Clary wanted this job. She deserved this job. She had worked hard and it was going to pay off and no one was going to take that from her. Not even some rich blonde asshole. Even if he was the hottest blonde asshole she had ever seen. Clace.
The interview
I was nervous. Really nervous. So nervous I could feel my face heating up and my palms starting to sweat. How did people do this every day and handle rejection? This was my first job interview and I don't think I could handle it if I didn't get the job. Not because the job was so great, but because this waiting was excruciating, waiting to see if you were good enough by someone else's standards. I needed to calm down. I saw a ladies bathroom across the hallway. Escape. I quickly got up and walked across, trying not to trip as I went, but of course failing miserably and nearly falling head first into the door. I walked to the sink, turned the cold tap, breathing slowly in and out as I did to steady my breathing from my awkward half trip and also to calm my pulse, taming how red my face would be. I splashed the cold water onto my face, enjoying how that calmed me. I looked up at my reflection in the mirror. My round face was just starting to loose the red tint under the skin. My bright green eyes were bloodshot and hectic. My ginger unruly curls barely tamed but held in a lovely up do. The freckles that dusted the top of my nose making me seem 12, not 22. How did I still have such a baby face? Surely adolescence was meant to make me look like an adult. No. I told myself, you are Clary freaking Fray and you deserve this more than anyone. You actually want this. You deserve this as much as anyone else out there. I gave my self one more glance to double check I was presentable and there wasn't anything in my teeth, and pushed the door open.
I went to sit back at my chair. Taking a look round the room, I realised my surroundings were very clean. Modern, white and clean. Someone here must be a hell of a clean freak. I was also looking at the other candidates in the room. Three women, about my age, all blonde. All tanned. All wearing different colours of the same outfit. Did I miss the part on the application where we had to dress up as different types of Barbie goes to work? Barbie one was wearing a a white blouse shirt, not enough buttons done upend her cleavage everywhere, a grey pencil skirt with a slit that went too high up the backside, and was really too tight, she probably couldn't breathe, with some black heels. Barbie two was wearing a black shirt with the same button hazard and a navy pencil skirt, and black heels. Barbie three was wearing a blue blouse, black skirt and black shoes. Maybe I was a little jealous that the black stilettos made their legs look like they went on for miles. So that was the trick, seducing the boss into giving you the job. I pulled my favourite green jumper down a little over my smart black work trousers glad I hadn't let my best friend Izzy dress me up or I would have been sitting here feeling as stupid as they look.
A woman emerged from the glass double doors at the front of the waiting room and all of our heads turned towards her. She was wearing a smart navy skirt and jacket suit, with a white shirt. Her brunette hair was pulled back to show a kind open face, with kind chocolate eyes. If her look was what the barbie's were hoping to go for, they seriously missed the memo. She addressed us all with an open smile. "Hello Ladies I am Sophie, the PA of Mr Herondale Senior, thank you for attending the interview today. As you know you have been selected out of hundreds of candidates for the role of PA to Mr Herondale. Now, Mr Herondale could not do the interviews himself as he has prior engagements, so his father as happily agreed. One by one I will call you, you will follow me through the double doors where we will ask you a few questions. If you have the job you will be hearing from us by tomorrow morning latest." She took a deep breathe. "So, let's begin" she pulled a phone out of her pocket, "Kaelie, you're first on the list, then Clary, then Rosie, then Becky." Kaelie, Barbie number three, rose from her chair and followed Sophie without a look back.
Kaelie had not been in the interview a few minutes when a felt w vibrating under under my feet. Confused as to what it was, I looked around, then I heard the tune play from my bag, 'I like big butts and I cannot lie, my other brothers can't deny when a girl walks in an itty bitty waist..' I dived for my bag, my face flaming, I quickly ran to the hallway, ignoring the Barbie's snigger. I looked at the name on the caller and sighed.
"John, what have I told you about my changing my ringtone!" My annoyance showing in my tone. All I could hear was laughter on the other side.
