sam runs around (inatowel) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-10-09 14:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, cindy cendrillon (cinderella), samantha harris |
Who: Samantha Harris inatowel & Cindy Cendrillon silvershoes
What: A job interview!
When: Tuesday, September 29th [Backdated]
Where: Shoegasm
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete GDoc
If her cover business for the FBI gig was anything at all, Cindy liked to think it was fun. What could be considered a ‘retro’ vibe, channeling Betsey Johnson with the bright colors, 80s and early 90s tunes piped out through the speakers, and shoe-themed pop art adorning the walls. The selections found in the boutique were all neatly organized, no thanks to Leliana’s part time efforts - heels, wedges, sandals, sneakers, boots (Cindy’s personal favorite), flats, they were all arranged by shade within their respective slots on the color wheel. Kind of a complicated process, but Cindy believed in her friend’s abilities. She was also hoping to get in some other retail help, now that things would be picking up - she, personally, was getting married, there were more fashion shows on the horizon (which meant more networking for Zelda to do), and Leliana was only part-time. There were other girls who pitched in, but to be honest, Cindy trusted folks from the network more so.
Funny, right? Considering the ‘I dreamed a dream’ trainwreck that was Valar on most days.
She was expecting an applicant in today, sometime this afternoon, and the store owner could be found at the counter - casually leafing through catalogues to get the latest in Prada designs, while chewing on a stick of neon pink bubblegum, something strawberry flavored. Her ‘look’ was casual as well, black leggings, a ‘Weekends are for Waffles’ tee, tall black boots, a cardigan thrown over her shirt.
Not very intimidating at first glance. Not very princesslike either, but oh well. Cindy thrived on her ability to put on a charade. It was a way of life for her, from one reality to the next.
Samantha hadn't known what to expect when she posted that she was searching for a job on the network. Honestly, she wasn't sure that anyone would respond, but she was grateful that Cindy had. While Sam didn't technically need to work, she felt bad that her parents were having to foot the bill for everything. She was their only child, sure, but she didn't want to drain them or be a leech for the rest of her life.
Besides, it would be better for her if she got out and did something as opposed to sitting at home all day.
Her classes that morning had gone well, and after grabbing a quick bite to eat, she was on her way to Shoegasm. Once she arrived, she slipped off her comfortable sneakers that she'd worn to class that morning and slipped on a pair of light purple heels. Her look too was casual, although a bit more dressed up than she normally was during the week. Black skinny jeans paired with a lilac ¾ sleeve button down.
Sam checked her reflection in her rearview mirror, adding just a touch more lipstick before she finally headed into the store. A smile tugged up the corners of her lips, now this was a nice place. Seeing the woman at the counter, Sam started toward it, and paused. "Hi, I'm Samantha, I'm looking for Cindy."
“That would be me,” the one called Cinderella (though, please, stick with Cindy) responded with a winning smile, Crest White Strips glimmer all the way. She closed her catalogue and swished her bangs from her face, offering her hand for a shake in greeting. “Nice to see you in person, Samantha. Come on back, I’ve got applications in the office. And you can tell me a little more about yourself too.”
She turned to lead the girl to where Cindy had her desk and mini-fridge and freezer (with cherry vodka bottle hidden inside for emergencies, shh) and other goodies stashed. Applications were just a formality, really, since she was certain she’d be giving Samantha a job. Of course Cindy would do a background check too, easy in her line of work, but she doubted that her fellow blonde (who was wearing a very snazzy pair of shoes, mark in her favor) had many skeletons in her closet. Not the type to check off ‘yes’ to the question ‘have you ever committed a felony?’
Once inside, she pulled out a chair for her guest and then rummaged for the right paperwork. “So, where in the OC do you live, exactly? Close by, or?”
Samantha returned the smile, and moved forward in order to give Cindy's hand a firm shake. "Same to you, Cindy." She nodded, and followed after her to the office. Sam glanced around once she'd entered the office, just to check out the space, much like she had the main store when she'd entered.
"Thank you." Taking the offered seat, Sam sat her keys and wallet down on the floor beside her, one leg crossing over the other. "I live in Orange. So it's about 30 minutes out, well if traffic is good." She laughed softly, "I live off campus in an apartment not too far from the college." An apartment that her parents paid for, but that was neither here nor there. Sam just wanted to feel like she was contributing, to take some of the weight off her parents shoulders.
