Come on, Rage Thunder, Jonathan thought. See what I see.
30
Zoey shook her top foot with her legs crossed, seated in the waiting area of Rage Thunder Marketing. The receptionist’s name was Mae and she seemed nice, smiling at her and offering her a drink. She declined since her stomach churned like that time she ate too many carrots to avoid talking to Jonathan.
Do not share that with this nice stranger, she thought to herself.
She worried that the suit was too much. She worried if there would be a panel or not and how many people she would interview with. She hoped she would do well since Jonathan used his points to fly her here and everyone at home was waiting to see how she did.
You are Zoey Fucking Benton, she kept repeating to herself.
When two men and a woman came down with her résumé and the portfolio printed in their hands, her anxiety went from a ten to an eleven.
“Zoey, my name is Doug, and these are my colleagues, Paul and Georgia. You know Georgia from the phone interview.” Zoey shook their hands as they walked into the conference room, all three seated on one side and Zoey on the other.
“Thank you for coming all the way out here for us to meet you,” Doug said, flipping through the printed pages.
“Thank you for having me,” Zoey said. She laughed nervously.
“Tell us a little bit about yourself.”
Zoey recited the personal bio she had rehearsed with a smile. She made sure to look each person in the eye and change the inflection in her voice to sound excited and animated. She finished with “I live in Lillyvale, California, a suburb outside of Sacramento. I’ve lived there my whole life.”
“Huh,” Doug said, looking down on the legal pad he was jotting on. Zoey had snuck glances at the notes, trying to read what they were writing. “Why do you want to move here?”
Zoey looked down at her hands. It was time to be honest and vulnerable, even if it was with a bunch of strangers. She mentioned how Lillyvale was comfortable, but it was time for a change. She mentioned how much Jonathan loved the city, and she felt like she could love it too.
“To clarify, are you here simply because of the boyfriend, or is it because you want to work here?” Paul asked.
Zoey cast her shoulders back and looked Paul confidently in the eye. She was tired of beating herself up, thinking she was less than, that she couldn’t handle a new challenge.
“I want to work here,” Zoey said. “I’ve been researching your company, and I could be a great asset to your team, especially with what I’m doing with my current employer.” She then recited hard facts of how she had increased Cycle Yoga Love’s inquiry and membership rate based off of her marketing alone and her different ideas for ad campaigns. She mentally did a happy dance as the facts rolled off her tongue, sounding professional and impressive.
She answered the questions as best and as honestly as she could. They explained the position she was applying for. Suddenly, everything clicked into place. This felt right. Being there felt right. They didn’t offer her the job, but she finally felt like she belonged at the table.
She shook hands with all three of them when the interview was finished. They told her they would let her know the outcome next week since they had more interviews scheduled. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” Doug said, looking her in the eye and shaking her hand firmly. She walked out and felt intense relief wash over her body.
She did it.
She texted Jonathan that she was finished, and he came quickly, telling her to stay inside until he texted her. He texted five minutes later. As soon as she hit the doors to go outside, she took off the jacket and hooked it over her left shoulder.
“How did it go?” Jonathan said as he climbed out of the car.
“Amazing,” Zoey said as she walked to her door. “I need a good beer.”
“I know just the place,” Jonathan said, getting back into the car.
They drove to a brewery down the road and found a high-top table to sit at. Zoey looked at the menu and told Jonathan which one she wanted.
Jonathan pointed a finger gun at her and headed back to the bar to order. The brewery felt bright and warm, much how she was finding Phoenix. She looked out the window at the blue sky with not a cloud to be seen. She imagined herself in Phoenix with Jonathan, going to a job she was good at and coming home to him at night. She already checked, and there were tons of spin and yoga studios, including a promising one less than a mile from Jonathan’s apartment. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find any that had both available. Who knows, maybe she could open a Cycle Yoga Love down here eventually.
She had even checked out the restaurant scene and was making a new list of restaurants to try and places to see. It was so different than Lillyvale but felt familiar. She hadn’t traveled much, but she felt comfortable in every spot in Phoenix that she’d been to, and Jonathan’s apartment already felt like home. The unknown had always made Zoey a little nervous, but the chance at novelty buzzed through her body. She felt so awake and alive. She could fall in love with this place.
Jonathan came back with identical snifters, filled to the brim with a cloudy, golden-colored beer. “I already tasted it and it’s amazing.”
“Oh good,” Zoey said. She sipped her beer, and the tartness of the Citra hop blended perfectly with the malt. It was delicious. She would move here just to be close to that beer.
“To getting the job and moving to Phoenix,” Jonathan said, cheersing her glass with his. They both took a sip. “So, now I want to get this beer every Friday.”
“Right?” Zoey said, threading her fingers with Jonathan’s. “Thank you so much for today. You’ve been so great.”
Jonathan said earnestly, “This is what I do for people I love.”
Their eyes connected. Zoey smiled.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Maybe everything had to happen to get us here, like this,” Jonathan said.
He brushed his knuckles against her cheek and her eyelashes fluttered closed. Zoey melted into a puddle right there under that high table. She nodded as well. All the heartache, all the bad dates, all the failure was worth it.
“I feel like that too. Everything led here.”
“This moment,” he said. He kissed her slow with his hands anchored at the base of her neck.
There were things that needed to be in place, of course. Still, she would try like hell to make them happen. She leaned in to kiss him and tasted the beer she had just sipped. They breathed together as she kissed him, a kiss full of hope.
“I want this job so bad,” Zoey said. “I hope I get it.”
“I think you will. If not this one, then there will be another one. Just keep trying.”
Zoey kissed him again. Looking at Jonathan brought back all those familiar feelings from the Tahoe weekend. The electricity ran through her body. “I really love this beer, but you owe me multiple sexual debts you have not paid.”
“What should we do about that, madam?” he asked. His eyes burned with fire.
“Finish that beer. I have to be on a plane soon, and I only have so much time.”
Jonathan took a large gulp and downed the beer in a few swallows. Zoey drank hers a little slower, tracing her finger around the rim of the glass. She eventually finished it, and they left hand in hand.