Page 2 of The Vampire's Receptionist
Morana sat, picking up the file on her desk. While she opened it, Kian studied her snakes. His most recent adventures in work had all been in the medical field, so he knew the length of the snakes represented her age. Hers were almost to her waist, so she was middle-aged at best, and from the way they swayed in that relaxed way, she was obviously not an anxious or overly emotional person. Definitely good signs for a boss.
“So, let’s start with the basics. What made you want to apply to work at Charmed Away?”
Flicking his gaze to lock with hers, he straightened. “I’m a big believer in fate. So when helping a stranger led to him suggesting working here, I decided to look into it. I was between jobs at the moment, and it just felt like a sign.”
She nodded and made a note in the file. “You’re not the first to find their way here because of fate.” She looked up again, and her eyes seemed to warm a little when she said, “I’m guessing that stranger was Tony?”
He nodded. “He’s a nice guy. Seemed trustworthy to me.”
“He’s very trustworthy,” she agreed. “And sweet. I was sad to see him go, but it was for the best. He needed a more stable environment than I could provide for him. I assume you read up about us?”
He nodded again. He never got into a new job without doing the research first. That would be setting himself up for disaster.
Morana seemed pleased with his response. “Good. I’m glad. I’m going to say my little spiel anyway, just in case. Jobs can range from office work to warehouse work and anything in between. You’re allowed to turn down any job offered to you. The length of the contract is also a variable, so if you were expecting to stick with one job for a while, that definitely won’t happen. I think the longest contract we’ve had was six months. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Sounds like a dream, honestly. I’m sure you can tell from my work experience that I like to bounce around. Spending hundreds of years in one job has always sounded like torture to me. I’d prefer to bounce around.”
She smiled at him, then looked down at the file again. “I was hoping you’d say that. With all the different jobs you had, I figured you were searching for the right fit.”
“Not sure there is a right fit. I prefer to try new things after a while. What’s the point of living as long as we do if we do the same thing all the time?”
She chuckled and nodded. “I agree wholeheartedly. When I first started working at a company just like this, I was just like you. I only started my own company because I like taking care of people, and I was tired of seeing how many were forced to acceptdiscrimination especially in temp positions. I was determined to do better. Until you find the purpose that will drive you, there’s nothing wrong with going where you’re needed. You’ve been working in the medical field for the past decade, correct?”
“Yes, I–”
The door to the office flew open, and a stout dwarven woman stomped in. Kian sighed internally. Here we go.
“Kuzmila? I thought I told Doreen to have you join us in ten minutes,” Morana said, a deep frown on her face.
Kuzmila huffed, eyeing Kian suspiciously. “I had free time. I figured I’d come right away. This him, then?”
Fae and dwarves notoriously didn’t get along. If this woman had a say in hiring, Kian might as well give up hope now. Which was disappointing. Being a temp seemed like a good fit for him.
Morana didn't look pleased with the way Kuzmila was acting, but she rolled with it, gesturing to the chair next to Kian. “Please, join us. We were just discussing Kian’s most recent job experience.”
The dwarf stomped up to the desk, then grabbed the chair and dragged it around so it was on Morana’s side instead of next to him. He tried not to let his exasperation show on his face.
This was going to be a long interview.
CHAPTER TWO
Morana picked up the discussion where they left off, and Kian went over the last decade of medical work he’d done. He never bothered getting a medical license, no one would want him as their doctor, but he worked in a few hospitals and had experience in plenty of different areas. He was about to talk about his most recent work as a paramedic when the dwarf interrupted him.
“Why’d you leave your last job?” she demanded, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Based on the look on her face, she already knew the answer to that. She probably already called his last boss. But if she was hoping to embarrass him or paint him in a bad light, she was going to fail miserably.
“They let me go,” he answered plainly.
“You mean they fired you,” she sneered. “What’d you do?”
“Kuzmila, please remember that personal biases aren’t allowed here,” Morana interjected, her tone stern.
The dwarf scowled but didn’t say anything in response. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared defiantly at Kian.
With a heavy sigh, Kian explained, “I was let go because of irrevocable differences. Making my patients feel at easeinterfered sometimes with hospital policy, and they didn’t appreciate it. I wasn’t fired for negligence or incompetence or insubordination. I was let go.”
Kuzmila looked none too pleased about that answer, but Morana looked curious.
“How did you making them feel at ease interfere with hospital policy?”
