He texted her when he walked into the lobby and she went down to meet him. He looked handsome in a navy blazer, dark pants and a pale-yellow dress shirt. He smiled when he saw her.

“You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you. You’re looking pretty sharp yourself.”

They went to one of his favorite restaurants, a small Italian bistro a few blocks from the theater. And he’d managed to get third row center seats for one of the hottest shows on Broadway. She was impressed.

“How did you manage that?”

He grinned. “I know a guy. Our real estate attorney gets good seats all the time. He hooked me up.”

Dinner was great and the show was wonderful. When it finished, they joined the crowds pouring onto the streets in Times Square.

“Want to go for a quick drink?” Ben asked. “There’s a really cool piano bar not far from here.”

“Sure.”

He led the way to a cozy bar that had a huge piano and lots of small cocktail tables. They each only had one drink, but they stayed for several hours, singing along to the music and chatting during the breaks. It was a fun night, and the time flew by. When it was past midnight, they reluctantly decided to leave as Andrea’s interview was at nine the next day. They strolled back to the hotel and when they reached the front door, Ben pulled her to him for a hug and then a kiss. It was a nice kiss, but Andrea was a little disappointed that the expected spark wasn’t there. She was so sure that it would be. Maybe she was just too tired.

He met her eye and smiled. “Goodnight. And good luck tomorrow.”

Andrea woke early the next day, ordered a big room service breakfast of scrambled eggs, home fries, toast and coffee and felt pretty good about her upcoming interview. She wasn’t as nervous as she normally was before an interview and she had a feeling it might go well. She’d found that the more it mattered whether she got a job, the more nervous she tended to be. Whereas when she was less invested, she tended to be more confident, more relaxed and interviewed better.

And that’s exactly what happened. She was led into a conference room and took a seat at a long table where three interviewers faced her. Normally that would be intimidating, but she just smiled and actually had fun with the interview. She knew she had the experience, and she gave lots of good examples for each question that she was asked. When the interview ended, she knew she’d done well.

They asked ‘buying questions,’ and the final one was, “Ms. Whitley, if this were to work out, how soon would you be able to begin?”

She smiled. “I would have to give several weeks’ notice but could start right after that.”