The Bizzare Job interview (1)

TWO YEARS LATER...

Scarlett snoozed the alarm for the second time that morning, her sheets felt warm, all she wanted was to snuggle in her blankets and sail off to dreamland. The piercing cry of a baby, caused her to open her eyes with a start.

Almost immediately, her mother rushed in, “Scar, you are letting the poor baby cry unattended to.”

“Mom, he just woke up, like literally...” she sat up on her bed.

Clarissa ignored her, she walked past her to the crib and lifted the baby and began soothing him. “I told you, if you cannot sleep with him in the same room at night. I will be more than happy to help…”

She rubbed her face, “Mom, I was up with him all night.”

“Do not mind your mother, my little prince. Grandma is here to help.” She rubbed his back soothingly. Then she turned around, “Scarlett, I can only mother one child at a time. Get out of bed and shower, remember you have that interview with that big finance firm.”

Her eyes widened in recollection; she had almost forgotten about it. She rushed out of bed, planted sloppy kisses on the baby’s head.

“Go on, I have got this” Clarissa urged her on.

She reluctantly rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, and exhaled deeply. Today was a big day for her, she was taking the first steps of bettering her life. She had spent the past year out of a job in a new city and nursing her son, completely dependent on her mother.

She almost had no memory of what life was like without her son. Her day started and ended with him, but she knew she had to take charge of her life, she could not be dependent on her for life. She had been beyond supportive.

She let the warm water cascade down her back. Admittedly, she was terrified. The interview was at a multinational corporation, Grayson and Grayson companies. Although, she was applying for a small role, she still felt underserving. She took a deep breath, choosing not to dwell on these things, at least not now. She was late and she had to try, if not for anyone, at least for her son. She finished up in the bathroom and rushed out.

She put on the black dress, she had laid out on the bed, her gaze lingered on her stomach in the mirror but she pulled her gaze away. She already didn’t feel confident, there was no need to add low self-esteem into the mix. She tied her hair into a sleek ponytail, applied light make-up on her face, slipped on her low stilettos, grabbed her bag containing everything she had and rushed out.

Soon, she was out on the streets and flagging down a cab, but not before planting several kisses on her mother and son. It was a fifteen-minute drive, she got out of the car, in front of the huge Grayson tower.

There was a growing pit in her stomach as she stared at the gigantic building, she checked her watch and realised she only had roughly three minutes to be seated in the waiting area. She began to walk fast, she breezed past other employees, narrowly bumping into a few. She greeted the man at the entrance, and almost stumbled as she rushed in, attracting a few curious stares from people.

Everyone was smartly dressed, with their employee IDs clipped on their chest, carrying a sleek briefcase or a luxurious designer bag or mug in their hand, casually strolling by.

She cleared her throat and slowed down, with her head held high, she sauntered to the red-haired lady seated at the receptionist table at the entrance and flashed her a wide smile. “Hi, I am here for the interview at Grayson’s office.”

“What is your name miss?”

She typed her name into the computer, then she looked up at her with a polite smile. “Go over to the security men.” She gestured at them with her hands. “They will search you and give you directions.”

After so much manoeuvring, she found herself at the reception area. There were like twenty other ladies seated already, she quietly moved to a seat behind and sat down.

She gawked at all the other ladies, her body grew tense to the point of shaking. Her thoughts were raging in her head, she was rusty from being out of work for over a year, what was she going to say to the interviewer? How was she going to respond? she thought to her herself. Her thoughts were spiralling in a dizzy whirlwind. The other ladies were elegant and poised. She took in deep breath, biting at the inner corner of her lip.

In that moment, the doors opened. They all sat upright and a dark tall man strutted in. his hair was weaved into braids, he had on a loose-fitting silk black shirt, with the few of the top buttons undone with wide-legged black pants and matching shoes.

