Chapter 2

The next two days passed in a haze. Melina tried to keep her distance from her family and friends. She was very excited about the interview, but she hadn’t told anyone about her plans yet, and she wouldn’t do it until she had secured a job first. She knew that her family would support her in anything she wanted to do, but New York was on the other side of the world, and it would be difficult to accept that she would be so far away. She knew that if she discussed it with anyone first, they would have tried to change her mind—everyone besides her dad. Her dad was a man of few words, but he would never try to change her mind. He believed in her completely, and he also believed that even if she made a mistake, she would learn from it. But she couldn’t tell her dad, since he wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret from her mom.

Her parents had been married for almost 30 years, and they were still very much in love with each other. For her mom, her dad was her whole world, and for her dad, her mom was his queen. No wonder she was still alone. How could she be in a relationship with someone who would be anything less than her dad? I know what you're thinking. It’s the standard psychological cliché, but it was the truth.

New York was five hours behind in time, so she had to take a day off from work to ensure that she would be able to attend the interview. On the day of the interview, she woke up fully stressed but also fully determined. She went through her notes one more time, and when the time came, she logged into the meeting.

The interview lasted a little longer than an hour. It was a very pleasant conversation and not an interrogation, and when it finished, she felt very pleased with how it went. They told her they would give her an answer by the end of the week.

Melina didn’t want to take any chances, so she continued applying for other jobs while she waited for the outcome of the interview. Before she knew it, the end of the week had arrived, and the email she had been expecting was sitting in her inbox. She was very much dreading it would be another rejection, but she had to know. She opened it—and she stayed frozen.

The email said that they were very impressed with her and wanted to offer her the job. The email included the official offer letter and an explanation that even though she had applied for a position in New York, they thought she would be a better fit for the same position in their Los Angeles office. If she was happy to accept that, then they would start the process to arrange her work visa. They were also offering her the option to arrange an apartment for her at a discounted rate, and the rent would be deducted from her salary. If she was not interested in that, they could still help her find suitable accommodations.

Melina took a moment to think about the offer. Granted, it wasn’t New York, but she would love to live in Los Angeles as well. She made a quick search for apartments in Los Angeles so she could get an understanding of the price range, and then looked into what else she would need to pay in terms of bills. Once she felt she had a better understanding, she emailed back to say she would accept the offer for Los Angeles and asked if she could see the apartment the company was offering at the discounted rate.

The response came quickly, with a link to the apartment. The apartment looked amazing. It was on the 25th floor of a building, with only the penthouse above it. It had one bedroom with a walk-in closet and its own large bathroom, one guest room, one office, one large bathroom, and a large open-space kitchen and living room, with enough space for a large dining table. The part Melina loved the most, though, was the floor-to-ceiling windows and the large balcony with a view of the city of Los Angeles. The building was secure and had a doorman at all times. Once she checked the rent, she knew it was a no-brainer. Her offer letter, along with a very satisfying salary, included a signing bonus high enough to cover her rent for a few months and also allow her to buy the furniture she needed for her new apartment.

Melina emailed them again to say she would love to accept the apartment offer and to ask a few more questions about the rest of the process. Once she had all the information she needed and had sent all her documents to the recruiter, she knew that she had to break the news to her family and friends. The visa would take around four weeks to be processed, and her start date was set for six weeks from the day she signed her contract, giving enough time for the visa and also for her to travel to Los Angeles and settle into her new apartment.

Melina called her mom and told her she would stop by as she had news. She asked her brother to be there as well. She told them the news, and as expected, her family was very happy for her chasing her dream but very upset that she would be so far away from them. Her mom contemplated moving with her, but her dad put a stop to those thoughts, saying that this was Melina’s time to spread her wings, and they would support her—but they would not smother her.

Then she had to tell her two best friends. They, as well, were very happy for Melina but extremely upset she would move so far away. There was a lot of crying and memories to be shared, but in the end, it was decided that instead of being upset, they would just see it as an opportunity to travel to Los Angeles anytime they wanted.

The next few weeks passed in a haze, and soon Melina was on the airplane, ready to start her new life on a new continent, all alone.