Chapter 3 The Fair

Rose POV

I put the card that the stranger had just given me in my pocket, and then turned to the first table, where a sign said ‘reception’.

“Hi,” I told her. “I’m looking for Dante Personnel, I’m supposed to have an interview with them at the fair?”

The woman nodded.

“First table in the small room to the left,” she instructed me. “You’re first here so you should be able to go just in. Kinkaid, right?” I nodded. “Good, you’re on time.”

I thanked her and made my way there.

And wanted to turn around almost as soon as I did.

There was an old man waiting in the room. He was greying, with visible wrinkles all over his face. But that wasn’t what threw me off. The stare he gave me made my skin crawl. I was sure that he was undressing me with his eyes.

I swallowed hard. I would do this interview. I had came all the way for this.

“Rose,” the man said, pointing to a chair in front of a desk. “Please, make yourself as comfortable as you please.”

His voice made my toes curl, a rasping sound that was filled with suggestion. I sat down against my better judgement. Immediately, he came over and sat in the seat next to me, though there was a seat behind the desk.

“Hello,” I forced myself to be polite. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

“Of course, of course,” he answered, leaning slightly on the armrest that was closest to me. “I’ve read your file, everything is impressive.”

“Thank you,” I told him, though I was finding his presence a little too close for comfort.

“Though, I only have one question,” he said. “How dedicated are you to getting the job? And once you get it, how dedicated are you to keeping it?”

I stared at him, turning a little in my chair. It was such an open-ended question, there was no way that he could be expecting an answer.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I don’t think I understand.”

His smile turned lecherous.

“Oh,” he said, as he put his hand just above my knee, not actually touching me. “I think you do.”

I stood up immediately.

“Excuse me?!” I almost yelled at him, the meaning of his words plain.

Immediately, his entire demeanour changed.

“You’ve signed an NDA,” he told me casually, reminding me that I couldn’t speak about anything that happened during the interviewing process unless it was specifically reportable. “I don’t think you’re going to be a good fit for this company after all.”

I seethed, but I wouldn’t let him think he ever got the better of me.

“No,” I told him through gritted teeth. “I don’t think I will. You’re offering less than half of what all your competitors are, you’re obviously not looking for anyone with talent or competence.”

I didn’t wait for him to continue speaking; I turned and stormed out of the room. I made my way over to the bathroom, let myself into one of the stalls, and leaned against the wall there, trying to catch my breath.

Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. Maybe the man at the door had been wrong. Maybe I should just turn tail and run.

I took a deep breath.

No. No. I wouldn’t do that. He had said I was over the hardest part. I had gotten in the door. I was worthy of this. I deserved a place here.

‘It’s ok,’ I assured myself. ‘There are assholes everywhere. And you have more interviews lined up.’

It was a small consolation. But I touched my chest lightly, and I could feel the card poking against me through my top pocket. I could do this.

I was at a fair, and I couldn’t allow this one bad interview to mess up the entire opportunity for me. I needed this, and I would do this. I touched the card one more time for good luck.

I took a deep breath and exited the stall. I washed my hands and my face and then dried them off.

I left the bathroom and went right to the stall right next to the one that I had just left.

This time it was a blonde woman sitting there.

“Hi,” I greeted, a small smile on my face. “I’m Rose Kinkaid.”

“Hi, I’m Andy Stith.” she told me. “Do we have an interview lined up already?”

My smile faltered a little.

“Oh, no, I hadn’t applied for anything,” I told her. “Do you have a form I can fill out now?”

“That’s not needed,” she told me, chuckling. “I am taking walk-ins as well. This is a fair for some of the best potential law students in the country, after all.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You look a little like you’ve been through the ringer,” she told me, I probably hadn’t managed to mask my ordeal entirely.

“I just had a meeting with Dante Personnel,” I told her simply.

She pulled a face.

“Ew,” she said. “With the guy in the booth next to me? Don’t work there. They’re all jerks.”

I smiled in relief.

“Oh thank God,” I told her. “I thought I was the only one. I wanted to leave immediately, but I got this card right before I met him, so I thought I could push through one bad meeting.”

I showed her the card, and she took it.

“Urgh, CC Attorneys,” she scoffed. “How did you manage to find the two worst companies first?”

My smile faltered a little. I had thought that he had been very nice.

“Oh, I,” I stuttered. “I didn’t get creepy vibes from the guy that gave me this.”

“You wouldn’t have,” she assured me. “He’s not creepy, just ruthless. Even for a lawyer. He took over the company from his dying father. Or so I heard. Pushed him right out of the company when he was low. And obliterated the competition. He used the full force of his company to wipe out and absorb his smaller competition, and then with a bigger force, took out his larger competition.”

I stared at her in shock. I hadn’t gotten that impression from the man that had given me the card. Could it be possible that she was talking about someone else entirely? It had to be.

“Maybe I met one of the associates?” I suggested it to her. Though working for a man like that wouldn’t be much better than being the man himself.

