Wife for Hire by Kathleen Hope

            I sat in the hard leather loveseat in the lobby of the office. There were two other people there also waiting. Like me, they were dressed professionally, and I wondered if they were also here for an interview. I looked around. The office was nice with the usual copies of well-known oil paintings hanging on the walls and little statues and knick-knacks on the tables. It seemed nice and friendly. The receptionist, an older, gray-haired woman, offered me a kind smile whenever our eyes met.             “I’ll graduate from law school in another year and a half,” the man sitting next to me said to the blond on his right. “Working here would really give me a leg up and get my feet wet. Who knows what other opportunities might pop up? It’s better to be prepared.”             The blond nodded, and he continued to talk about all of his achievements and his aspiring career as a jet set criminal lawyer. The woman seemed to be as impressed with him as he was with himself and asked him endless questions about his hobbies, interests, and studies. I was getting bored with the whole thing and all the recognitions and awards he claimed he’d gotten and the stellar report cards he’d earned seemed to be taking sucker punches at my self-esteem. For a moment, I almost considered not going through with the interview. Why bother with someone like me when you could have Mr. Spectacular here. I wasn’t very athletic, nor did I have straight A’s all through college. I was a bit shy and preferred staying in and drawing to going out partying every weekend with my friends. There was no way that they’d choose me over this guy. He would be the perfect asset to this firm. And-             “Amberlee?”             I looked up to see the receptionist standing there. “Yes?”             “Come with me, please. They are ready for you.”             Here we go, I thought as I...