolled into one position. I tried to contain my delight. “I would welcome the opportunity, Garrett,” I managed to respond calmly.

  He picked up a copy of my resume and scanned it briefly. “I know what it says here on paper; brilliant academic career, 4.0 GPA, varied work history. But that’s just information that helped you get to the point of graduating. What I’d like to know is who are you? Where did you grow up? Why you decided on a career in Bio-Medical Engineering? What inspired you?”

  Hannah hadn’t prepared me for anything that deviated from her idea of the normal line of questioning. I tried to form the right words and opted with total honesty. I looked him straight in the face and told him my story. “I grew up in a small suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, called Blue Ash. My father is an engineer and my mother a nurse. I love and admire both them and their career choices, so I elected to merge the two fields and ended up with this degree. It’s my desire to help design equipment that can speed up the care and healing time in the health industry and maybe improve on some of the current prosthetic designs that already exist.”

  He smiled and nodded approvingly at my response. “You seem very passionate about your career choice. It is to be commended; many of my candidates tell me they’re in it for the money.”

  I wasn’t, and wondered if he wanted me to respond to his statement. “While we all need to be able to make enough to survive in today’s economy, my choice in this field has nothing to do with earning potential, but everything to do with wanting to make a difference in someone’s life.”

  Garrett sat my resume down next to him and crossed his arms. “Your senior project is truly impressive. I was amazed at the detail you put into it and how much range of motion you achieved. Tell me why you focused on improving the designs of the prosthetic wrist and hand.”

  It was hard to look directly into his eyes without falling into the spell he was weaving. I tried to focus on the wall just past his head, but as I began to speak, he shifted, making our eyes lock. “My project has personal meaning to me. My cousin helped to inspire this career path. She was in an automobile accident when she was 16; her hand and wrist were crushed beyond repair so they had to amputate a few inches above the wrist. She was very active in sports and loved to cook, but none of the prosthetics currently available on the market allow her much range of motion for grasping with the fingers or for rotating the wrist, so I wanted to change that.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, how is your cousin doing?”

  I was a bit surprised by the personal direction the interview was taking. “Grace is doing fine. She’s actually set to graduate from college in a couple weeks. We’re hoping to find jobs in the same city so we can be roommates.”

  I didn’t know if I’d overstepped my bounds by the last statement, but was quickly put at ease when he responded.

  “What’s Grace’s major? What kind of job is she looking for?”

  “Her degree is in Health Administration and Marketing. She would like to go into medical or pharmaceutical sales, since she likes to travel.”

  “Does she have a job lined up yet?”

  I shook my head. “When I talked with her a couple of days ago, she had some more interviews lined up but hadn’t found anything yet.”

  Garrett shifted his legs, lightly brushing them against mine. “Sorry for all the questions about your cousin. But I may know of a potential job opening in the Orlando area. I have a friend who is the HR Director at Waters Pharmaceuticals and they had a sales associate leave recently. Do you think she would be interested?”

  I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of being able to help my cousin out. “She would be ecstatic about the opportunity.”

  He took a piece of paper off the desk and scribbled down something before handing it to me. “Here’s the info on the HR Director; his name is Evan Daniels. I’ll let him know to expect a call from Grace. I’m sure he can either arrange a phone or Skype interview with her.”

  “Thank you, sir; I’ll call her this afternoon.”

  Garrett got up from the desk and repositioned the chair next to me, turning it to face mine, before taking a seat. He balanced his right ankle atop his left knee and clasped his hands together. “Let’s move on to the finer points about this position. First of all, would you be willing to relocate to the Orlando area?”

  “That wouldn’t be a problem.”

  He smiled. “How soon would you be able to start work?”

  “As soon as is necessary, but I’d first need to find an apartment within my budget. Is there public transportation available in the area?”

  His face looked a bit perplexed. “Why would you need use of public transportation? Weren’t you driving a car the other night?”

  I could feel the interview heading the wrong direction. “The car belongs to my roommate, the one you helped. I would need to take the transportation to and from work.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, Laurel, how is it that you were able to afford to come to MIT and not have a car?”

