The door opens and I step on, he follows standing very close to me. This is closer to what I fantasized about. I don’t want to move. I just focus on his proximity to me and try to ignore the wave nausea my nerves bring, “Relax!” he advises, sensing my nerves. “Take a breath.”

“I can’t help it, there’s so much riding on this.”

“You’ve got this,” he encourages, “this is just a formality.”

The doors open to a big desk with an oversized lady sitting in it, with an even more oversized sign saying Global behind her. She looks up from her bifocals that sit halfway down her nose,...