Chapter Text
Three Years Ago
"And what makes you think you'd be a good fit here, Ms. Vidal?"
Rio squeezed her fingers tighter in her hand. She'd been making a conscious effort to not fiddle with the buttons of her cuff, or start bouncing her leg in nervousness. The rehearsed version of her answer slipped through her mind, as every single one of them did since the second she'd walked in.
Ms. Harkness was not at all what she'd been expecting. She'd been expecting another meeting with Judy, in the cramped but cozy office on the fifth floor, surrounded by plants and staring at the dozen or so pictures of her family. Instead, she had been sent to the top floor, in a sleek, modern office that screamed minimalism, and the woman taking her interview didn't even bother acknowledging her for the first few minutes after she entered her office.
And if all that wasn't enough to throw her off her groove, Agatha Harkness was one of the most beautiful women Rio had had the privilege of being in the same room as. It was more than distracting. Rio hadn't been able to stop thinking about those sharp, blue eyes since she sat down.
Focus. She's staring.
"Uh," Rio opened her mouth, then mentally smacked herself in the face. Who said uh? "Uh" didn't exactly scream confidence, assertiveness, or 'going the extra mile' — all things that had been emphasized by Judy.
Judy. Oh, Rio missed Judy. Judy was nice. She had a permanent smile at all times and didn't mind when Rio almost knocked over her plant.
Ms. Harkness raised a brow at her, then leaned back in her seat slightly. Her attention went back to the monitor she'd been glancing at throughout the whole interview, but this time, it didn't look like it was coming back to Rio.
Great. You fucked it up. Nice one.
Rio sagged in her seat with a quiet mix of guilt and relief.
Back home, it is, she thought to herself. Have to deal with Dad’s lectures, manage the shops, all those childhood friends…
And…
Her.
Oh, no.
Rio wasn’t going back.
Not without a fight.
"I know I'd be a good fit for this position, Ms. Harkness,” Rio had perfectly prepared answers in her head, she’d just been distracted. As long as she didn’t look directly into those eyes, she’d be fine. “I thrive under fast paced environments, I have an excellent memory and I never miss any details. I’ve had an interest in books since college, and I’ve worked the internship at Corey & Cal’s publishing house for two years.”
Ms. Harkness's attention stayed on the monitor, but Rio noticed the slight glance she gave her way.
"And I guarantee, if I get this job, I'll be the best damn assistant you've ever had. My entire life would be dedicated to making yours as easy as possible. You won't regret hiring me, Ms. Harkness."
Agatha turned to her again.
Rio waited with bated breath.
"We'll see."
Then she turned back, and made a shooing motion at Rio.
Rio stood up.
"So, does that mean…?"
"HR will be in contact with you."
She said it with an air of finality, and Rio took it as a sign to leave.
She made her way to the elevator and tried to pretend people weren't looking at her. Agatha's office was surrounded by desks and made of glass — there was no doubt that at least a handful of them had seen her in there.
The elevator ride to the ground floor took four minutes and nineteen seconds. Enough time for Rio to regret every single thing she'd done since the moment she'd stepped off of it early.
She walked out into the street, debating if she should get a drink as a compensation for the terrible interview, or if she should go straight home and start looking at other careers, when her phone rang.
It was Judy.
"Congratulations, Rio!"
Rio stopped in the middle of the street. She almost dropped her phone when someone bumped into her from behind, and she moved to the side, trying to keep her phone to her ear. She missed what Judy said, but she managed to catch "…start on Monday!"
"What? Wait, sorry," Rio said, out of breath, her heart racing, "I lost you for a moment there. You said… I got the job?"
"Yes! Congratulations! Ms. Harkness called down just a few minutes ago with the offer. You'll receive your contract through your email, get it back to me by the end of the week, and we'll see you on Monday!"
Judy explained a few more things about the process, and Rio just leaned against the cement wall of the building, and breathed a sigh of relief. A smile broke out on her face as she tried to keep herself from buzzing with excitement. She wondered what it must have looked like to other people.
"Alright, thank you. Yeah, I'll send a message if I have any questions, thank you."
Rio hung up the phone, smiling. Her lockscreen flashed in her face.
Her and another girl, faces squished together by their friends, a carefree look in both of their eyes, with the caption girl of your dreams!
Rio shut the phone off, and looked back up at the building she'd been leaning against.
There was a board hanging from the sign, the arranged letters spelling out a crooked message: Get Your Kebab Here!
Rio took a breath, then snapped a picture of the sign. Set it as her new lockscreen.
Then headed back home, to pick out an outfit for her first day at her dream job.