Kayla gazed out the window longingly and sighed. She watched the rain pour down her windows and listened to the soothing noise it made when it hit the roof. She was broken out of her thoughts by a knock on her door and looked up startled. She brushed a piece of hair out of her face and walked over to the door to answer it. She swung it open, finding a soaked and grinning Bryce standing there.
“Hey there,” he said waiting for her to move aside and let him in.
She stared at him for a second and debated on inviting him in.
Bryce gave her a helpless look and she gave in, “Come on in.”
“I can’t believe you had to think about inviting me in!” Bryce exclaimed shaking his head roughly.
Drops of water flew all over Kayla, she put her hand up to try and block the water flying at her.
Bryce looked up and grinned, “You deserved that one.”
Kayla put her hands on her hips and shot him a look. He smiled innocently and shrugged out of his coat. He hung his coat up and made his way over to the small kitchen Kayla had walked to.
“So where’s this job interview?” Bryce asked sitting down at the miniature table.
“JIVE records,” Kayla replied, picking up her towel to finish drying the dishes.
Bryce nodded his head, “You need a ride?”
Kayla shook her head, “No I’ll take the bus, besides I need you here.”
Bryce sighed and watched Kayla move silently. She placed a plate back in the cabinet neatly, then picked up a cup and started to dry it.
Her hair was pulled back loosely and clipped at the top of the back of her head. Pieces fell down carelessly in her face and she brushed them away frequently. She was dressed in a pair of black pants and a soft blue shirt with a matching cardigan over top. Her make-up was done nicely, natural looking and not too much.
She sniffled and brought Bryce out of his gaze. He blinked his eyes and looked up at her. She finished drying the last dish and draped the towel on a short metal pole sticking out of the wall, to dry. Kayla looked around the kitchen and tried to think of anything else she had to do before she left. She glanced at her small wrist watch and gasped.
“I’m going to be late!” she exclaimed and ran out to the hall to get her coat.
Bryce followed her at a slower pace.
“You don’t have any questions do you?” Kayla asked hurriedly.
Bryce shook his head, “I have everything under control, good luck at your interview.”
Kayla stopped for a brief second and stared at Bryce.
She smiled gratefully, “Cross your fingers...I really need this job.”
“You’ll get it I’m sure,” Bryce said encouragingly.
Kayla smiled weakly, “Thanks again.”
Bryce opened the door for her and she grabbed her umbrella. Kayla ran out into the rain and down the metal steps into the streets to catch the bus.
Mr. Collins jumped at the sudden burst of guys, streaming through his door and into his office.
“Don’t you ever knock?” he asked clutching his heart briefly. “I’m going to end up retiring ten years before I have to if you keep doing that.”
Chris grinned mischievously and hopped onto Mr. Collins’ desk, “You can’t do that, who will hear me complain about everything?”
“I thought that’s what everyone else working for me is for, but none of them seem to be doing their jobs correctly,” Mr. Collins said clearing his throat.
Lance walked up to one of the chairs in front of Mr. Collins’ desk and sat down quietly, “Chris had sugar this morning.”
Mr. Collins took of his glasses and rubbed his eyes, “Figures.”
JC walked in casually and took a seat by Lance in the chair next to him. He blinked a few times to wake himself up completely and looked around the room.
Joey bounced in, smiling broadly and full of energy.
Justin strolled in after all of them, running a hand through his bouncy curls. He yawned once and found a seat on the couch, tucked against the wall.
“May I ask what I owe this undeserved pleasure of your presence in my office at such early morning hours?” Mr. Collins asked, leaning back in his chair.
“Darren isn’t here yet and we got bored, so we decided to visit you!” Chris said leaning his head towards Mr. Collins.
Mr. Collins studied Chris for a second before shaking his head and sitting back up, “Well I’m sure Darren is probably in the dance studio by now, so why don’t you go check so I can get back to work?”
Chris crossed his arms, “We came to visit you and your already kicking us out? How rude!”
