"So... Mr. Fitzgerald..." The Mexican man muttered, scanning over the application in one hand while the other hand tapped on the desk.
Jeremy sat in a chair in front of Mr. Fonseco's desk as straight up as he could. He was dressed in his best dress shirt and tie and his long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. It wasn't anything special, but it was the best he could due for being temporarily unemployed and living by himself in the slums of the city. At least he could afford a good shave and a decent cologne, unlike some of the bums who lived around his apartment. He was lucky to not be one of them himself by now.
"Why'd you want this job?" His possible future boss asked, looking back up at Jeremy with a nonchalant, almost bored, expression. Jeremy couldn't help but get temporarily distracted by the faint smell of cigars in the office. He began craving a cigarette himself, but kept his face expressionless. He would pick up another carton on his way home from work, he decided. He cleared his throathougre speaking.
"I'm currently unemployed and I need to pay bills and buy food," He stated bluntly, "If possible, I could start working this upcoming Monday."
"Ah yes, you were caught up in that mess... Heh, I could see why no other company would want ya."
The other man let out a snort of humor, and Jeremy forced a chuckle.
"And you were officially let out? You're not some sort of escaped convict?"
"Yes sir."
"And you were kicked off the police squad? All that has been dealed with?"
"Yes, I included that in my resume."
"Good," Fransisco said, his tone getting suddenly dark and serious as he leaned a bit closer to Jeremy, "With this company's history, I couldn't afford having an undercover cop working right under my nose."
Jeremy stiffened. 'Wait, history? I know I've heard things about the previous owners, but these guys couldn't be the same...' He thought, trying hard to keep looking Mr. Fonseco in the eyes and not show a drop of fear.
"H-History?" He asked for clarification. Mr. Fonseco suddenly began howling with laughter, sitting back in his chair in his laughing fit. Jeremy cocked an eyebrow.
"Estoy bromeando, estoy bromeando!" He laughed, wiping the tears from his eyes, "Just kidding. I was messing with you."
Jeremy felt his fear boil into internal anger. He wanted to slug the other man if he was anybody other than the man he was trying to impress. He would give the heavy man a black eye if the same man wasn't determining if Jeremy would be on the streets within the next few weeks or not. So he decided to just fake a laugh in response.
"You are a good man, good man," Mr. Fonseco said after finally calming down, "I needed a laugh. Anyways, your record is a bit shady, but I like you. Good attitude, but you have respect. And you have quite the muscles. I'd assign you as a bouncer if we had open spots... but you seem to be okay with the night shift, yes?"
"Yes, Mr. Fonseco," Jeremy nodded.
"Please, call me Fransisco, my boy. I hate it when workers act so formal around me. I feel like a teacher in school."
Jeremy blinked with disbelief. Did he hear him correctly? "Wait, did you say 'worker'?" He asked.
Fransisco gave a toothy grin. "Si," He replied, "Are you able to come in for training tomorrow? I know it's short notice, but we need somebody for night watch as soon as possible. It's been chaos without the night guard, and poor Giffiths has been working double shifts after the guy left."
Jeremy was still in utter disbelief. All he could do was nod in response, not really thinking about how strange it was to be hired during an interview. Though the thought didn't stay in his mind long; he needed to buy food and pay his bills as soon as possible.
"Good, good!" Fransisco said in a golly voice, "You come here around, eh, noon tomorrow. Griffiths will give you a uniform and the basics." He stuck out a hand across the desk and Jeremy shook it firmly, trying to hold back his joy.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, Fitzgerald."