Chapter 2

While she wasn’t over the moon about the outfit she landed on, Clara felt confident enough as she exited the Chambers St. subway station. She didn’t come out to Manhattan often from her dingy apartment in the Bronx. The concrete jungle soaring above her intimidated tourists, but those same sights empowered Clara. She had this in the bag. Granted, this was probably the first of many interviews, considering how competitive the job market was in NYC right now, but still, confidence! As she strode through the bustling streets, taking in the cacophony of sirens, honks, and chatter, Clara rehearsed her intro in her head.

“I’m Clara Snyder, I recently graduated from the City College of New York. I majored in business administration, and with my internships at—”

“HEY LADY WATCH THE ROAD, BIMBO!” the irritated cabbie shouted, slamming on his brakes. Clara stumbled backwards, clearly unaware that the light had changed.

“Sorry!” she blurted out, quickly scurrying out of harm’s way. Breathing a quick sigh of relief, she decided she was better off focusing on getting to the interview in one piece.

Clara looked up and down at the towering, sleek office building. She read the lettering above the entrance, just to confirm: “Niskanen Technologies.” Taking her phone out, she pulled up the LinkedIn job listing, just to quickly review the job description and responsibilities. She didn’t know exactly what “Regional Expansion Specialist” meant, but the salary listed was a minimum of $10,000 a month. Imposter syndrome be damned, Clara was gonna get this job. With a quick silent prayer, Clara steeled her nerves, and walked through the revolving door.

An open and spacious reception area greeted her, sleekly designed by some New York architect or interior designer, Clara thought to herself. Moving forwards towards the reception desk, the woman working the phones didn’t notice her, her eyes narrowed on the computer screen in front of her while growing more irritated with whoever was on the phone. She was young, maybe a little older than Clara, but definitely a little heftier. Her double chin jiggled a touch as she shouted at the other caller.

“Listen! That isn’t my responsibility— oh, that’s bullshit, Tom. You know damn well that isn’t my fault. How hard can it be to find a chef? Either figure it out, or we’ll find someone who can.” the receptionist snapped, finally hanging up, returning to whatever present task was on her desktop. A moment or two passed before Clara decided she ought to speak up.

“Hi, excuse me?”

The receptionist looked up, still aggravated from her phone call. Clara continued.

“Hi, I had an interview at 1:30? I’m Clara Snyder, I talked with a lady on the phone last week?”

The receptionist stood up, her blue blazer tight on her chunky body. She adjusted her glasses resting on her tanned face.

“Yes, that was me. Rochelle Jameson, nice to meet you. I have admit, you... aren't what I was expecting. Sorry, just thinking aloud. Follow me please.”

As Clara followed Rochelle down the winding hallways, first left, then right, another right (you get the gist), she couldn’t help but find her gaze wandering. Rochelle wasn’t nearly as big as Clara was at her heaviest, but “chubby” wouldn’t be quite accurate, either. Her ass pressed tight against her pencil skirt, enough to let Clara see her cheeks jiggle as she walked, with jiggly thighs not quite touching, but certainly close. Rochelle opted to wear flats instead of heels, and if Clara had to guess, that was a decision she made a few pounds ago.

Finally, the pair of ladies stopped in front of a non-descript room, with Rochelle beckoning Clara to enter. It was meager, a table and two chairs, which each woman promptly sat down in. Rochelle placed her manilla folder down, opening it to reveal a copy of Clara’s resume, scanning it briefly in silence. Then, the questions started.

It seemed like a normal interview, at least at first. Who are you? Why should we hire you? Describe a time you overcame a personal or professional challenge. Yadda, yadda. All told, that part took around thirty minutes. Then, it got a little weird. Opening her folder once again, Rochelle revealed what she called “an aptitude test,” containing various questions related to Clara’s school experiences and questions that seemed like they were better suited for a personality test.

With 100 questions, that added another 20 minutes to the running clock, something Clara wasn’t expecting. She had planned on getting a late lunch after this, but with the interview running long, she could feel herself getting hungrier by the minute. Her stomach grumbled, softly at first, but over time, it became more audible, with Rochelle taking notice eventually. A look of embarrassment washed over Clara’s face.

“I’m sorry, I had a light breakfast, I’m trying to cut back.” she answered, trying to find the least mortifying excuse. Rochelle nodded her head, as if intrigued by Clara’s answer.

“Would you like to have something to eat? Our cafeteria has plenty of options pre-made for our employees, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Oh, I couldn’t!”

“Please, I insist. I’ll head down there, get you a sandwich, you finish up the test.” Rochelle replied, as she stood up and made her way towards the door, leaving Clara alone.

When she returned, Clara did away with any false modesty, and held her hand out eagerly for the club sandwich Rochelle brought back. Ripping the plastic off, Clara tore into the sandwich, with no consideration as to who she was eating (pigging out) in front of. In just minutes, the sandwich was devoured, and only then Clara realized the show she had just put on for Rochelle. Forget embarrassment, this was beyond. She felt her cheeks turn scorching red.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry, Ms. Rochelle. I was just so hungry, I wasn’t even thinking…” Clara looked down as she made her apologize, and then up to see her interviewer’s react, only to be met with not disgust, but further intrigue.

“Oh, that’s quite alright, Clara. In fact, I hope that was filling enough, because you might have to stay a little further. I’d like for you to meet our CEO.”