“I have other places to sit in here Mr. Kirkpatrick,” Mr. Collins said lowering his glasses and nudging his leg to get him off the desk.
“Your desk is fine thanks, and call me Chris...Don,” Chris grinned.
Mr. Collins stared at Chris, “I’m sure the couch will be much more comfortable...after all, that’s why it was put in here, so people could sit somewhere besides my desk.”
Chris ignored his hints and started humming a tune, spinning halfway around to face the other guys.
“How did you guys get in here anyway?” Mr. Collins asked, giving up on getting Chris off his desk.
“We walked through the door,” Joey giggled.
Mr. Collins sighed and nodded his head, “I knew that was coming. What I meant was, where’s my secretary?”
He looked around at the five guys lounging comfortably in his office and got no response.
“No one was out there,” Lance finally replied.
Mr. Collins narrowed his eyebrows in thought and checked his calendar. “That’s right I have an interview for that job.” He checked his watch and pushed his glasses back up his face, “She should be here soon.”
“She cute?” Joey asked, head perking up.
“And how would I know that Mr. Fatone if I’ve never met her before? Besides the fact that looks shouldn’t matter, as long as she has the qualifications for the job then she’ll get hired, regardless if she’s ‘cute’ or not,” he said focusing his stare on Joey.
“Ok, ok, I get your point...” Joey said leaning back. He paused a second, “But admit it, it would be nice if she was cute,” he grinned.
Mr. Collins sighed again and shook his head. He leaned over his desk and studied the papers in front of him, “Don’t you have somewhere to be? Anywhere?”
“Aw Don, can I call you Don? As long as we’re with you we’re not in trouble,” Chris said placing his hand on Mr. Collins’ shoulder.
“No you may not call me Don, we’re not in a first name basis, well at least your not on a first name basis with me, and you can still get in trouble regardless if your with me or not,” Mr. Collins said picking Chris’ hand off his shoulder and dropping it on the desk.
Chris’ mouth dropped and he touched his heart, “That hurt Don.”
Mr. Collins looked up at Chris and clenched his jaw, “MR. KIRKPATRICK...” he started.
“Did I say Don? I meant Mr. Collins...heh...” Chris blushed, edging off the desk.
The other guys laughed lightly and Mr. Collins smiled with satisfaction.
“Well can we at least stay until the girl comes for the interview so we can see her?” Joey asked.
Mr. Collins sat for a second, thinking it over. He looked at his watch and sighed, “I suppose...she should be here any second anyway.”
Joey smiled and bounced in his seat once. The other guys gave no reaction and sat back in their seats to get more comfortable. Chris stayed where he was and grinned at Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins shook his head and ignored Chris’ look, looking back down at his papers intently.
For the next few moments the room was silent.
Kayla stepped off the bus and back into the pouring rain. She quickly opened up her umbrella and covered her head. She sighed and looked both ways of the sidewalk. She found the direction where she wanted to go and started to walk. She checked her watch and quickened her pace, she didn’t want to be late for her job interview, that would make a really bad impression and she really needed this job.
After walking two blocks she found herself standing in front of a semi-tall building. She looked up and only caught the falling rain in her face. She blinked a few times to get drops of water out of her eyes that had fallen in. She took a deep breath and opened the glass door to enter the lobby.
She shook out her umbrella and let down her hair. She re did her hair and clipped it back into place. She looked up to find a big desk in the middle of the lobby and a security guard sitting there.
She walked up and politely introduced herself, “Hi, my name is Kayla Dudley and I’m here for a scheduled interview with Mr. Collins, could you direct me where his office is?”
The security guard studied her for a brief second before smiling warmly at her.
He nodded his head and pointed to the elevator, “Take the elevator to the third floor, go down to the end of the hall and turn left...his office is the fifth on the right.”
Kayla recited the directions back to herself to make sure she got it down and thanked the guard, turning towards the elevator. She checked her watch once more and pressed the up button, tapping her foot impatiently. Finally the elevator door opened and she climbed on, quickly pressing the third floor button.
