The interview goes well

Arron glanced around the waiting room, feeling every bit as nervous as he imagined he looked, and then some.

Johnson Industries was a regional company that specialized in commercial manufacturing, a decent sized operation that had branch offices in several cities throughout the area, and he had definitely heard of them. It had boggled his mind, as he stepped out of his car and walked toward the entrance, that he was heading into the headquarters where he had an interview. He hadn't managed to get an interview for years as Arron but now, as Erin, he had snagged not only a foot in the door but an Associate Director position to boot!

He approached the reception desk and tried to smile as best he could at the young woman who was dealing with a rather patronizing young man, the look on her face told him that she would rather be anywhere else than dealing with him, and when she looked up and spotted him, she got up and pushed him aside. "Hi, how can I help you?"

"Um...I'm Erin Andrews, here to interview for the Associate Director position? I was told..."

She nodded, the man immediately disregarded, and she walked around the desk and motioned for Arron to follow her. "This way." The two walked to the elevators and she sighed as the doors opened and closed. "Thank you, I can't stand that man..." As they rode up to the 9th floor, Arron and the girl made small talk before the woman leaned in. "I think you will do well. You'll see what I mean when you get to the conference room."

Arron had been a little confused but the confusion left him as soon as the door opened and he stepped through. There had been about 15 applicants that were called in for interviews, he had been the 7th scheduled, and the room had been full of men. He was sure that he was looking less like a colleague and more like window dressing or a slab of meat, he felt the eyes looking at his ass as he walked past a few, the casual glances at his chest...How did women put up with this? He took a seat near a window alcove, making sure to keep his legs closed but not crossed, and kept his mind focused on the potential questions that the interviewer would have for him.

After about an hour, and several candidates later, the door to the conference room opened and a secretary popped her head in and called "Mrs. Andrews?" Arron winced slightly, still having to deal with the fact he was called "Mrs" but he just made his face neutrally pleasant and stood up. He ignored the looks as he passed the people waiting and joined the woman who cast him a friendly, somewhat apologetic smile, and led him to the office. She stopped, knocked on the door, and opened it. "Your next interviewee, Mrs. Erin Andrews..."

Arron stepped in and began to offer his hand when the person inside gave her a warm hug instead and motioned for him to take a seat. The woman sat down behind her desk and sighed. "May I tell you something, Mrs. Andrews?"

"Please, and please call me Erin," he began, putting her at ease at once.

"We've been interviewing for this position for the past 4 weeks, I've seen over a hundred people, all MEN by the way, and they all just..." the woman looked exasperated and Arron could sympathize but kept his mouth shut. Over the next hour, instead of talking about his resume or discussion of his application, Arron and the woman instead talked about the department, what she was looking for in a fellow employee, and then diverted to the topic of him moving to town and family. It was the easiest interview he ever sat in.

"Well, I don't make the decisions on this but I'm going to pass your application with a highly recommend note. I hope we have some good news for you soon!"

He got up and, once again, the woman rose and gave him a warm hug before he stepped out of the office and headed back to the elevator after checking out with the secretary. If only all interviews were this easy...