3

“What was that about? I have never seen you so nervous before.” Lana laughed at me.

“What are you talking about? I was not nervous.” I denied. “I just didn’t feel like talking.”

“Right.” She kept laughing.

“Alright, get out of my car and quit laughing at me.” I parked in front of her flat building, where she owned a big penthouse.

“You know, if you’re interested, I could be your wing woman.” She teased and winked at me.

“That’s it. I’m kicking you out of my car.” I playfully pushed her.

“Ok. I’m leaving. I wouldn’t be treated this way if this was my car. It’s be the other way round.”

“Well, it’s not. Bye now.” She opened the door and got out.

“I’ll call you later. Let me know how the interview goes, okay?”

“Okay. And get your car repaired so that I can stop using my free time to drive you around. Or get a chauffeur or something.”

“I hear you. Good night.”

I nodded and drove off back to my flat. Kicking off my boots after entering, I jumped on the sofa and decided to fall asleep there.

I couldn’t fall asleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about Ace. He was invading my thoughts and I couldn’t help but remember his handsome face and wondered what it would have felt like if I kissed him. Maybe I made a mistake pulling back. He looked flustered when I did that. What if he doesn’t give me the job because of that?

No. I shook my head. I doubt he would do that. Being the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world, I doubt he would use that excuse to not give me the job. I mean doing that would be very immature and unprofessional and I doubt he’s like that. And just as Lana stated earlier, maybe he won’t be the one to interview me.

I moved from the sofa to the kitchen to pour myself a drink. I stubbed my toe when I got close to the fridge. “Fuck.” I screamed. I took out a bottle of beer and headed towards my gallery and decided to stare at my paintings. I do that for confidence, knowing that I’m capable of something at least and I’m not useless. I sat on a bench that I placed in the gallery and finished the bottle before dragging myself to the bedroom, feeling all confident on the inside. It always worked. Without taking off my clothes, I just laid on the bed and soon, I fell asleep, dreaming of Ace Black.

*****

“Wake up.” Someone screamed beside me, causing me to shoot up from the bed. I scanned the room frantically to find my little sister in a corner laughing at me. “It works every time.”

I glared at her. “What are you doing here so early?”

“I told you that I would take a day of to help you prepare for your interview.”

“And I told you to not bother. You never listen Ray. How did you even get in?”

“I have never listened and you know that because you also never listen. And you gave me a spare key.”

“No I didn’t. You stole my keys and used your 3D printer to make replicas.”

“Exactly.” She grinned. Ray walked closer to the bed and pulled the covers off of me. “Get up and let’s get started.”

“Ray.” I whined. “Give me one more hour.”

“I already did at 6 am.” That got me awake.

“Chicken nuggets!” I checked the clock on my nightstand. 7am. “Ray!” I whined. “My interview is at 10am.”

“Yup.” She nodded with her arms folded. I rushed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take a shower. I did everything so quickly that I finished up an hour later. 8am.

My little sister, Rachel Snow, or as she likes to be called, Ray, is annoying and that’s all I can say about her. She’s a software engineer and works for a tech company in London. She’s intelligent, beautiful, and all the qualities seen in a woman that can be described as rich and successful, whereas I’m the exact opposite. That’s how I and my other family members see myself. Dark-skinned, mixed race, black curly hair and green eyes. Ray is a replica of me. The only difference is my brown hair. My sister and I could be described as twins but we’re not. Or are we?

Ray is married with two kids and a rich husband in North London, where we’re from. She has always been everyone’s favorite, even at work. She has just a day off and she’s here in Virginia, proof that she’s even her boss’s favorite. I’ll bet she came here on his private jet too. I may envy her sometimes since she’s living the best life, but I love my sister with all my heart.

Ray made breakfast for me and I quickly finished my meal. She helped me practice my interview, boosting my confidence. My little sister always made me feel like I’m the little sister. She’s more responsible than I am. My mother refuses to let Ray be seen as the oldest kid, so she’s always giving me a hard time. I miss that woman. Just a tiny bit.

“Thank you so much Ray.” I said after I’m done. 9am. I’ve got thirty minutes to drive to the office and thirty minutes to sit down and relax until it’s 10am.

“No need to thank me. I’ll make lunch by the time you get back. Then we’ll call Mama afterwards to tell her how it all went.”

“We’ll have to discuss that last part about calling Mama. Bye now.” I said to her and stepped out. Then I went back in to say, “Don’t you freaking dare go through my items. I’m surely gonna kill you if you do.”

“I will not go through your stuff.” She raised her hands up in surrender. I nodded and quickly got to my car in the parking lot. Just as I had predicted, there wasn’t much traffic on the road so I got to the office right on time, as I had planned. I spoke with the lobbyist, telling him that I was here for an interview. Then he called someone down to lead me to the last floor of the building, the 60th floor. I took a seat in the reception outside of Ace’s office and waited until I was called in.