When she stepped off the elevator she felt like she was in a different world. She looked down the long hallway and took a deep breath to contain herself. She repeated the directions to herself once more and started to make her way down the hall.
When she had taken every possible wrong turn she could think of, Kayla finally found herself in front of a door that was marked, “Mr. Collins, Jive President”.
“Great, I’m 20 minutes late to my interview with the company president,” she mumbled to herself. She took a deep breath and pushed the loose pieces of hair out of her face. “Here goes nothing.”
She knocked softly on the door and heard a muffle response. She hesitated for a second before opening the door and walking in.
Everyone looked up to see a girl standing in the doorway, soaking wet and looking a bit confused.
“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t know you were in a meeting...” she started.
“No, no, these gentlemen were merely waiting for your arrival with me,” Mr. Collins said standing up.
The girl stood there for a second, almost debating what her next move should be.
Mr. Collins gestured towards the chairs in front of his desk, “Please...have a seat.”
She looked down at the two guys sitting in the chair and shook her head, “It’s ok.”
JC and Lance stood up immediately and offered their seats to her. She blushed and declined again, afraid to say yes. Chris slid off the desk and walked over to the couch, wedging his way in-between Justin and Joey. JC and Lance walked over to the couch and sat on the arms, leaving the seats open for the drenched girl.
“Please, have a seat,” Mr. Collins offered again.
“Oh...well, I’m all wet and I don’t want to ruin your chairs...” she started.
“Nonsense your a guest, therefore you should have a seat,” Mr. Collins insisted.
She finally accepted and sat down, sitting on the edge of the chair.
“Let me introduce myself, I’m Mr. Collins, President of JIVE records...and you are?” he said, holding out his hand to introduce himself.
She stared at him for a second before snapping out of her thoughts and blushing again, “I’m Kayla Dudley, I’m here for my interview for the secretary’s position.”
“Nice to meet you,” Mr. Collins said, sitting back down.
“You too,” Kayla said shyly.
She brushed another piece of hair out of her face and prayed she didn’t look as bad she felt. She hadn’t even thought about checking herself out in a mirror before coming into the interview, but with getting lost and being late as it was, she didn’t have time to. Kayla turned and looked at the guys sitting down on the couch, staring at her. She smiled and waved shyly.
They smiled in return and either gave a wave or a nod in response.
Mr. Collins caught the silent exchange of greetings and decided to make it verbal.
“Excuse me! These guys here are the members of the musical group *N SYNC that is presently signed under our label. That’s JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Justin Timberlake, and Lance Bass.”
Kayla smiled again and waved, “Hi, nice to meet you.”
They all waved again and smiled warmly, “You too.”
Kayla took another deep breath and turned to Mr. Collins, “I’m so sorry I’m late, I had trouble finding your office. I also apologize for my appearance, the weather seemed to get the worst of me.”
Mr. Collins smiled and his expression softened even more.
He waved his hand, “Don’t even worry about it, I’m just sorry you got caught in the downpour.”
Kayla smiled gratefully and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well then with all of that out of the way, let’s get down to business. I have your resume right here and I’m pretty satisfied, though you don’t have any experience which is holding me back some. Surely you understand why,” Mr. Collins said looking over some papers.
Kayla nodded her head, “I assure you I am a hard worker and I’ll try my best to be the best of service to you and this company.”
Mr. Collins nodded his head without another word and looked over her work papers for a little longer. Finally after what seemed like hours he stood up and walked around his desk to Kayla.
“That’s all I’ll be needing today, I’ll be in touch,” he said gesturing for the door.
Kayla sighed sadly and stood up, clutching her umbrella, “Yes Mr. Collins and thank you once again for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.” She turned to the guys, “It was a pleasure meeting you.”
With that she walked to the door and stepped out into the hallway quietly.
When the door shut completely with a click, the guys turned around to Mr. Collins.
“She didn’t get the job did she?” Justin asked, speaking for the first time that morning.
