Although the interview process was likened often to a double-edged sword, Jules didn't like that analogy, because it implied that one blade would hurt the wielder while the other was pushed into an enemy. That was not the case here; while one sought to trap the applicant, the other was yet another layer in the company's legal defenses. Sword and shield, then?

Anyway, Jules began with the shield: "[color=8d97bf]Ms. Boulanger, we've reviewed your files,[/color]" he said, "[color=8d97bf]but as we begin, I'd really like to hear everything from you![/color]" It seemed polite enough but it concealed in his cheeks his retracted venomous fangs: he had just informed the woman of her rights. After all, they had seen [i]many[/i] more files than just her résumé and her references; they had seen her police record, her social media accounts, and everything else that could be scrubbed from the bottom of the Net's barrel. In their underhanded, sheisty way, they had just informed her of this, so if she proceeded with the interview she could no longer sue them for defamation of privacy rights; she consented to having been searched in past tense.

It sickened Jules to his stomach. But he never knew a time when things were not like this.

Then it was time to begin their attack, wielding the sword of his new analogy against her, testing her mettle: "[color=8d97bf]So let's start with your work experience. I'm informed that this will be your first job. What have you been doing with your time until now?[/color]" he asked, interlocking his fingers together like fleshy cogs. Thus he had begun to test her story for discrepancies. If she was lying then she had to remember what she'd written on her résumé, in addition to handling the pressure from the interview. This entire conversation was being taped and it would be measured later against the story she had put to paper.

And thus the assessment began. Jules mentally checked off all the signs of nervousness: her palm, which when he had shaken her hand was cool and clammy, she fidgeted with and kept in constant motion. Her body language was closed and defensive. She avoided eye contact. She shrunk in her seat, trying to make herself look as little as she could. All these were the cues not of predator but prey.