He was followed closely by a young man; the man handed him a paper. When he got to the middle of the room, he squinted his eyes as he scanned them. He dramatically cleared his throat. “My name is Lucious LaRue…” his sharp eyes trained on everyone in the room. “Yes, exactly what you are thinking.”

When he was satisfied, he began to call out names. He struggled with pronouncing a name and groaned in frustration. “Twenty-five ladies, I asked HR that these names be narrowed to the least amount of people, yet here we are. I must interview twenty-five women.” He murmured to their hearing.

The ladies exchanged curious looks amongst themselves.

“There was a total of 1516 women, si…I mean Lucious.” The guy beside him explained.

Lucious gave a dramatic twirl. “Over a thousand women applied for a position in the Grayson’s office?” he asked with a look of incredulity in his eyes, his mouth gaped. “I told him, Mr. Grayson, we do not need a new secretary, I can handle the job. What would we need a secretary for? I do it all already, I am capable, aren’t I, intern?”

The young man nodded, “Yes of course, Lucious.”

“But no, he wouldn’t listen to me, no one listens to me…” he rolled his eyes and looked up from the paper he was holding, and turned his attention to them and sighed, “okay, let’s have it” he walked into their midst, scrutinizing them.

Scarlett froze when his eyes bored into hers, “You there!”

She pointed at herself in disbelief.

“Yes, you.” He answered in a curt tone.

She stood to her feet and walked over to him and he gave her a once over as she approached him.

“What is your name?” he inquired.

“Scarlett Knowles.” She answered.

He ticked it on his paper, and turned his attention back to her. “Mr. Grayson does not like blondes, so I think you will do.” He turned to the intern and whispered, “Handle this” he turned back to them. “It was my pleasure, ladies…” he bowed and strutted off.

Scarlett’s feet were rooted to the ground, her jaw dropped as she stared at the retreating back of the man. She rushed after him just before the doors shut.

“Am I supposed to follow you?”

He stopped in his tracks suddenly, she almost bumped into him.

“Does that mean I get the job?” she asked with a look of incredulity in her eyes.

“Was not I clear enough?” he asked.

She shook her head, “Actually, no…” she noticed his frown deepened, “Thank you, thank you. Are there any interviews, any forms that I must fill...”

Lucious gave her an irritating stare, “No…” he peeked at the paper in his hand, “no, Scarlett. This is not an offer for the CEO of the company. Your job is to be a secretary, very easy...” he began to leave but stopped and turned around, “And to stay out of Mr. Grayson’s hair, which of course should be very easy, seeing as you are blonde.” He reiterated, his eyes lingering on her hair.

She opened her mouth to speak but he had already sauntered off. She stared at him in amusement, he was a really amusing man. She broke into a short laughter, she was beyond elated. She had spent weeks obsessing over her chances of getting a job and how the interview would go.

Now she had gotten the job on the grounds that she was blonde, she was thankful for the twenty-dollar box dye, she purchased a week ago, it was a worthy investment. She jumped and cheered.

“Miss, I can see you are overjoyed.”

She spun around quickly to see the timid intern behind her. She straightened up and nodded with a smile on her face.

“Follow me, we will prepare your documents and every other necessary information and discuss the terms of your salary.”

She nodded in understanding.

“Shall we...” he gestured with his hand to her.

“Of course…”

“Benjamin” he answered. “You can call me Ben.”

They walked into a large office down the hallway and discussed the terms of their contract. Scarlett was too stunned to speak, the offer she had gotten was more than she bargained for. She was not even confident she would get the job in the first place.

As she was filling out her personal details, she got a point where they asked if she had any children, her heart went out to Levi, her bubbly little baby. She would never have hesitated but everything was riding on her getting this job. If she wanted to give him a better life, she would have to work twice as hard, she needed more opportunities. She knew how ruthless these corporations were to a woman, let alone a mother. She took in a deep breath as she clicked none.

When she was done filling in her information, she looked up at the man sitting across from her, “Who do I work for?”