Breaking Point (Drew Ashley 1) (8 page)

"Well, you've finished uni now. Haven't you?"

"Yes, but I still work on campus, so it's easier for me to live there."

My mum's mobile phone rang. "Oh, please excuse me for having my phone at the table," she apologized as she fished it out of her pocket.

"No one cares," I replied.

She checked the caller ID. "It's your dad, Drew. When last did you speak to him?" She didn't wait for me to reply before she answered her phone and announced, "Drew is here. She'd like to say hi." She passed me the phone.

I took the phone guiltily. I should really try harder to stay in contact with my dad. But the honest truth was our relationship had been awkward for years. He left for two years when I was about nine years old. Not that I was still holding that grudge all these years later. But my dad had been my hero. So when he came back hoping that he could just pick up where he left off, my young heart had frosted over. I didn't trust him anymore and I'd never fully let him back in. "Hi dad."

"Drew, my love," my dad replied. "How is uni going?"

"I've finished."

"Well done. When's your graduation?"

"August."

"I'll be there. I'm so proud of you, honey."

"Thanks, dad."

I passed the phone back to my mum. She told him she'd call him back after lunch.

"So Drew," my mum said when she hung up. "I'll get your room ready for you to come back."

The thought of moving back home was seriously scary. "Mum, I'm happy living with Destiny."

"But you'll be looking for a job, won't you? London is a more central place."

I decided to let it drop. My mum thought she'd won, but I was adamant that I was not moving back home. I'd talk to her about it later on the phone.

"Anyway," my mum said waving her hand. "Wanna know what I've been up to recently?"

"What?" Destiny asked, looking genuinely interested.

Jazz looked interested, too. Were they really interested in my mum's life, or were they humouring her? I'd have to ask them later.

"I got myself a job," she announced proudly.

I felt my jaw drop.

My mum laughed heartily, enjoying my shock. "I'm quite proud of myself for getting a job in this current economic climate. And I was up against some bright young things that reminded me of you guys. Fresh from uni with all their credentials and everything. But they chose me!"

"What do you do?" I asked.

"I'm a PA for the chief executive of Reed Housing Group."

"Well done, mum!"

"Yeah, I knew that'd earn me some respect from you," she said dryly.

"I do respect you mum—whether you work or not. I'm just glad you're doing something for yourself."

"Thanks."

"How long have you been working with them?" Jazz asked.

"A month now," my mum said, her smile smug. "Nine to five every day. It's quite tiring. And I only get half an hour for my break time."

I reached for my mum's hand. "Rub some of your good luck on me, mum. I have an interview tomorrow."

"You'll be fine, Drew. You're so intelligent and hardworking. You're like your dad."

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad moving back home if my mum had a full-time job. She wouldn't be in my face every second. I decided to consider it.

Chapter 5

Kale came to Destiny's house on Sunday evening to help me with last-minute preparations for my interview. He gave me a mock interview, which degenerated into laughter and chaos, but I appreciated it. Then, he drilled me about what employers looked for in candidates during group exercises. Things like leadership skills without being bossy, team working skills, problem solving skills, and so on. I knew all of that anyway. But it was nice.

After he left, I was online all night, which meant that I was very tired on Monday morning.

The News24 offices were in Middlesex. I felt slightly overwhelmed as I sat in the reception area with at least ten other candidates. Most of them looked very professional with their suits and briefcases—yes some of the women had briefcases, too. I clutched my Louis Vuitton bag nervously, hoping that their briefcases wouldn't give them any kind of advantage.

At a few minutes to two, Brea Weller sauntered through the entrance with a girl that I'd seen her co-presenting the sports news with on TV. She glanced at me but didn't say hi. I smiled. I refused to let her snottiness throw me off. I was here for serious business.

At two o' clock, we were all called in for a group exercise. I bore in mind all the advice gleaned from Kale, and from the various employment websites that I'd been on overnight.

My group consisted of four girls and a guy. The guy obviously thought he could just walk all over us because we were women. My hackles went up as he barked orders about how we were going to build our spaghetti bridge. I waited until he took a pause for a breath, and said, "Those are some good ideas, Frank. What does everyone else think?"

I made sure each person in the group had a chance to speak, despite the fact that Frankie boy kept trying to butt in.

After the group exercise, we all trooped back to the reception area, then I was called for an individual interview. I was shocked when I walked in and Frank was on the interview panel. Apparently, he already worked for News24 and had been stationed to be obnoxious and see how we handled it.

"You handled me very well, I must say," he told me.

A small piece of the tension in my chest melted away. "Thank you."

"So, you're Drew Ashley. Travis Haywood's girlfriend?" Rosie, the other interviewer said.

"Ex-girlfriend," I said.

She removed her glasses. "What are you doing here? Don't you have your kiss and tell stories generating enough income for you? Why do you want this job?"

I decided not to correct her about the fact that I had never in my life sold a kiss and tell. "I want a career, and I want to be taken seriously," I told her honestly. "I don't want my life to be:
She once dated Travis Haywood.
I want more than that for myself."

She put her glasses back on and started interviewing me. At the end of the interview, she looked at me sceptically. "I have a problem, Drew."

I knew the interview had gone well, so I was taken aback. "What is it?"

"Are you sure this is the job you want? You probably should have gone for a more senior position."

