The horrible hairy creature scurried toward her, its evil intent evident. Josie squealed and backed up, wanting to escape but too frightened to turn her back on the approaching menace. Her plump ass hit the wall. There was nowhere left to go. She closed her eyes, said a quick prayer, and stamped her foot down to end the spider’s reign of terror, all the while cringing.

“Eeew! Eeew!” She hopped off the black smudge, the remains of the icky critter that dared terrorize her in her own home, and sat down hard on the couch, her whole body shaking.

For years, her father had patiently tried to explain-to deaf ears-how the spider was more scared of her. Yeah, right. She knew that someday one of those hairy, ugly suckers would kill her; she’d even dreamt of it. It would wrap her in a sticky cocoon, leaving only her nose and eyes uncovered. She’d have to watch as the eight-legged killer approached with its fangs bared, hungry for lunch. And, when her end came, she hoped her ghost lingered long enough for her to haunt her dad and say “Told you so.”

Josie freely admitted she wasn’t a brave person, and her fear wasn’t limited to spiders. Itemizing the things that freaked her out, though, would take too long, and she had an interview to get ready for. The idea of trying to sell herself and her abilities to a new employer made her nervous-make that scared the bejesus out of her-but she didn’t have a choice. She’d had to quit her previous job after the owner made some unwelcome advances. She’d only barely escaped his pawing and tendered her resignation by e-mail, unwilling, and unable, to face him again.