  “I came on an athletic scholarship; swimming. Part of the deal for the scholarship was that I had to live in the dorms and be part of the swim team for at least three of the four years. My parents do okay financially and have helped me with some clothing expenses and a little spending money, but I haven’t had a need for a car and I don’t have the means to acquire one at this time.”

  He picked up the resume again. “Why didn’t you list the fact that you were on the swim team?”

  I didn’t want to answer the question, given that it was a very touchy subject, but I had to say something. Hopefully the simple explanation would be enough to satisfy his curiosity. “I had to drop out of swimming this last year due to unforeseen reasons and I didn’t feel it was necessary to list.”

  “What was your event? Mine’s the 200 free.” His eyes were alight with wonder, apparently a fan of the sport.

  “Mine was the 500 free,” I stated proudly, taking a little pleasure in one-upping him.

  “That’s quite impressive, Laurel. Maybe I’ll have to challenge you to a race one day,” he said with a smirk on his face.

  “Bring it on, Mr. Andrews,” I challenged. I don’t know what possessed me to be sassy; I’m not a sassy person.

  He chuckled softly and smiled. “I like your spunk, Miss Hart.” He leaned forward in his seat. “Do you have any questions for me?”

  I tried to think if there was anything that had been unanswered. “I only have the job description and salary information for the internship. What are the differences in responsibility and salary?”

  “There are only a few additional responsibilities, mainly attending some meetings. As for salary, it’s substantially more, and includes benefits. We can discuss that at a later time, should you get approved for the position.” He leaned forward, nearly touching my knees with his. “Are there any other concerns?”

  “None that I can think of. At least, not about the job opportunity.”

  His eyebrows rose slightly. “But you have questions about something else?”

  I started to stutter a bit; I was nervous, but I had to ask. “I-I don’t want to appear too forward, but were you the one who bought my dinner at the pub the other night?”

  Garrett took a deep breath, started to laugh, and held up his hands before answering. “You caught me; guilty as charged. I must say, I admire your perceptive abilities; makes for a wonderful engineer.”

  “Why did you do that and how did you know what I liked to eat?” I wondered aloud.

  “Truthfully, I don’t know why I did. I noticed you kept looking at the menu, like you wished you could order something else, and you sighed so sadly when you placed your order. When the waitress walked by, I stopped her and asked what you had decided on. She had overheard your group comparing favorite drinks and your roommate offering to pay for your favorite meal, but you declined.

  “I told her to go ahead and change the order to what you h
ad initially wanted, drinks included, and to give me the bill.”

  I smiled. “Thank you for your kindness. Should I get this position; would you allow me the opportunity to repay the gesture by taking you out to lunch or dinner sometime?”

  He pursed his lips, stifling a laugh. “I’ve never had a woman offer to take me out before; it would definitely be a first. Let’s just say I’ll give it careful consideration.”

  “Deal,” I replied. That was fair.

  “If there are no further questions, then we can conclude this interview,” he said as he began to rise from his chair, offering me his hand to help me up.

  I took his proffered hand and stood, steadying my balance on the high heels Hannah insisted I wear. I had dismissed the shock of his touch earlier as maybe surprise or static electricity, but the shock was stronger now as his hand held tightly onto mine and his eyes held me captive in his stare.

  I was thankful when he finally spoke, breaking the trance. “It was a delight to finally meet you in person, Laurel. I have a strong feeling that you’ll go far in this industry. I need to discuss the interviews with a couple people at our company and you should be hearing something soon.”

  Not being familiar with interview protocol, I squeezed his hand back lightly in return. “Thank you, Garrett, for the chance at this opportunity.”

  He finally released my hand and gestured me to leave. His hand fell to the small of my back, guiding me towards the door. I was a little surprised when his hand moved and grabbed hold of my elbow, gently turning me around.

  “Do you mind if I comment and give some advice off the record, Laurel?” His face looked genuine with his question.

  “Not at all, sir, I welcome any advice that may help me in the future.”

  He took a momentary step back, his eyes traveling up and down the length of my body, pausing over my cleavage. “Your suit is absolutely stunning. It works very well with your coloring and defines your shape quite nicely. You couldn’t have made a better choice for an interview.”