Previously…
– Samantha suggested that Tori apply for the receptionist position at Objection Designs.
– Zane told Jaq that he saw Samantha and Tempest together.
– Jason was confused when Sabrina abruptly ended their date, but Alex advised him that Sabrina might have been uneasy due to a lack of experience.

Tori Gray takes a step back from the bathroom vanity to survey herself in the mirror. She straightens her black blazer so that it sits just right over the shimmery, emerald green blouse with a peplum hem. As much as she loves fashion, it has been some time since she fussed so much over her clothing, and she almost feels out-of-practice — as if a muscle has atrophied and she has to force it back into use.

After another few moments of careful analysis, she exits the bathroom and goes to her dresser. She pulls out a gold necklace with a disc-shaped pendant and slips it around her neck; she can immediately tell that the jewelry picks up the subtle flecks of yellow thread in the blouse. She double-checks her appearance in the bathroom mirror and exits to the living room, where she finds Zane Tanaka eating a bowl of cereal as he flips through channels on the TV.

“Damn,” he says, taking in her chic look. “What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, um, I have an interview,” Tori says, as casually as she can. “For a job.”

“You do?” Zane’s voice carries equal amounts of excitement and skepticism. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She swipes a hand through the air dismissively. “I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. You know how these things are.”

Zane, clad in black sweatpants and a Rick & Morty graphic tee, stands up and sets his bowl on the coffee table. “What kind of interview?” 

“It’s a receptionist job. Nothing fancy.” She focuses on double-checking the contents of her purse. “I’m sure I won’t get it, anyway.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Zane…” Every muscle in her fiber seems to tense up under the stress of the lie-by-omission that she is telling. “You’re sweet, but I’m not getting my hopes up.”

She can feel him eyeing her as she retrieves her phone from its charger in their small kitchen.

“How’d you get this interview?” he asks.

Tori pushes past the discomfort, the note of suspicion in his words.

“You know how many résumés I’ve been sending out,” she says, as she uses her phone to call an Uber. “But I’m going to try and bring all that confidence you’ve got into the interview with me.”

“Good. You have no reason not to be confident.” 

He crosses toward her and places his arms over her shoulders; Tori drops the phone to her side as Zane stares into her face.

“They’ll love you,” he says. “And if not… I still do.”

“Thanks.” She leans in and gives him a peck on the lips. “I should get downstairs. My car will be here soon.”

“Sure you don’t want a ride?” he asks.

Tori shakes her head. “Thank you, but you don’t have to do that. I shouldn’t even be that long. When are you leaving for work?”

“I’ve got the late shift again, so I’ll be here a while.”

“Then I’ll see you in a bit.” She glances at her phone. “Wish me luck.”

“You’ve got it,” Zane says, and Tori gives him one more kiss before grabbing her purse and hurrying out of the apartment.

—–

“Sabrina!”

As soon as she steps out of Thaw Coffee & Tea and into the parking lot, she hears the voice calling her name. Sabrina Gage turns to see Jason Fisher standing at the main entrance to Edge of Winter Arena.

“Off work already?” he asks as he jogs toward her.

“Yes. I, um, I opened this morning,” she says anxiously. Her gaze drops to the pavement. “I’m sorry I haven’t responded to your text. I’ve been…”

“It’s okay.” Jason stands before her, arms at his sides. “All I’m asking is if you’d like to talk. If not, all good. I’ll stick my tail between my legs and leave you alone. But I thought our date was going really well until the very end. So if there’s something you felt uncomfortable about, and you do want to talk about it…” 

Sabrina swallows the lump that has crept into her throat.

“It was a good date,” she says at last. “Really good.”

He lets out an audible sigh of relief. “I thought so, too. I know I fumbled it at the end — I didn’t mean to pressure you by suggesting that we go back to one of our places.”

“You weren’t pressuring me.”

“Okay, good. I didn’t want you to feel that way. And if you…” He glances left and then right, ensuring that no one is nearby to overhear them. “We can go at whatever pace makes you comfortable, if you’re worried about feeling… inexperienced…”

Sabrina’s jaw drops as she takes this in.

“Oh. Wow,” she says.

