Page 31 of Mostly My Girlfriend
Awesome. A fangirl. Jules was going to hate that. Lauren had a soft handshake and I tried not to be put off by it. She was younger than Jules by only about two years, but this past year at Phoenix had turned Jules into a mature businesswoman who had hired, fired, and quadrupled the size of the company.
Which basically meant, in that short time she had gained the experience of someone three times her age, so I knew she wouldn’t put up with any fools, twinkies, or suck-ups. And definitelynotfangirls.
Jules shook her hand, as well, then Lauren sat across from us. Daniel, who had been helpful at tie-breaking during our interviews, sat next to Jules.
“Lauren,” Jules began. “I just want to say upfront that we’re running late for a flight tonight. So if the interview feels a little high speed, please don’t be put off.”
The girl nodded anxiously. “I can totally go high speed.”
“We don’t have to go that high speed,” I offered. “We’ve got plenty of time to make our flight.”
“We don’t, actually,” Jules contradicted me. She smiled at Lauren. “He’s using this interview as a ploy to deliberately miss the flight, so he doesn’t have to spend Christmas with his parents.”
Lauren looked back and forth between us, now thoroughly confused.
“Not true,” I replied. “The truth is Jules doesn’t think she needs an assistant. But she does because she can’t do everything. She’s not superwoman.”
“I’m managing,” she said tightly while still smiling at Lauren.
“You’re surviving,” I said, just as tightly while still holding on to my own smile.
“Either of you want to ask Lauren any questions?” Daniel asked dryly.
“I’ll go first,” I said. “Lauren, Julia can often be difficult when delegating responsibility. Would you consider yourself someone who takes orders or someone who takes initiative?”
“Both,” Lauren said. Then beamed as if she believed she clearly answered the question correctly.
I sighed. “I don’t need pat answers here. I need the truth. Which would you say is your strength?”
“Um…initiative?” That really shouldn’t sound like she was guessing.
“I’ll go next,” Jules said. “How are you at multitasking?”
Lauren tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. “Awesome! Like, totally.”
“Can you give us an example?” Daniel prompted, clearly helping the candidate out.Awesome, like, totallywasn’t going to fly with Jules, either.
“Sure. I worked at Starbucks.”
When no further detail followed, I assumed that was her answer.
“Can you elaborate,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh my gosh, have you ever been to a Starbucks? Joke, right? Like, everyone has. Anyway, you have to, like, steam the milk, start the espresso machine, and make sure you’re getting the right pumps of syrup into the correct cup. That is, like, so hard. That’s why I quit and went back to college.”
“You understand we’re running a company that’s revolutionizing the healthcare industry,” Jules said, pointing out that waswaaaayharder than making a latte.
“I know. That’s what the article inTimesaid. You’re like, super cool, Mr. Moss.”
“Would you saysupercool?” Jules asked, taunting me deliberately. “Because he looks a little dorky to me.”
I could hear Daniel sigh as he correctly guessed that any chance Lauren might have had at the landing job were now gone.
“Oh no! Mr. Moss, you’re totally chill. That cover rocks! You’re, like, super hot.”
Jules turned to me and smiled. “Did you hear that, Ethan? You rock, and she thinks you’re super hot!”
“You’re not funny,” I muttered.
