Welcome to Hell

Part 3

"Why do you want to work for our company?"

Mel paused to choose her words carefully. "The Health, Environment, Life and Lands Corporation is experiencing unprecedented growth in a contracting economy, through turning the government push for cost-cutting, consolidation and privatisation into its primary strength. From securing contracts in health and immigration, to subsequent privatised government departments, the general consensus in the business community is that the Health, Environment, Life and Lands Corporation will soon control all government services. That's unprecedented power for a private company – and I want to be a part of it, to witness its almost miraculous success."

The three interview panel members sported proud smiles at Mel's praise. The woman ran her fingers through her hair, giving Mel a glimpse of what looked like a small, pointed horn, before it was hidden from sight once more. Mel told herself she was imagining things.

One of the men cleared his throat. "What would you say is your worst quality?" He ran his tongue nervously across his lips and Mel could have sworn it looked forked.

"Three things," Mel replied smoothly. "A trinity, as it were. My eye for detail, my tendency to work too hard to the point of single-mindedness, culminating in my pursuit of perfection. I see things other people gloss over as unimportant and I work hard to ensure that my work doesn't include such errors of judgement. I'm a perfectionist – striving to provide the perfect product, even if I need to work harder to deliver that. That might be why I have a reputation as a miracle worker." She blushed and lowered her head.

Beneath the table, she saw the tip of a pointed tail before it swung out of sight. She coughed to hide her exclamation.

"Would you like a drink of water?" the woman asked, filling a glass from the jug on the table. As she handed Mel the half-filled glass, Mel had the impression that the woman's fingernails bore an eerie resemblance to black claws.

Mel blinked and politely accepted the drink, sipping slowly. She set the glass down.

"How do you deal with working on multiple projects at the same time?" the second man asked. Mel strongly suspected the tail belonged to him.

She smiled broadly. "It's all about priorities. When I have competing deadlines, depending on my personal goals and those of my superiors, I assess my projects very carefully. They get allocated relative priority, based on their importance to both me and the people I work for. I then divide my attention accordingly. My time is valuable and wasting it would be a terrible crime, especially when someone else might need to pay for my oversight. The projects that are the highest priority take precedence." She couldn't keep the edge out of her voice and feared that the second man had noticed it.

His eyes appraised her and she caught a glimpse of red before they faded to brown once more. She resolved to be more cautious for the remainder of her interview. After all, she did want to get out of there alive.