Jason looks at her in confusion. “What?”

“That’s why you thought I ended our date so suddenly?” she asks. “Because you think I’m a virgin?”

“Extra-strong brew with one Splenda,” Jaq Pearson announces as they deliver a steaming mug to Diane Bishop’s office inside the KBAY studios.

“You’re a life-saver,” Diane says as she looks away from her computer monitor with bleary eyes. 

“Something crazy going on?” Jaq asks.

Diane picks up the coffee and blows on it as she leans back in her leather desk chair. “You’d think the person who gets up at 4 a.m. to host the morning show wouldn’t also have to triple-check the copy going up on our website about contests, but apparently that’s how things work now.” 

“Well, let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”

“You’re keeping me caffeinated, which is seriously the Lord’s work,” Diane says. “Samantha mentioned the two of you coming to dinner this weekend. Have you talked about that at all?”

Jaq shrugs. “She mentioned it, but we didn’t really talk about it beyond that. Actually, I was wondering…”

Diane eyes her daughter’s girlfriend suspiciously, trying to read Jaq’s shift in demeanor.

“Did something happen between you and Sam?” she prompts.

“No,” Jaq says, somewhat unconvincingly. “I didn’t get to see her last night because I had to get up for the early shift today.”

“The two of you aren’t seeing each every single night, are you?”

“It isn’t that. There was something I wanted to ask her about.”

“Okay. I can tell there’s something going on here that goes way beyond dinner plans.” Diane sets the mug down on her desk. “What’s up?”

“I heard she was with Tempest yesterday,” Jaq explains. “And I know I shouldn’t freak out over that…”

“What do you mean, with Tempest?”

“Zane said he saw them together, going over a bunch of papers or something. But when I texted Sam last night to ask how her day was, she didn’t mention anything about having seen Tempest. It all just feels a little…”

“I get it,” Diane says, with an emphatic nod. 

“I don’t know what reason they’d have to meet up, let alone keep it from me.”

Diane hesitates and takes a cautious sip of the hot coffee.

“Has Sam told you about that locket she got from my father?” she asks.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Tempest accidentally helped her figure out part of whatever mystery my family has been hiding. I bet whatever they were talking about had to do with that.”

“Okay,” Jaq says, with still-obvious trepidation.

“I think that’s all it is,” Diane says. “But trust me on this: you and Sam are good together. It’s one thing for her and Tempest to let bygones be bygones – but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that, well, tempest wreck her life all over again.”

—–

When Tori steps off the elevator into the building’s cramped lobby, she takes out her phone to check on the status of her Uber. The app tells her that the car is about to arrive — but she does a double-take when she sees the name and photo displayed on her screen.

She waves as she steps out of the building and sees Landon Esco’s Honda Civic pulling up to the curb. He rolls down the passenger-side window.

“So it is you!” he calls out cheerily. 

“That’s such a funny coincidence,” Tori says through the window. She hesitates before getting into the car. “Should I…”

“Sit wherever you want. For now, you can consider me your chauffeur.” 

She pulls open the passenger door. “It’s super-weird if I sit in the back.”

“Then the front seat it is.” 

As Tori gets in and fastens her seatbelt, Landon holds up a small basket. “Can I offer you some gum? A little water?”

Tori chuckles. “I’m good. But thanks.”

“Petunia and I do our best to go the extra mile for all customers,” Landon says.

“Petunia?”

“That’s my ride’s name.” He slaps the steering wheel enthusiastically. “Did you not know that?”

She rolls her eyes. “Why would I know that?”

“Why wouldn’t you know that? I’d say that’s a better question.” He checks the app, displayed on the phone that is mounted on his dashboard. “What’re you going downtown for?” 

“I have a job interview, actually. At Objection.”

“You do look incredibly professional and stylish today. This should be a slam-dunk!” 

“I don’t know about that,” Tori demurs. 

“How could it not be? Your aunt runs the place!”

“That still doesn’t guarantee me a job.”

“Well,” Landon says as he shifts the car into drive, “I’m sending you into that interview with good vibes only.”

“I’ll take all the good vibes I can get,” Tori says, as a smile creeps across her face and Landon puts on his blinker and then pulls into traffic.

