“I didn’t know I had to let you know every aspect of my life. I was goin’ to have lunch with Rainey tomorrow. Does that meet your approval?”
Serene chortles.
Étienne’s eyes narrow at his wife before he points a finger at Nat. “You know how I feel about a job.”
“And you know how I feel about a job,” Nat retorts.
I can’t help but nod in approval. This strong Nat is new but not surprising. She has lived inside her all along.
“You can’t get a job here.”
“She can work here,” I say without a second thought.
“What?” Étienne and Nat say at the same time, although for different reasons. A soft smile graces Nat’s face. It’s been years since she’s smiled at me like that. Back then, if I knew what I know now, I would have said or done anything to keep her smiling.
“She can work here if her interview goes well, and the floor manager approves of her,” I clarify.
Étienne smartly looks at Nat with his arms crossed. “Do you know what this job entails? You’ll be workin’ long hours, and it’ll require your full concentration. This job is highly stressful.”
I arch a brow. “It’s Southern Bell, not a sweatshop.”
Étienne gives me a cynical smile. “We’ll see about that.”
Nathalie never wavers in her answer. “I want the job, Étienne.”
Her answer isn’t good enough for him. He opens his mouth, ready to slip into another tirade about the perils of being a telephone operator, when Serene cuts in.
“Why don’t we let the two of them sort this out?”
Étienne looks at her in disbelief.
“Let Asa give an impromptu interview and see if Nat is qualified for the job,” Serene stresses.
Everyone in the room knows that she isn’t. Myself included. That’s why the tension in Étienne’s shoulders falls, and he nods. “All right, then. Interview, it is.” He looks to his sister. “I’ll be waitin’ for you downstairs.”
Serene walks out of my office with Étienne, but before she goes, she looks to Nat and mouths something. I think she says, “Burn the place down.”
What is she talking about?
Once Nat and I have the room to ourselves, I turn around and take her in. Her high-waisted black skirt emphasizes her small waist. Her yellow silk blouse makes her stand out in a sea of muted colors.
She looks as beautiful as she did at Alex’s birthday party, and I feel as though I’m back in that damn hallway, reminding myself not to get too close to her.
“I…um… I’m sorry if this is a bad time,” Nat says with a tentative smile.
“Not at all, not at all. I was simply speakin’ with your brother about some business.” I cross my arms as the lingering tension from our conversation at Alex’s birthday party settles around us like an uncomfortable hug. In a desperate bid, I say, “At Alex’s birthday party, you told me you wanted a job interview. I didn’t realize you would come so soon.”
“I want a job,” she says with determination.
“You want to make a career of bein’ one of the Hello Girls?” I question.
Nat walks over to the windows and looks down at the first floor. “I want to do somethin’ meaningful with my life.”
I stare at her profile and a sharp aching of need slams into me. So swiftly it almost feels as if I’ve been punched in the stomach. Quickly, I look down at my desk and try to compose myself.
“Well, if you want to be a telephone operator then I will treat this as your interview.”
Nat’s eyes fill with hope, and she nods.
“Ma’am, please have a seat,” I say, my tone is polite yet stiff as I gesture to one of the chairs opposite to mine.
As I sit down behind my desk, I observe Nat. She does as she’s told, but nervously fidgets in the seat. Crossing and uncrossing her legs and looking around my office as though she’s never been in such a space.
Loudly, I clear my throat. “Have you ever had a job?”
It’s apparent, from the way her cheeks become red, that she’s embarrassed. Slowly, she shakes her head, but I’m proud of her because she doesn’t look away. “No, I haven’t.”
“All right.” I lean back in my chair and ask her the same question I ask every girl I interview. “Why do you want this job?”
Nathalie swallows. Her eyes widen and her mouth opens and closes several times. The words, whatever they may be, rest on her tongue. She simply can’t seem to get them out.
“Étienne is right. This was a mistake. I should go.”
“Stay. We’ll finish the interview.”
Nat freezes, her hands curled around the arm rests. I can tell she’s not completely certain what decision she wants to make. To be honest, I’m not certain what decision I want her to make. But what I want her to do, what I’ve always wanted her to do, is to never question her own confidence.
She is always buoyant and compassionate to the people around her, but she never puts the same compassion back onto herself. It slips between her fingers before she even has the chance to notice.
Right now, she needs help with making sure doubt doesn’t leave her as the shell of the woman she once was. I’ll try to assist in that task the best I can.
“Finish the interview,” I say calmly and quietly. “It’s not necessary to be qualified for this job. Most ladies aren’t, all right?”
Nat looks at me for several seconds before she finally nods. The breath I didn’t know I was holding escapes me.
“Now. Where were we?” I give her a polite smile and lace my fingers together on top of my desk. “I believe I asked why you wanted this job?”
Nat appears just as unsure as the first time I asked the question, but she doesn’t try to flee, although she might want to. She bravely meets my gaze and speaks, “I could tell you I am a hard worker, but that would be a lie. I haven’t had to work very hard in my life. The truth is I need somethin’, anythin’ to keep me engaged. I have nothin’ to lose.” At that heartbreaking remark, she gives a small smirk. “But I guess you could say I have everything to gain because I’ll be willing and eager to learn whatever you show me.”
When she finishes speaking, she exhales loudly as though she finished a race.
I want to do far more than hire her. What I most want to do is reach across the table and hug her. Tell her that was one of the most honest, if not unique, answers I’ve ever been given. And it broke my heart to hear it.
I sit forward, my chair squeaking beneath my weight. I stare at my laced fingers before I flick my gaze to hers. “Very well. I believe that’s all I have.” As I stand, I see the crestfallen look on Nat’s face. I gesture to my closed door. “We’ll speak with the floor manager and see what she thinks of you.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Nathalie
The two of us walk down to the first floor where the floor manager is. Asa points to closed doors, calling out this name and that. I nod and try my hardest to pay attention, but my mind cannot keep up.
There’s too much to process.