Mr. Collins didn’t say anything and took off his glasses, standing in the middle of the room, deep in thought. He stuck his glasses stem in his mouth and chewed lightly.
“She was cute,” Joey said chuckling to himself.
All eyes fixed on Mr. Collins standing in the middle of the room and waited for him to speak. Finally Mr. Collins wiped the stem of his glasses he was chewing on and placed his glasses back on his nose. He walked back to his desk and sat down, looking over the papers once more.
“I think you gentlemen have somewhere to be,” Mr. Collins said, not looking up. “Darren is probably definitely here by now, so why don’t you go down to the studio? I have a lot of work to do.”
They got up silently and walked slowly to the door.
“I liked her,” JC said suddenly.
Mr. Collins looked up, “Who?”
“Kayla...that was her name right?” JC asked looking around.
The rest of the shrugged their shoulders and nodded their heads.
“Well Mr. Chasez I’m glad you liked her, but whether you like her or not does not determine if she gets the job...if I like her, determines if she gets the job. After all, she is my secretary,” Mr. Collins said folding his hands together and placing them on his desk.
“Your secretary?” Justin asked.
“You don’t have any secretaries Mr. Timberlake...well none that I know of...do you?”
Justin shook his head, “You mean she did get the job?”
“I never said she didn’t,” Mr. Collins smiled. “She’ll be getting a call later on today.”
Their faces relaxed and they smiled warmly at Mr. Collins. With that Mr. Collins looked back down at his work and the guys left without another sound, except the click of the door.
Kayla breathed a heavy sigh when she shut the door to Mr. Collins office. She knew for sure she didn’t get the job, he had rushed her out of his office so quickly she almost tumbled out of the door. She sadly shook her head and made her way back to the lobby.
When she passed the security guard he picked up on her solemn mood and felt bad, “Have a nice day miss!” he called after her.
“You too,” she said glumly.
She opened her umbrella and stepped back outside, this time, taking her time. She walked the few blocks and boarded the bus. She sat silently in her seat, thinking of other alternative jobs she could apply for. She would have to work multiple jobs and quit her night classes, her hopes of graduating college seemed to be falling down with the rain drops, splattering on the sidewalk into puddles.
She checked her watch once again and noticed the time, she promised Bryce she would be home by 10:30 and it was already 10:25. She got off the bus and quickly made her way to her small apartment. She climbed the metal stairs and let herself in, shaking her umbrella outside before wrapping it up and placing it in her closet. She took off her coat and hung it up to dry on the nearby rack.
“Hey! I’m home!” she called out.
Bryce peeked around the corner in the kitchen and grinned, “How’d it go?”
Kayla sighed, “Not as well as I would have liked it to.”
Bryce’s expression changed from happy to concerned, “What happened???”
“I showed up 20 minutes late, soaking wet and a mess...went into the interview and left in less than fifteen minutes,” she said making her way back into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry,” Bryce said, meeting her halfway and hugging her.
“There’s nothing you could have done, I guess I just have to find another job...maybe two if I’m lucky,” she sighed.
Bryce kept his arm wrapped around her and led her back into the kitchen.
“You look like you could use some coffee,” he offered.
She slid out of Bryce’s arm and sat down at the tiny table, “No I’m fine...where’s Cass?”
“She’s in her room coloring,” Bryce said sitting across from her.
“Was she good?”
“Of course.”
Kayla sighed, “I don’t know what I’m going to do without this job, but I guess I’ll figure out something.”
Bryce rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her.
He glanced up at the clock and sighed, “Sorry I have to do this, but I have a class.”
Kayla looked up at the clock, “I understand...will you be coming by later?”
“Whenever I can...you’ll find something, I promise,” he smiled, standing up.
He gave her a quick kiss in the cheek and started for the door.
“And Bryce?” she called after him.
He paused and turned around, “Yeah?”
“Thanks again.”
“Anytime hun, anytime.”
Bryce quickly put on his coat and made a run for his car.
