Seeing the Light ~ Marie: The Interview
Here’s the way it was supposed to work. I was supposed to put on my second best dress and the one pair of pantyhose that didn’t have a hole and go to the Palais Office Building, a five story red brick holdover from the 1920s hidden away on a nice side street in downtown Edmonton, for a job interview. I was supposed to wow my potential new boss, Mr. Don Latterson, and I was supposed to get that secretary slash receptionist job. And then my life was supposed to get better.
It didn’t go that way. Of course.
There was only one other interviewee waiting in the small reception area in the office of Don Latterson’s import export business, called, not too imaginatively, Latterson’s Import Export.
“Wish me luck,” she said, when Mr. Latterson silently hooked his finger at her, calling her into his office.
“Good luck,” I said. I didn’t mean it. I wanted the job for myself, after all.
When she ran out, sobbing, three minutes into her interview, I felt guilty, like I’d somehow jinxed her. I also felt relief. Maybe I had a real shot at the job.
It wasn’t a lock, of course, because sometimes my big mouth gets me into trouble, but things were looking up.
Don Latterson stepped out of his office. He was in his forties and starting to run to fat. His hair, what little that was left if you don’t count the absolutely atrocious comb-over, was brown streaked with gray, and his blue eyes looked parboiled, like he’d drunk his lunch instead of eating it.
“Marie Jenner?” he asked.
I nodded.
He hooked his finger at me, and I followed him into the office, shutting the door behind me. Then I waited for him to offer me a seat so that the interview could begin.
He did not do that. He sat down himself and stared at me until I felt acutely uncomfortable, and then pointed at an electric typewriter sitting on a small table by his desk.
“Do you know what that is?” he asked.
I wondered if there was some trick to the question. “An electric typewriter?” I finally asked.
“It is not just an electric typewriter.” He ran his fingers over the plastic cover lovingly. “It is the Selectric II, the best electric typewriter ever made. Do you know how to use it?”
I was sure I’d seen a computer on the desk out in the reception area. Did he actually expect me to type stuff on one of these?
Whatever. He’s the potential boss.
“Yes, I do,” I said. “Absolutely.”
It was at that moment that I felt cold air wash over me. I turned around, thinking I hadn’t latched the door properly. That’s when I saw the ghost.
He stood half in and half out the closed door, staring at me. Stupid me, I stared back.
I knew better than to make eye contact. Dead’s dead and better left alone, but he caught me off guard.
“Can you see me?” the ghost asked, looking just about as shocked as I felt.
“Oh no,” I whispered. He wasn’t just dead. He was aware that he was dead. Good grief, why had I made eye contact?
“Holy shit, you can see me!” the ghost cried.
I shook my head, a completely useless thing to do, because it just proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could, in fact, see him. Then Mr. Latterson spoke up. He didn’t sound happy.
“What did you say?” he barked. “Turn around and answer me this instant.”
Oh lord. I needed to regroup, and I couldn’t do it in front of my potential boss.
“Can you excuse me for just one moment?” I asked. Without waiting for his answer, I left his office, shutting the door in his very surprised face.
I heard the ghost follow me, and in the reception area he actually started dancing. I closed my eyes for a second, in a vain attempt to compose myself. He couldn’t have picked a worse time to make his appearance, and here he was, dancing around like an idiot or something. I had to get hold of the situation, and I had about two seconds to do it.
“You have to go away,” I said.
—–
About Seeing the Light (Marie Jenner Mystery #1)
Releasing on Oct 29, 2014
Publisher: Tyche Books
Genre: fantasy / mystery / romance / humour
Marie Jenner has never had much luck. Her job sucks. Her apartment — the one with the unbreakable lease — has a ghost. And worst of all, her mother won’t let up about her joining the “family business.” Since that business is moving the spirits of the dead on to the next plane of existence and doesn’t pay at all, Marie’s not interested. She wants a normal job — a normal life. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
Apparently, it is. Even when she applies for the job of her dreams, Marie doesn’t get what she wants. Well, not entirely. She does get the job — but she also gets another ghost. Farley Hewitt, the newly dead caretaker of the building, wants her to prove his death is not an accident, and she’s pretty sure he’s going to haunt her until she does.
All she wants is normal. She isn’t going to get it.
Pre-order now!
—–
About Eileen Bell
Photo credit: Shelby Deep Photography
Eileen Bell (AKA E.C. Bell) has had short fiction published in magazines and several anthologies, including the double Aurora Award winning Women of the Apocalypse, the Aurora winning Bourbon and Eggnog, and the Aurora nominated The Puzzle Box. Her debut novel, Seeing the Light is launching at the end of October, 2014.
You can follow her at:
Twitter: @apocalypsewoman
Website: http://www.eileenbell.com/