"I'd love to," I admitted. "But those kinds of jobs want people with experience and I don't have any."

"So do you have big ideas?" Rosie asked with a patronising smile. "Plans to climb up the ladder?"

"Yes," I said carefully. Why did it sound like a trick question?

Rosie's eyes narrowed. "Why should I give the job to someone who isn't committed to it and just sees it as a means to an end?"

I didn't know what to say. The truth was I really did just see it as a way to get my foot into the door, but shoot me for being ambitious. I gave Rosie the most professional look I could muster. "Because I will work hard, and I really want it."

"Okay. Thank you for coming."

I left feeling a little deflated. When I got back to Destiny's I went online and applied for a few more jobs—just in case I didn't get the News24 one. If I didn't get a job before the end of summer, I was going to scream.

***

All my stress was unnecessary, and the additional jobs I applied for were a waste of time, because I got the News24 job! Rosie called me on Tuesday afternoon to break the news, and I screamed. I know I said I'd scream if I didn't get a job, but a scream was a perfectly suitable response to getting one, too. I was on my way to corporate success. I might even start my own business one day, after I decided what kind of business I wanted to start. It was my long-term goal to become a financially independent, self-sufficient woman!

I wondered whether to call Harvey like he'd asked me to.

"He told you to call. Right?" Destiny asked in exasperation, after I moaned about it over and over. We were in the kitchen, and she was making a chicken soup for tea.

I smoothed out the napkin on which Harvey had written his number. "Yeah," I said half-heartedly.

"So what's the big deal?"

"He's a manger. I don't want him to think I'm trying to suck up and get into his good books."

"He told you to call," Destiny repeated, tasting her soup and adding a little black pepper.

"I know."

Destiny rolled her eyes. "It's up to you whether you call or not, but you're making a really big deal out of it."

"You'd understand if you saw him. The man is sexy as sin."

Destiny raised her eyebrows. "Ah. Now the truth comes out."

I shrugged. "He really is, Destiny. He probably has women all over him. I don't want him thinking I'm trying to get with him."

"Why would he think that if he was the one who gave you his number and told you to call?"

I threw my hands up in frustration. "This conversation is starting to give me a headache. We're just going round in circles!"

I left the napkin on the table and went to my room. It was still there when I shuffled into the kitchen at midday on Wednesday. I couldn't believe I'd slept all morning.

I grabbed my phone and punched in Harvey's number quickly, not giving myself the chance to overanalyse it.

"Hello?"

Hmm, that smooth voice of his! I gave myself a mental shake. "Hi Harvey, it's Drew. You gave me your number on Saturday?"

"Hey, Drew. How'd your interview go?" he asked.

"I got the job."

"For real?"

"You sound surprised."

"Yeah, because I know who interviewed you." Harvey chuckled. "Rosie is hard to please. She usually hires men, or very old women."

"Really? Why?"

"She says she can't work with airheads."

"So you're saying I'm an airhead?"

"No, but I thought that Rosie might classify you as one."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically.

"So, when do you start?" Harvey asked.

"Next month."

"That's right; I start a week, or two, before you."

"Oh, so you haven't even started your job there yet?"

"Not properly. I go in two days a week to follow the current manager around and pick up some pointers about the job. I start properly in May."

"Are you still with Oxford in the meantime?"

"Only one day a week now that formal classes have finished for the year. It's good because it means I have more time for some of my hobbies."

I was interested. "What hobbies?"

"I renovate."

Just then, Destiny staggered into the kitchen, looking like death. She was about to speak, but I slapped a hand over her mouth. "Houses?" I asked Harvey.

"Yeah."

"Oh. That's nice."

Destiny prised my hand away from her mouth and glared at me. I gave her a pleading look.

"Well, congratulations, Drew," Harvey said. "I hope you enjoy working for News24."

"I'm sure I will. Thank you."

There was a click, and then I heard the dialling tone. I looked at Destiny. "He hung up without saying 'bye'."

"So?"

"That's so rude!"

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Working today?"

I groaned. "Yes. It's my last shift. Thank goodness."

I went to get ready for work. I was still tired, so I soaked in the bath for a while, wishing I didn't have to go anywhere. It took me over an hour to get dressed and drag myself back downstairs.

"Check out the kitchen table," Destiny called from the living room.

I shuffled to the kitchen, wondering what she was talking about, and found a bunch of orange and yellow roses on the table. I looked for a card and tore it off:
Hope you like these as much as the flowers your colleague gave you at the gym. Congratulations on your new job. Harvey.

I wasn't sure what to think.

***

The gym was particularly stuffy today. The air tasted like sweat. I hated working around the swimming pools. All the chlorine in the air was bound to be detrimental to my health. To top it off, Jazz was off today, so I was feeling pretty lonely. Once again, I wondered why I had let Jazz rope me into this job.

At lunch time, I went to a nearby sandwich shop with Alix. I grinned when he paid for my sandwich. "I didn't know you had a chivalrous bone in your body, Alix."

"I'm very chivalrous. Did I not give you flowers the other day?"

"Oh yeah. They're dead now." Harvey's flowers had replaced them.

"Yeah, they don't last forever, you know. Want me to get you plastic ones if there's ever a next time?" He held the shop door for me as we exited the sandwich shop.

"You hold doors open, too?" I asked.

"Only because you're so small I'd feel bad letting you open them yourself."