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Chapter 1
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Cassie was having one of those months. In the space of three weeks, she'd been laid off, lost her boyfriend and her car had died.
She'd been sending money to her sister who was caring for her chronically ill mother. So, when everything went wrong at the same time, she was basically broke.
She spent a long evening drowning her frustrations with wine and chatting. She'd been reaching out to several of her friends by phone and messaging, basically just needing to vent.
She'd lost track of time as she jumped between apps typing and recording messages. It was getting late and she was trying to decide whether to open another bottle or go to bed.
She was suddenly surprised to get a message from Val, her old college roommate. After graduation, they'd gone different directions and exchanged messages maybe a few times a year.
From what she remembered, Val had taken a job with some tech company in Austin, Texas while Cassie and stayed in Boston.
-- Hey Cass! Are you ok? I saw your stories
-- Hi Val. Yeah. It's shit. But I'm ok.
-- What are you going to do next?
-- Not sure yet. I'm sending out resumes and working my network to see if I can get a job fast. If not, I may have to move home. I only have enough money for about a month then I'll have to break lease.
-- Are you still doing finance?
-- I was
-- I know this is out of the blue but my boss is looking for someone and you might be a good fit. Fancy a move to Texas?
Cassie's head spun. She'd been in Boston for six years and hadn't thought about moving. Her apartment and friends were here...she'd never even been to Texas.
-- I don't think I can even afford a plane ticket down there.
-- The company would cover it. Google the company, sleep on it, see what you think. If you're interested, let me know tomorrow and we'll fly you down for the interview. I'll even show you Austin afterwards!
She really had nothing to lose. A free trip anywhere sounded nice and maybe it would work out? Val was always Ms Business--she wouldn't waste her time if there wasn't a chance of this working out.
-- Let's do it! I'd love a trip away and it'll be fun for us to catch up.
-- Done! Watch your email.
The next morning, Cassie got an email with a plane ticket and hotel reservation. Val had arranged for her to arrive Thursday afternoon and set the interview up for Friday morning. There was even a reservation for Cassie at a fancy older hotel downtown just a short walk from the company's offices. What really surprised Cassie was the return flight was on Sunday.
Val's company was really treating her well to give a candidate a free weekend away. Or was Val just really important and able to get her friends free trips?
The next couple of days flew by as she waited to travel. Val had her send an updated resume and had her complete some online screening tests--basically personality tests.
In between, Cassie continued her job search online. As excited as she was about Austin, she'd prefer to not have to move.
She finally got around to packing the night before. Val told her to bring some "going out clothes" and a bathing suit. She stuffed her tiny suitcase with everything on the list.
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Cassie's trip was uneventful. The plane landed in Austin and she made her down the escalator to the luggage carousels.
Val was waiting for her. She hadn't changed since college. She was dressed in an expensive looking black skirt suit and high heels. Val seemed to have a very small top on under her jacket--the V of the jacket showed only skin. Her long hair was tied neatly at the back into a ponytail.
She smiled broadly as she spotted Cassie and waved. Cassie sped over to her and they hugged. Cassie couldn't help but notice that Val was wearing classy perfume and elegant gold jewellery.
"So good to see you, Cass!"
"You too! You look amazing!"
"Ugh...just work stuff. I snuck out early so I could pick you up."
"Your boss must be great...all of this is just..."
"Ah, it's nothing. It's hard to find the perfect people. So he's pretty generous--especially if someone in house knows someone. It saves tons we'd otherwise waste on recruitment. Anyway, I'd rather bring in a friend than some randomer."
"Well, I really appreciate it."
Val just waved it off.
The two women made their way to Val's car--a shiny almost new Audi. It looked like Val was doing well. The car was the most comfortable thing Cassie had ever been in. She just melted into the leather seats and soaked in the air conditioning as Val put on her dark sunglasses and sped along the freeway towards downtown.
They chatted along the way. Cassie told Val about her worst ever month and caught her up on her mom's health issues.
She peppered Val with questions, dying to know more about her life. From what she said, Val was a kind of personal project manager for the CEO. Her job seemed to be to deliver on his pet projects with a team of six she managed.
She said she was living in a penthouse apartment downtown and seemed to be doing amazingly well for a woman just a couple of years out of college.
"So...would we be working together?"
"I might help you onboard...but we probably wouldn't work together for a while. Maybe after a year or so."
"Oh. That's a shame. Do you have any details about the job I should know for the interview?"
"Uh...it's a pretty standard finance role...basically running models over potential investments to help figure out if they're worth doing or not. The interview will probably be pretty tough. But, the job is worth it if you get through."
