By Charles Interview

By Charles M. Sumid Copyright 2025 Written 2017

We reach for the door handle at the same time—
her from inside, me from out.
Push becomes pull. Apologies overlap.

She steps back, I step forward.

“Two-thirty?” she asks.
“Two-thirty,” I confirm.

We both arrive three minutes early. Never five.

Her handshake adjusts mid-grip. Mine follows.
Neither of us blinks.

The conference room smells like carpet and ambition.

She gestures toward a chair. “Not that one.”
I choose the second from the left. It wobbles.

She nods. We’ve both chosen poorly before.

“Tell me about yourself.” I begin.
She nods at the right moments.
I pause at the practiced beat.

She sips water. I mirror.

“Why are you looking to make a change?”
I say “growth.” She says “interesting.”

We both mean something else.

The air conditioning shudders, dies, resurrects.

We don’t mention it.

Sweat begins its negotiations.

The receptionist enters with coffee. Trips.
We both lunge. Catch nothing.
Ceramic meets floor.

“Happens twice a week,” she says, fleeing.
“That exact spot,” I offer.
“Facilities knows,” she replies.

We exhale through our noses. Return to script.

“Our systems are cutting-edge.”
Windows 7 loads behind her.

“I thrive in innovative environments.”
The fax machine blinks red.

She says “Start with why.”
I say “People don’t buy what you do…”

We proceed.

In the elevator down, we allow one second of honesty:
shoulders drop, masks shift.

“She’ll be in touch,” she says.
“Looking forward to it,” I reply.

The job may not exist. The duet did.

The security guard watches me sign out.
“Nail it?” he asks.
“Absolutely,” I say.

Outside, the city continues its own theater.

I join the sidewalk stream, composing my thank-you note—
the final gesture in our careful choreography.