Page 33 (1/2)

One

Janey

Drip coffee makers, espresso machines, and French presses My head is full of coffee brewing facts My nose is full of the bitter but robust scent of perfectly roasted beans Earlier this , I sat in the local Starbucks and consuh coffee to make me shake like a crack whore in need of a fix Maybe the espresso on top of the black and white was too much

I paceand wondering if the floor was always gray or had it once been white but after years of abuse had faded?

My phone rings and I jump several inches into the air It vibrates to the end of the card table before it takes a triple flip off the edge I dive to save it mid-air

“Hello” My normally calm and even-toned voice morphs into a two pack a day sh to hack up the hairball or frog that’s lodged in my throat “This is Janey”

“Hello, Janey,” A deep thick espresso voice filters through the line “This is Caine Stark froround and a ot to“Fast isn’t generallyabout, but I’m about to board a plane back to the United States”

“I understand” Although my pulse is double-shot hyper, oing through the motions and has probably already chosen a person for the position Rather than waste the opportunity, I decide to use this experience as a way to better et to impress an interviewer, I’ll be relaxed and prepared

Sadly, I know e person at this point It’s not like it’s going to serve ht and the subject is java, or Starbucks puts a ‘now hiring’ sign in theirI may not be able to make a vanilla bean soy latte but I can tell you where the bean is harvested, how it’s roasted, and this year’s yield

He breaks hts with a question—my first question

“I assume you’re familiar with the product?”

This is where I’ I know in one long run-on sentence but I wait “Of course The Grind is the perfect product for eable, but not in the way that would tell hi their inventory Their store locations Their employee handbook

He clears his throat “So, you use our product?”

I laugh “Yes, regularly In fact your product starts every one of s Sometimes, I need it several ti to need that extra pick me up”

Silence fills the space and I wonder if we’ve been disconnected But that sree I’ products have the perfect amount of buzz”

“It must be true since everyone I know uses your product I haven’t met a person who’s disappointed with the quality You know it’s good when you feel it all day”

“Wow, that is good” A slo chuckle begins and ends abruptly “The position is for a quality control representative Which means you’d have to…”

“I’m perfect for that position” I shouldn’t have cut hihten miles faster than my brain “I’ed in until I reach oal”

“So, you’re good with testing the products? Youto try to reproduce product failures based on client claims and test new products that are in beta We understand the sensitivity of this work”

He confuses rinders fail? How sensitive can that information be? “If you’re worried about custo to be concerned about Everything I do will be kept behind closed doors” I make a lip-zip motion he can’t see but it makes it all the more real for me

“Closed doors are i “Listen, ”