Quintessa
After putting ten dollars’ worth of gas in the tank, I go back home defeated. Ella’s all optimistic, greeting me at the front door like she’s ready to celebrate. All she’s missing is a bottle of champagne. Unfortunately, it ain’t that kind of party. The deflated expression on my face, and the broken heel on the shoe I’m holding, told her that real quick.
“Oh, no, Quin. Look at your blouse.”
“And the shoe,” I say, holding up the one with the broken heel. “First of all, let me say, do you know how disgusting it is to pump gas barefoot?”
“My goodness, girl. What happened? You look like you got chased by a wild animal.”
“That’s precisely what happened,” I say. “Except this wild animal walks upright and had on a five-thousand-dollar suit.”
Ella rips out a laugh while I sit on the sofa, completely defeated.
Sitting on the opposite end of the sofa, she says, “I’m sorry for laughing. You look like you had a hard time.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“So, dish—I want to know everything.”
I inhale deeply, exhale sharply and ignore my rumbling stomach when I reply, “The so-called interview was a nightmare. When I got there, the receptionist shows me to a waiting room that looks like a pimp lounge—I mean there were suede couches up in there and all—and I just sat there for nearly a half hour. I was supposed to have already started the interview. I had no idea what the hold-up was. So, I thought I’d grab some coffee…spilled that on myself when Mr. DePaul’s executive assistant scared the crap out of me when she barged into the room and asked me why I was in there. She proceeded to tell me I was late and how Mr. DePaul doesn’t tolerate tardiness.”
“But you weren’t late,” Ella says.
“That’s what I told her. I’d been there all along. So she takes me to a conference room on the twelfth floor and guess who’s sitting in there waiting to interview me?”
“Who?”
“Essex DePaul.”
Ella gasps and throws a hand over her heart. “No.”
“Yes. Why would the CEO of the company be interviewing me? Don’t they have bigger and better things to do? And you wouldn’t believe how much of a jerk this dude is, Ella. When I tell you he made me feel so small…he scolded me for being late and it wasn’t my fault! I was so mad.”
“He sounds like a real butt wipe.”
“Oh, but it gets worse. So, he’s on his laptop when I enter the conference room. It’s super quiet in there besides the noise from him typing on the keyboard. Other than that, he’s not saying a word. He didn’t introduce himself or nothing. He just sat there. I tried to say something so I wasn’t just sitting there looking stupid, and he had the nerve, the sheer gall, to tell me to be quiet.”
Ella’s dark blue eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “Oh, no he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did.”
“Girl, I would’ve got up then and there.”
“Trust me, I thought about it, but I stayed because I really wanted the job. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I realize I probably shouldn’t have. It just got weirder from there. Mr. DePaul commented about the stain on my blouse—like straight up comparing me to a toddler who didn’t know how to eat ice cream. Then this man offered me water. I don’t accept water from evil people.”
Ella laughs. “You should’ve put that on your resume. No, better yet, on a T-shirt.”
“Shut up, Ella,” I say tickled. “Anyway, I declined and he gave me some anyway, like he didn’t hear me when I said no. The whole experience was a nightmare. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get out of there. I picked up my resume and stomped out of there so hard, I cracked the heel on my favorite red shoes. And just to think I was so optimistic about the job. Ugh…I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking you’d be dealing with some professional people when obviously you were not. But this ain’t the end, girl. You still got the interview with Dominion tomorrow, right?”
“No, it’s on Wednesday and I hope it goes better than this one did. It’s not even noon yet, and I’m mentally and physically exhausted.”
“Girl, just go relax for the rest of the day.”
I sigh. “I’m just so bummed out about it. It’s been a bad past few months for me—you know that—and I just thought I’d finally found something I would enjoy. And it pays more than Dominion, too. I tried…I really tried, Ella. I know you’re ready to have your apartment back to yourself.”
“Girl, please. Listen to me. I’m in no hurry. I told you when you first moved in that you can stay here for as long as you needed to. You’re not bothering me. If the tables were turned and I needed a place to stay, I know you’d be there for me, too, so don’t sweat it.”
“Thanks, El.”
“You’re welcome.” She stands. Stretches. “I have to get back to my desk before my boss instant messages me just to see if I’m at my computer. You know how extra clingy management gets when they have people working remotely.”
“Yeah. You go handle that. I’m going to go see if I can find my pride again.”
“Aw, Quin. You’re making me sad,” she says, crestfallen with her bottom lip hanging.
“It’s all good. Go. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
I head to my bedroom, take off the coffee-stained blouse and fall across the bed. This is where I’ll be for the rest of the day – sleeping off what this day has done to my nerves, hoping tomorrow’s interview at Dominion will go a lot better.