Mr. Big Shot: An Enemies To Lovers Romance (Kinda Cocky Book 1), стр. 21

That just means you need to put in more applications.

I groaned as I lifted myself out of bed. Stacking my hair into a messy bun at the crown of my head, I snatched up my phone. Then I stumbled downstairs and managed to put on a pot of coffee before I gazed out the window. The dark clouds hovering lowly in the sky forecasted the kind of day this might be.

While most people didn’t like thunderstorms, I loved them. Overcast weather was soothing for me, and the perfect weather to stay inside and take things slow. I smiled at the sound of thunder in the distance. Then, I walked over and struck my laptop up as small flashes of lightning cascaded through my windows. I drew in a deep breath, the smell of coffee filling my nose. As I hunted down a clean mug for me to use, the rain started softly battering the window.

Of course, it quickly picked up the pace.

I giggled. “Perfect.”

I sat down at my laptop and sipped my black coffee, forcing myself to wake up. I knew I could spend the afternoon curled up with a good movie, but my morning had to be dedicated to more job applications. I girded myself before opening my email. My eyes bulged at the seventeen I had in my inbox. Undoubtedly, one of those emails had to hold good news.

The more I clicked around, though, the more I found the exact opposite.

We regret to inform you…

While your application was wonderful…

We feel you are much too qualified…

The position has already been filled.

I leaned back against the kitchen chair and closed my eyes. Okay. So. My approach obviously wasn’t working. That simply meant I had to try something new. Something catchy. Something to grab their attention.

Like Zane told you to do.

I suddenly wished I hadn’t shut him up on Saturday.

With a deep breath in through my mouth, I picked my head up and exhaled through my nose. I didn’t have the time to wallow in self-pity. I had to keep pushing forward. After setting my mug of coffee down and altering the search parameters again, I opened up all of the jobs I hadn’t yet submitted an application to and sorted them by ‘want.’ Which one I wanted the most to which one I wanted the least. Then, I opened up my resume in Word.

“All right. You can do this. Let’s figure this out.”

I tried sprucing up the language in my resume a little bit. Instead of my former title being ‘Head of Human Resources’, I changed it to ‘Director of Employee Benefits.’ Instead of saying things like ‘organized’ and ‘never late,’ I wrote words such as ‘systematic’ and ‘pointed.’ It was business, after all. As much as I didn’t want to be a cog in the machine, I had to become one if I wanted to get placed back into that machine.

After redoing my entire resume, I started to submit it.

“Here goes nothing,” I murmured.

I sent them off, one after another until ten applications had been put in. Even if I thought the job was much too advanced for my skills, I still applied. Even if I thought I’d hate the work, I still submitted my things. Because as fun as it might be to sit around there doing nothing, I needed a job. I needed money.

And if I wanted to make that the next phase of my life work, I needed to keep working at it until someone hired me.

After three mugs of coffee and an assortment of fruit for breakfast, lunchtime came crashing down against my stomach. It growled to life, making me light-headed as I went cross-eyed staring at my laptop screen. All right. That was enough tweaking and searching. I had a good amount of resumes out there in the ethers. All I could do at that point was wait.

At least it’s still raining outside.

I closed my laptop and stood up from the kitchen table. The storm continued raging. I pulled out my favorite snacks from the pantry. Chips and salsa with sour cream to mix in, a jar of pickles, and a small bag of crunchy M&Ms. I rummaged around in the fridge for a drink before settling on my favorite soda, then plopped myself directly in front of the television. I didn’t even bother getting my phone. I knew I wouldn't hear back from anyone so soon.

Until I heard it ringing less than an hour later.

“What the--?”

I abandoned my junk food extravaganza. Muting my television, I raced back into the kitchen and looked down at my phone, expecting to see Kelly or Roxy calling me. But, instead, I found a number I didn’t recognize flashing in front of my eyes.

And my hands began to shake.

It can’t be.

“This is Karina Rosehill,” I said as I picked up.

“Hello, Miss Rosehill! My name is Carter, and I’m calling in regard to your resume.”

Butterflies fluttered. “Yes. Hello there. How are you this afternoon?”

“I’m wonderful. I’m sorry to barge in on your lunch hour, but I was hoping to take a few minutes of your time and explain to you a job position that just opened up a few days ago.”

I paused. “Sure. I’d love to hear about it.”

“Wonderful. So, just to be upfront, I’m a recruiter. A headhunter. You responded to an ad I had--.”

“I believe I remember your ad.”

“Great! Okay. So, it’s a secretarial position for a real estate company in the heart of Vegas. It’s full-time, though it’s a little under your asking price.”

“How much under?”

“By about three thousand, but hear me out. The employer gives yearly raises to those who nail their yearly reviews. Anywhere from five hundred to two thousand dollars. So, I know I can negotiate your salary up to your asking price after that first year.”

I twisted my lips, thinking. “What about vacation time?”

“Again, something we can negotiate. But, you aren’t asking for anything out of the ordinary with the amount of vacation time you’re seeking. So, it shouldn’t be an