Kayla sat there for a few more minutes, trying to think of what her next move should be. After awhile she got tired of thinking about it and decided to see how Casey was doing. She stood up and walked back the narrow hallway to the little girl’s room. She found the door ajar and peeked in.
She found the little girl, lying on her stomach coloring in her book with a few crayons scattered on the floor nearby. The little girl’s curly blond hair bounced every time she turned her head to color in a different position. Kayla smiled at the sight of the little girl and a few tears welled up in Kayla’s eyes. She blinked them back before any could fall and sniffled.
She entered the room and sat beside the little girl, looking over her shoulder to see what she was coloring. Casey looked up and smiled when she saw who it was. Her blue eyes sparkled with life and her crooked grin made Kayla smile in return.
‘What are you doing?’ Kayla signed.
Casey sat up and signed back, ‘Coloring.’
Kayla nodded her head, ‘Did you eat breakfast?’ she signed.
Casey nodded her head and patted her tummy. Kayla giggled softly at the little girl’s expression and gesture.
Casey sensed Kayla’s mood and dropped her crayon, crawling into Kayla’s lap. Kayla wrapped her arms around the little girl and squeezed tightly. Casey laid her head on Kayla’s shoulder and sighed contently.
Kayla smiled to herself and thanked God for blessing her with Casey in times like this. Kayla gently stroked Casey’s head and played with the golden curls, twirling them around her fingers and letting them go.
Kayla rocked Casey back and forth slowly, closing her eyes and hugging the little girl affectionately. She wasn’t sure what she would do about jobs but for now that didn’t matter.
Kayla sighed and finally let Casey up so she could go back to coloring. Casey slipped out of Kayla’s arms and back down to the floor where she was sitting before. Kayla stood up and Casey looked up at her with her innocent eyes, filled with wonder and concern.
Kayla smiled and signed, ‘I love you.’
A smile crept across Casey’s face she signed back, ‘I love you too.’
Mr. Collins sat at his desk and sighed, deep in thought. His mind was running back to the short interview he had given earlier that day. He was hoping that his choice of hiring this young girl was the right one. She seemed responsible and polite, which really stuck out when he talked to her. She had a good head on her shoulders, but something was different about her. Mr. Collins couldn’t quite place his finger on what was unique about this girl, but he was determined to find out.
He glanced at his watched and checked the time. It was almost 4 o’clock, he thought he should call Kayla and tell her she got the job. He picked up the phone and looked at her resume, dialing her number.
It rang a few times before someone picked up, “Hello?”
“Yes, hello, Miss Dudley?”
“Speaking.”
“Hello, this is Mr. Collins calling to tell you that you got the job if your still interested,” he said taking off his glasses.
There was no response on the other line.
“Uh...Miss Dudley are you still there?”
“Yes...” Kayla choked out. “I’m still here...I’m sorry but I thought you just said I got the job.”
Mr. Collins chuckled, “I did say that Miss Dudley.”
“Oh my...oh wow!” Kayla squeaked. She cleared her throat, “I mean thank you Mr. Collins! Thank you! I’ll won’t disappoint you Mr. Collins! I promise!”
Mr. Collins laughed on the phone, “I’m sure you won’t Miss Dudley, I’ll look forward to seeing you on Monday morning, you know how to get here I presume?”
Kayla nodded her head and realized Mr. Collins couldn’t see her.
She laughed to herself, “Yes Mr. Collins...I know how to get there...Monday morning?”
“Yes, bright and early, 7 sound good to you?”
“Whatever is good for you sir, I’ll be there!” Kayla said excitedly.
“Then 7 it is, see you then Miss Dudley.”
“Thank you Mr. Collins! Thank you!” she said quickly.
“My pleasure Miss Dudley, see you Monday morning,” Mr. Collins said smiling to himself. “Bye Miss Dudley.”
“Bye!” Kayla said happily.
They both hung up at the same time.
Mr. Collins shook his head and smiled, feeling good about the reaction she had just given.
“She’s going to be perfect for this job,” Mr. Collins said to himself.
