Something about the way the interviewer, Ms. Barton, dressed in dull gray tweeds and with an overly pleasant demeanor, had settled back into her seat, a patronizing smile plastered on her face as she'd looked over Nailah as though Nailah were some curious but entertaining anomaly. After an awkward start, the questions had quickly veered from Nailah's financial background to casual bullshit questions like "How are you enjoying this weather? Hot isn't it?" and "What books have you read lately?" Not any real substantive questions about the current fluctuating market or what particular investments Nailah might recommend to customers. Not what Nailah could contribute to Internance. Nailah had soon realized that the bullshit questions were simply allowing Ms. Barton to while away the crucial hour until the next applicant arrived. The questions were a smoke screen to give the appearance of due consideration when in fact there was no consideration at all. Ms. Barton had already written her off.