Neither of them notices Zane’s car exiting the garage moments later and following the Civic down the road.

—–

Jason stares back at Sabrina, dumbfounded by her unexpected straightforwardness.

“I didn’t mean to…” He trails off, horrified that he might have offended her in a completely different way.

But Sabrina laughs. “That wasn’t why I left so fast. I’m not — my personal life hasn’t exactly been busy since I got out of the hospital, but no, I’m not a virgin.”

“Oh. Okay. I mean — it isn’t really my business.”

“Jason, it’s okay. It’s natural to wonder.” She brushes a few pieces of dark hair out of her face, tucking them behind one ear. “I know I acted weird by running off like that. I’m sorry.”

“I just want us to be able to be open,” he says. “I really did have a great time at dinner with you.”

“I had a great time, too. But you aren’t totally wrong. I haven’t dated in a long time, and…”

Jason waits, but no more words come.

“I told you, we can go as slowly as you need,” he offers.

“Thanks.” When she looks up at him again, he can read the hesitance in her large, dark eyes. “The truth is, the last person I was involved with…” She sighs, overcome by the weight of memories.

“What happened?” Jason asks with concern.

Seconds pass. A minivan drives by, thumping as it goes over one of the yellow speed bumps placed throughout the parking lot.

“Do you have some time to talk?” she asks. “Somewhere private?”

—–

“And what would you say is your greatest weakness?” Landon asks as he makes a right turn onto a busy downtown street.

From the passenger seat, Tori throws him a skeptical look. “Greatest weakness? What kind of question is that?”

“They always ask crap like that in job interviews. They want to know you can be self-aware.”

She screws up her face as she considers the question for several seconds.

“You have to say something that’s, like, actually a positive trait,” he explains. “Like that you can be a perfectionist, or that you care too much about your work and find it hard to take a step back sometimes.”

“It’s a receptionist job. Is anyone going to believe that I might care too much about it?” 

Landon shrugs. “I dunno. It’s pretty important that people get their calls forwarded and their parking validated…”

“O-kay,” she says, dragging out the word as she mulls over the question. “I could say something like, I have trouble saying no to people, so I take on too much.”

“There you go! You’re basically telling them, ‘I’ll do all the work I can possibly do, even if it totally wears me out.’ So, like, not really a weakness in their eyes.”

Tori nods along. “Yeah. That works. Thank you!”

He gives her a bashful look as he steers the car into a loading zone in front of Winston Tower.

“Here we go,” Landon says. “Now get in there and show them why you’re the best damn receptionist they could ever hire.”

Tori reaches for the door handle but then hesitates. “I’m actually worried I might be a terrible receptionist.”

“Nope. No way. Petunia and I are not letting you go in there with that thought in your head.”

“You’re right. I’m the best damn receptionist they could ever hire,” Tori declares.

“There ya go! And remember — you don’t take ‘no’ for answer!”

“It’s my greatest weakness,” she says with a laugh. “Thanks, Landon. This has really helped calm me down.”

“It’s my pleasure. For real.” 

Tori opens the passenger door and swings her legs out of the car.

“Let me know how it goes,” Landon says. “And make sure you take my good vibes with you.”

She pats her purse. “I’ve got ‘em in here.”

“Good.”

Awkwardness settles over them as Tori lingers in the car, unsure of how to say goodbye. Suddenly Landon sticks up his palm. Tori is confused for a moment until she realizes what he is doing.

“A high-five it is,” she says, slapping her hand against his and then getting out of the car. 

“Good luck, Tori,” he tells her.

“Thanks, Landon.”

She closes the car door, takes a deep breath, and heads inside Winston Tower. Landon watches her through the car window, feeling his own stomach twist up nervously on her behalf.

Down the street, Zane’s own car idles by a meter as he watches Tori go inside.

“Why would you get in the front seat of an Uber?” he asks aloud as he grips the steering wheel. “And what else aren’t you telling me, Tori?”

END OF EPISODE 1019

Has Zane crossed a line by following Tori?
Will Landon’s encouragement help Tori land the job?
What does Sabrina have to reveal to Jason?
Discuss all of this and more in the comments below!

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