“No,” Andy shook her head. “It was the man himself. He comes to this event on his own, he always has. He has an eye for talent, I won’t deny that. And I saw him here already.”

I still couldn’t believe that it was the same man. I was disappointed to say the least.

“Anyway,” she told me, handing me back my card. “We do have an opening for a graduated student, and we probably will have another opening by the time you’re done with law school. Here,” she handed me a card from under the table. “Take this, and when you’re done, give me a call on that number. If you don’t get through to me, then just say Andy gave you the card.”

I thanked her and then left the booth. My head was swimming, and I had no idea what to think. But I tried not to let anything distract me too much. There were so many other interviews that I could still take advantage of while I was here, I couldn’t let this chance slip by me.

As soon as I left the booth with Andy, I spotted the man again. CC Attorneys. I still didn’t know his name. I caught his eye, and then glanced down at the card, wondering if his name was printed on there.

It wasn’t.

And when I looked up again, he was gone.

So now I knew that he was the man in charge of CC Attorneys, but nothing more than that. I was going to learn about him in pieces, it seemed.

I went to a few more booths, and I decided to show the card to each person I met, asking more about him as I went. I wondered if his reputation was only Andy’s opinion. But the more people I spoke to, the more I learned that her opinion was pretty much in line with everyone else’s.

Most people seemed to think that he was either the worst person alive, or the best lawyer for all the wrong reasons. I was on the verge of deciding that it would probably be best to just toss the card away and give the whole thing up.

I hadn’t had any luck with any of the interviews and I was beginning to doubt if I should even bother coming back tomorrow.

And then there was an announcement over the speaker to find our seats in the auditorium, as the guest speaker was about to begin.

I wanted to leave. But something told me to just stay for one more talk. Then, after it was done, I could leave. Just give this place one more chance. I had taken a flight to be here, after all.

The auditorium was just a few steps away, so I decided to just attend. I headed inside and discovered that it was filling up quickly, with a buzz in the air that was palpable. Whoever the guest speaker was, everyone was excited to hear him speak.

I found my seat, and I didn’t have to wait long. The room filled up, the doors closed, and the lights dimmed. And then the speaker came on the stage.

My jaw almost dropped open as I saw the man that had given me the card.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted the mike, his voice carrying across the place. “I am Cayden Colbert,” he introduced himself. “I am CC Attorneys. Or, at least I am head of it. We are a large firm, but I like to say we are a family run business. My great-grandfather started the firm, and passed it to his son, and to his son, and until it came to me. I see everyone that works with me as part of my extended family; I trust them.”

He paused, and everyone listened. I was sure that some people were even holding their breath, not wanting to miss one word of what he said.

For everything that I had heard about him today, the good and the bad, everyone listened with rapt attention.

“I come to this event every year,” he said to the room at large. “Like my father did since its inception. This fair is for those that are about to begin their journey in law. And like I said to one very brave and bright young woman at the door, you have all already passed your hardest step. You have gotten through the door.”

I blushed a little. Could he be talking about me?

He kept speaking about his own career, his own beginnings. And he listed his achievements to date, and the opposition that he faced in getting to the place that he was right now.

“Although I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth,” Cayden said again. “I went through University and then Law School on a scholarship. I earned my grades and I did community service. I paid for my own food and living with whatever jobs I could find in college. When I tell you that I understand those that got their degrees out of the dirt, I mean it.”

I listened in shock as he spoke. Who would have thought that Cayden Colbert had gone through all of that?

“Once you have completed Law School,” he said again. “Come to me. I am offering a personal invitation to all of you here today. My firm is open.”

But once he finished speaking, I knew that I couldn’t wait. Law school would take me three more years.

His talk had convinced me that no matter what everyone said of him, there was something that I could learn from him. Skills that I needed to learn, if I was going to survive here on my own.

I couldn’t wait three more years, I had to work for him now. It was crucial to my success. I wouldn’t make it any other way.

I left the room and called the number on the card that he had given me.

“Hello,” a soft and sexy female voice on the other end greeted. “Congratulations, you are the first person to call this number immediately. You are invited to an interview at CC Attorneys. Would Tuesday work for you?”

I stuttered, perhaps I was not so ready for this after all. This was very fast.

“Hello?” the female voice asked again.

“Oh, yes, Tuesday works well for me.”

“Good,” I heard some typing. “Tuesday 11am. Name, please.”

“My name is Rose, Rose Kinkaid.” My words were almost too fast.

“Confirmed, See you at CC Attorneys on Tuesday at 11am Miss Kinkaid.” She cut the call and I was left shocked but excited at the same time.

Finally, it was here, the moment I have been waiting for. I can do this. I only need to convince them to hire me as an apprentice or a researcher, then I will show them I am the right person for this job. I will show my father I don’t need this last name, and I don’t need any influences. Like Cayden, I will make it in this world on my own merits.