"Come on what are big brothers for. That was a good one, you have to admit, please tell me you were sitting in front of an old lady. Even if you weren't I'm going to imagine you were, more fun that way." How could my older brother still be such a child.
"No John, I was at my interview" "Oh shit Clare, forget about that. Good luck, I'll see you when you get back to the apartment. Love you." He quickly hung up. As I walks back to the waiting room I thought about my brother and his pranks. That one was an old one. He had been doing them since I moved into our apartment 4 years ago, just when an started college. The first night I lived there he played the hand in cold water, trying to make me wet the bed. It had been never ending since then.
Sophie and Kaelie walked out of the office, well Sophie walked, Kaelie stuttered with a confident smile. "Clary?" Sophie called my name. Her earlier nerves had vanished as aim walked to Sophie. I reached to shake her hand, "nice to meet you Sophie." She smiled and said, "please follow me." We walked through the glass double doors, following down a white hallway with sketches of different hand print lining the walls. We soon reached another set of glass doors that lead to an open office space with two desks and a white wooden door. Sophie lead me to the white wooden door, and knocked once, "bring her in," was called through the door and Sophie opened it, wishing me luck.
As I stepped into the spacious room I was meet by a man standing at a full length window from ceiling to floor. The office was the same décor as the rest of the building, plain and white. My inner art freak was dying to throw some paint on my this blank canvas. As I stepped more into the the office, I noticed 2 picture frames hanging on the far wall. One of a man in his late 40s smiling, this photo may have been taking in the 70s because of the crazy hair and style of the clothes. The second, a lot better quality picture of 3 people, a women, a man and a boy. The man had blonde hair, and hazel eyes. The woman had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The boy had blonde curls and golden eyes. All three were smiling in front of a house. As I observed the rest of the room, the man turned to speak to me. I was met by a man with hazel eyes. He smiled and I held out my hand, "Hello Mr Herondale, it's nice to meet you. I'm Clary Fray." He took a step towards me, smiled a knowing smile and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you Miss Fray. Take a seat and we'll begin." I sat down at the chair on the other side of the desk and looked at the man in front of me, he was wearing a grey suit which suited well with his greying hair. As I looked at his face, I could tell from his eyes that he was assessing me, and then a determined glint shone in his eyes and I knew he had made an opinion on me. If it was good or bad I couldn't tell.
"So Miss Fray, may I see your resume?" I pulled the paper out of my bag and handed it to him. He took a quick glance over it, and smiled, "I see you studied art and literature in Idris College?" I nodded. "Correct sir." He lay my resume on the desk, "what are your pastimes?" I replied instantly "art, sketching, painting, some times reading." Surely that was obvious from my studies. "Hm, to me those seem to be something you need to loose yourself in, something that you need to let your imagine control not your brain." Before my mind registered what I was saying, it was out there. "I would hardly say I loose myself, I graduated valedictorian after all, that takes major concentration in classes." I didn't mean to sound rude, but I didn't want to loose a decent job because he thought my mind wandered. I looked at his eyes to see if I had blown the interview but his face gave away nothing.
The rest of the interview was average, with him asking about my previous experience, the usual. I left the interview not knowing how I did, but I smiled as I said goodbye to Sophie.
As I opened the door to our apartment, I threw my keys in the bowl. I kicked off my shoes, and walked to my room. I shut the door behind me and picked up my sketch book as I fell onto my bed. I picked up from where I had left off, detailing a birds wing with lace like patterns. I had just finished the birds wings when my phone started to vibrate. I hoped up and saw it wasn't a number I recognised. My heart started to thud.
"Hello, Clary Fray speaking." My voice wobbled with the growing nerves in my chest.
"Hello Miss Fray, it's Sophie here from Silent cases. I am happy to tell you, you got the job as Mr Herondale's PA. You start tomorrow, 8:30am. I'll see you then."
Authors note: hey, so yeah that's the first chapter, to my first fanfic. Clary got the job! I promise Clace in the next chapter to make things interesting, also seeing Sizzy, more fun big brother pranks from John and introducing the plot. Any opinions please feel free to comment.
Georgie be good?