The Auction House Deal: Bought by A Billionaire

Chapter 160: Interviews: Hannah

Getting into the office, I organized my notes as I attempted to calm down. I swore to myself if I saw that car again, I was telling Roman. At least that time I had gotten good enough of a look to get the make and model of the car, along with the license plate.

They had sped off just moments after Nick had approached me. Something just wasn’t right. Still, I had to let it go for then. My first interview was arriving in a little over ten minutes.

The first task of the day was calling the contractor, Armando. He picked almost right away and I asked if he could start that day, but to start on the upstairs units first, as I had interviews on the bottom floor. He happily agreed and announced his crew would be there in a couple of hours. Talking to him made me feel a little better. He was just such a nice guy.

When it was just mere minutes before the interview, I headed to the door and saw a woman stepping out of the car. She looked to be around thirty, her brunette hair slicked back into a bun, and she adorned bright red lipstick, blouse, and slacks. She was skinny and impossibly tall. "Hi, Tara Mathers?" I greeted.

"That’s me," she smiled back and extended a hand for a handshake.

"Welcome," I stated and held the door open for her.

We headed back into my office and gestured for her to sit down. I felt a little weird, as I had never been in a position to be the boss of anyone—rarely even myself.

I took a deep breath quietly and told myself to hold it together. It was just going to take one step at a time.

"Are you from the area?" I started out.

"Born and raised," she chuckled with a nod.

I nodded in response and tried to organize my thoughts. "I know we spoke briefly about the job role yesterday, but just to kick things off, I’ll summarize again. We are Women Helping Women. This will be a charity, resource center, and sort of a halfway house for victims of sex trafficking and domestic violence. I want an in-house staff of counselors and resource officers to help these women heal and take the first steps toward a better and safe life. Is this something you are interested in on a personal level?" I readied my pen for notes.

She nodded, "Oh, I have a big passion for helping women. I think when it comes to these sorts of organizations, it’s best to have a strong and reliable female staff, as it helps foster that safe environment for them. I specialized in abuse and trauma in my rotations at school. I love helping people get through their biggest pains in life and get to a healthier place of existence. I love helping people and while I could get a job at, say a hospital, I think places like this are the first line defense for these women in need. It’s giving them resources without needing insurance, without having to tackle any hurdle just to get the help they need. I’ve always wanted to get on with a nonprofit at the start of creation. To do my best to influence the environment in the best way possible."

"Fantastic," I beamed. "I am no doctor or counselor, so I’m a bit out of my depth. I just know I want in-house counselors. That being said, I have a few potential openings. One-on-one counselor, group therapy counselor, and a couple positions for like ’head counselor’ for lack of better terminology. Someone to help me organize and oversee that portion of the nonprofit. What would you be interested in?"

"I would love, love, love to help lead the project! I think it’s how I can be best utilized. As I said before, I’m from the area, so I could certainly help organize more help and task each counselor with what I think they would be best at," Tara replied.

"Perfect," I smiled. "I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Do you have any experience in managerial-like roles?"

"I’ve always been in management with my side jobs, and was generally the spear-head with any projects at school," she confirmed.

The interview continued to go back and forth. As the minutes ticked by, the two of us got more relaxed and were just talking. I really liked her and thought she would be perfect to help head the counseling portion of the charity. Though, I would like to have at least one other at her same level, just to have a sort of checks and balances between the two, since I was nowhere near qualified to really weigh in.

Eventually, the interview was winding down. "Well, I think that about does it. Do you have any questions for me?" I asked.

Her mouth opened and shut, before opening again. I could tell she was hesitating saying whatever was on her mind.

Finally, she said, "I just have to ask, what made you want to start a charity like this?"

A lump instantly formed in my throat. How honest should I be with her?

The question echoed in my head, but I already knew the answer. If I was going to garner the respect of the staff and the women we helped, I had to be honest with my story.

"I was sold at a human trafficking option," I stated bluntly. "It was scary and eye opening to how the world really was. I was luckier than most and a friend—now my husband, actually—purchased me to save my life. Had I not been bought as a bride, I would have been sold as a sex slave. We worked together to take down the organization that sold me, and other women I met while there. I got off lucky and fell in love with him despite the odds against us. I want to help those who weren’t so lucky."

Tara frowned and leaned in. "Have you sought professional guidance for yourself?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head. "No, it isn’t necessary. I got off lucky and I have a fantastic support system."

She nodded, but I could see the doubt in her face.

"I just want to say, and forgive me if this is overstepping, that counseling after any trauma is beneficial. Even if you don’t think you need it, you may. Considering yourself lucky in the same sentence as stating you were sold like property sounds a bit like survivors’ guilt to me. That can be very serious. If you would like counseling, I would be happy to assist."

I swallowed the lump and cleared my throat. It was like she could see right through me, though I wasn’t totally sure what survivors’ guilt was.

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you, Tara. I’ll be sure to call you soon with my decisions."

She stood and shook my hand before heading out.

I took a deep breath as I sat alone. There was only twenty minutes before the next interview. Would all of the interviews be like that? Would they all be able to see right through me and offer me therapy?

There was no telling, but I had a gut feeling that would be a theme of the day.

I tried to shake it off. At least I had a festival to look forward to, and I was definitely going to have a few beers to take the edge off if that was how my day was going to be.

I took the time to fill out some notes on Tara, put a star next to her name to indicate she was a leader, and put the file away before getting out another one.

The next was a woman named Winifred Farley. She had a doctorate, five years of counseling experience, and multiple letters of recommendation. Could I be so lucky as to find my second leader in the second interview?

I wasn’t going to consider myself that lucky.

That thought made Tara’s words echo in the back of my mind. I had to shake it off and get it together. There were far too many things to get done that day.

I downed my coffee, chewed some gum, and headed for the door to greet the next candidate.

As I shot the woman who had to be Winifred a smile, my eyes couldn’t resist scanning around to see if the black car was around. For once, it wasn’t.

Maybe I had been overreacting. Though, as I greeted Winifred, the construction crew was arriving.

The two of us moved to the office, and I did my best to keep it professional. I made the mental note to be honest, but not to give out too many details as I had with Tara.

I hoped that no one else would ask that question, but had a feeling it was going to be a popular one. After all, my name had been all over the papers when the FBI investigation concluded. They were going to know, and they were going to want to confirm I was who I said I was.