4. Aiyana

Chapter four

Aiyana

Saturday, November 11, 2023

I hop out of my cab after we pull up in front of an Italian restaurant. I'm filled with a mixture of excitement and nerves for my meeting with Rose De Laurentiis, the lead biomedical scientist for BioMedics, a company I've been hoping to work for since high school.

I'm dressed in a slinky black dress with kitten heels. I didn't want to be too overdressed, but I also didn't want to look like I hadn't tried.

I'm not sure what to expect because I've never had an interview with a woman before. The sad truth is that women in STEM are few and far between because the sciences are male predominant, and there's a lot of nepotism involved. The fact that I even got this interview is a huge deal despite my incredible resume, but for it to be with a woman? That warms my heart and leaves me with so much excitement for this opportunity. I just hope it all pans out well.

I walk into the restaurant surrounded by limestone walls with round unfinished wood tables, matching chairs, and café lights with grape vines hanging from the ceilings. The hostess greets me and brings me to my table, which is tucked away in a far corner of the restaurant. A petite woman with cherry-red lips and a bubblegum-pink bob is looking over the menu.

As I approach, she peers up at me, her light-blue eyes bright and clear as her lips spread into a warm smile.

She stands, hand extended to me. "Hello, Aiyana, I'm Rose De Laurentiis, though I'm sure you gathered that already. Please, take a seat; it'll just be us for the night." My brows climb up my forehead. I just assumed there'd be others to scope me out or even additional interviewees. A lot of these big companies try to scare off potential employees as a kind of hazing, setting us up by interviewing several of us at one time for a single open position.

"Don't worry; this isn't a boys' club, Aiyana. I conduct all of my own interviews and have zero desire to involve anyone else in the decision-making process for my department." Goddamn, this woman is confident and sassy in all the best ways. I like her already. 1

Smiling at her, my nerves begin to calm as I take the seat to her right and quickly begin to relax. "Well, I'm glad I won't have to fight any pretty boys tonight, but I'd have been glad to if it came to it." I wink at her, deciding to just be myself and hoping that's enough to win her over. It's a shot in the dark; she could think I'm inappropriate and hate me, but would I really want to work with someone who doesn't like me as a person anyway? The answer is a resounding no.

Apparently, that worked because she smiles at me, her eyes alight with humor. "So, to be honest, you already have the job as far as I'm concerned. I've seen your resume, so I know you're qualified. This interview is more of a formality than anything else. I want to see how we get along and if we both think we'd work well together. If so, I'd like to talk salary and benefits with you and offer you the job tonight. So relax and just be yourself."

I couldn't think of anyone better to work for or with at this rate. She is so unbelievably sweet and carries herself with such grace. She seems like she might be a little socially awkward in situations that aren't directly related to her work, but that's fine with me. I could actually see myself becoming friends with her. She tells me all about her family, her wife, Charlie, and her brothers-in-law. The fact that Charlie's oldest brother is actually Alessandro just reminds me that what they say about it being a small world is true.

The dinner went so well that she ended up offering me the job and a salary far above my asking range. I wasn't lowballing myself either. I know my fucking worth.

She told me that it doesn't come out of her paycheck, so why not offer me what she knows BioMedics is willing to pay me if she also says I'm worth it? The benefits package is incredible, too, and for the first time in years, I'd have real health insurance, not just Kat telling me what to get from the pharmacy and hoping like hell I don't need a prescription.

I can't wait to get started, so after I got home from dinner and gushed to Kat about how it went, I sent out emails to all of the other companies I had interviews scheduled for this week and canceled them all. I just hope the awkward tension between Kas and I can work itself out just as well as this interview has…

1. cinderella's dead – EMELINE