"How long have you been running this place?" She asked curiously, turning her head to look over at Cindy.
“About a year and a half?” she responded thoughtfully, and found the application which she presented on a clipboard, along with a pen. “I’m originally from the south, Georgia to be exact - “ Yet any hint of that sweet tea, peaches and cream accent had been carefully erased, her accent now just kind of a typical ‘Americanized’ version, a way for her to sever ties with a past that she didn’t particularly care for (but had recently made amends with her family, in time for her wedding). “And I did a lot of traveling for work and things like that, before moving out here to open the store.”
She had done all sorts of things for and with the FBI, admittedly, none as interesting as the potentials she faced here daily.
“I like it though,” she continued, settled in her own desk chair, one leg propped up beneath her. “It’s home. Odd as it can be sometimes.”
Taking the clipboard, Sam didn't start on the application immediately. Instead, she listened to Cindy speak about how long she had owned the store, and where she was from. "It's lovely." Sam responded, "I love the decor, and the tunes." She laughed softly, one leg crossing over the other so she could lay the clipboard against her thigh.
Her eyebrows rose slightly, and she let out a soft sigh with a nod. "It definitely can be odd." She had no idea about half of the things that went on until she'd joined the network. There it had became apparent that things weren't always what they seemed, or something like that. "But I can understand about it being home." She glanced up from the application, offering Cindy a small smile before she continued to fill out her information. Sam's past work history wasn't that full, she'd worked at the mall during her junior and senior year in high school at a Abercrombie and Fitch store, and at a Claire's part-time during the holiday season.
Several moments later, Sam handed back the pen and completed application. Her penmanship was easily readable, everything neat and tidy, although if Cindy were to see her lecture notes that she took by hand she'd see that while in a hurry Sam's handwriting wasn't that great. "There you are, I think I got everything."
“Thanks so much,” Cindy took the clipboard back, giving the application a brief lookover. “I’m glad someone else appreciates the lost art of 80s tunes.” Hey, come on, ‘Like a Prayer’ was totally amazing ‘working the day away’ music. But she didn’t see anything on Sam’s application that would raise red flags - she seemed like a sweet girl, a college student looking to earn extra cash, so this wouldn’t be her number one career choice or anything. Which was totally fine, and understandable.
She was curious about how her potential employee handled the, uh, oddities of the OC, so she made sure to add, “If anything crazy happens, you don’t have to worry about your job being in danger or anything. Not that it would be the first thing on your mind, but...” One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “During that whole ‘apocalypse’ scenario, not sure if you were around for that, but the building literally disappeared. Obviously it came back, though clearly being that I’m accustomed to the weirdness we’d be on the same page about that.”
Life wasn’t easy in Orange County. Garrus called it a metaphysical hellhole sometimes. He probably wasn’t wrong.
“So, what are you studying in college? And you’re probably looking for part-time hours, to sort of work around your schedule, I assume?”
She chuckled softly, and gave a small sideways tip of her head. They were some of her favorite tunes. Actually, Sam liked a lot of 80's things, just not most of the clothes or the hairstyles, no thank you on those.
Lacing her fingers, Sam kept her hands in her lap, head tilting slightly to the side in curiosity. It was good to know that if anything strange did happen, that she would be excused from work. Though Sam liked to believe she could totally rock a pair of heels as a dude. A line appeared between her brows, a look of confusion crossing her features. "No, I don't remember that." She shook her head, wondering just what that was all about. She'd lived in the OC for a couple of years now, and it was only recently that she'd started to hear about strange things. "That's good to know though. I uh, saw where people were talking about switching genders on the network, but thankfully it didn't happen to me." Sam was still skeptical about that whole thing, but what did she really know?
Strange things happened all the time, but she wasn't sure things that strange happened.
"I'm studying Pre-Law with the hopes of heading to Law School one day, and focusing in Environmental Law." At least that was what she was hoping to do with her life. Sometimes the greatest laid plans failed, or you know, life went in a different direction than what you thought it would and plans changed. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm looking for. I can do some evenings during the week, but I try to keep those open for class work and studying. Still, if I'm needed I can always try to come in." She nodded, offering Cindy a small smile.
Sam could be flexible, but she wasn't about to let her schooling fall by the wayside because of a job or anything else.
Being flexible was good - Cindy appreciated it. Because as they all knew (or in Sam’s case, she’d come to know very soon) shit really hit the fan pretty quick here, and you had to be good at rolling with the punches. At least, when it came to their network - remaining oblivious, and in Orange County for years, well, sometimes Cindy envied those people.
“We can stick with afternoons, mornings when you don’t have classes,” she said. “Just let me know what your school schedule is and we can go from there. If there’s ever a special ‘shoe’ event or anything, I’ll put out a call for interested parties - sometimes fashion shows and trunk shows, or bridal expos or whatever, can be fun. But you’re certainly not obligated.”
Some people were more into those types of things than others. On Cindy’s end, it was part of an exquisite, pristine cover up - all shoes, all the fucking time. Ya-hoo. “I’m also getting married pretty soon so the other girls will be here to help with your training and such, but...” She grinned a bit, “It’s really not too hard. You’re studying Pre-Law, I think you’ll be fine here.”
That all sounded good to Samantha. There would still be plenty of time for what she needed to do, and for a social life. Cindy seemed easy going, and that? That was definitely a plus in her book. "That sounds fantastic. I can e-mail you my class schedule once I get back to my apartment." She thought that would be the easiest way, although if Cindy preferred something else, she could drop off a physical copy sometime before the end of the week. She nodded, "Of course, that does sound like fun, so maybe there will be a time when I can do that." Sam would never say never, but she didn't really plan on going to many shows unless she really felt the need, or they needed the extra help.
Shifting slightly in her seat, Sam uncrossed her legs only to cross them again the other way. She smiled at the mention of Cindy getting married, "Congratulations!" Even if she didn't really know her, she felt the need to say it because who didn't want to celebrate love? Bitter Betty's that's who.
"I'm not that concerned, really. If I have any questions, you can better believe I'll be asking them." Sam didn't want to disappoint anyone, or mess anything up, so she would ask her co-workers if they needed anything. "So, is there anything else? Like, do I have to go for a drug test or anything?" Not that she was concerned about that either, she could easily pass one.
“Definitely, ask away. There’s no such thing as a stupid question. Only stupidly not asking questions, which leads to doing stupid things,” Cindy chuckled. Sam seemed like a nice girl - smart, studious, serious. That was a good combo, especially for a lawyer-to-be. She’d unearth plenty during the background check (done in the FBI building - they were sort of picky about who came to work at their cover ops, but technically it was Cindy’s assignment overall; she just had to keep them informed) so no need to make the girl pee in a cup.
Usually someone as trained as Cindy could spot druggies well enough, their mannerisms gave them away. Her prospective employee wasn’t popping pills or snorting white powdery lines from questionable surfaces, thank god. “Well, I’ve got your info so I’ll just run the standard background check and as for a drug test, no, not necessary. But email’s good, if you want to send me your schedule. Here - “
She passed over one of her business cards. “Of course I’m on the network as well, obviously, so you can always get in touch with me there. But once everything’s all situated, I’ll give you a call and let you know the work times - you can come in and get started?”
Sam definitely agreed with that. She didn't see any point being frustrated with a task or confused by one, be it with work or classes when a simple question could clear all of that up. It seemed silly to her not to ask for help, especially when one needed it.
"Oh, of course." Sam wasn't worried about the background check either. She'd find that she was a regular person with no criminal history. Heck, she hadn't even been pulled over by the cops before either for speeding or anything of that nature, so that was something in her favor definitely. Reaching forward, Sam took the offered business card and looked at it briefly.
"Thank you." She replied, tucking it away in her wallet and making a mental note to e-mail her as soon as she returned to her apartment. Sam nodded, "Yes, of course." She was still so thankful that Cindy had responded. She was so nice, and this place was amazing. The discount on shoes also helped, but Sam was trying to remember that she needed the money for needs not wants. "That sounds amazing to me. I really appreciate this, Cindy. It means a lot to me." It really did mean a lot to her, more than she could ever really express.
Standing, Sam stuck out her hand again. "I'll be e-mailing you as soon as I get home, and I look forward to working for you and here."
Cindy stood as well, shaking the girl’s hand in a gentle-but-firm clasp, her typical way of things. “You too, Sam. I think you’ll like it here.” She hoped so - but it was a fun place to work overall, and the people were pleasant as well. Perhaps they weren’t in it as a career, but she’d be proud to send her baby birds off and out of the nest when they were ready. Mrs. Soon-To-Be-Vakarian did as good of a job as she could with the place - having capable people come on board to help with things? Well, hey. That just made her real job all the easier.