A walking god?

Mr EyeCandy stepped into the hallway, and his footstep resounded in the air. 

Our eyes met and my heart sank.

“Hazel!” I muttered silently, that was the color of his eyes.

I timidly darted my eyes to the ground as he closed the distance between us.

A pair of the most expensive Daniel Martins boots stopped before me.

“Woah!” I gasped, intoxicated by his manly scent that wafted my senses.

“CEO!” The French speaking lady exclaimed, groveling over to his side. 

My gaze remained on the ground, as I failed to steady trembling heart.

“Nicole Guy must have definitely seen this guy before writing about the character, Anderson!” I thought to myself. 

“Who’s this?” I heard him say. His voice clearly befitted his persona. Firm, confident, dominant, oozing with authority.

“I already interviewed her, you don’t have to bother.” She replied.

Her lie caught me off guard and I didn’t even know when I blurted out,

“No, you didn’t!”

I instantly regretted it when my eyes met with hers, because she gave the kind of stare that sent chills down my spine.

Mr EyeCandy turned to her and said in the softest, stern voice,

“Care to explain?”

She began to scratch her shoulder up to her neck, smiling apprehensively at him.

“She just came, and I had already concluded the interview… she doesn’t look qualified anyway.”

He scoffed dryly, glimpsing at his designers wrist watch.

“It’s barely 9am.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. Please, I promise it is not what it looks like…” the lady begged,

“Do you know what I hate most in life, Miss Luc?” He smirked, in a cute way, but also in a way that depicted suppressed anger.

“Lies… dishonesty. Corrupt behaviors…”

Miss Luc fell to her knees, rubbing her palms together as she continued to plead, 

“Please, Sir… it will never repeat itself.”

“You are fired… please clear off your table.” He ordered, without as much as a glance at her.

“Come with me” he said as he brisked by.

The Security guards held the door open as he walked into the Hall. 

“Sit down…” 

THE INTERVIEW 

After the incident with Miss Luc, Mr Eye Candy didn’t exactly seem so delicious to me, instead, I felt fear and anxiety as he scanned through my articles on my former Company’s Blog. 

His face bore no expression or impression of emotions- just a soft frown on his forehead as his eyes skimmed through my lines.

My hands were sweaty by now, I was trembling in anticipation. “What would he ask me?” I wondered.

“How long did you work here?” His voice cut through the silence of the expansive hall, shaking me awake from my trail of thoughts.

“Six years…” I replied nervously, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Why did you leave?” 

Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as his gaze pierced my face with a stern expression on his face, his eyes drilling into my soul, making feel naked.

“I relocated here recently so I…”

“Relocated?” He interjected, his tone turning icy.

I swallowed, and nodded, feeling a knot tighten in my stomach.

“What was your salary?” He asked.

The question hung in the air with a sudden feel of ominous energy, that wasn’t a question I was expecting. 

“I don’t see how that is necessary.” I replied politely, but my heart pounded in fear.

Mr Eyecandy looked up from the MacBook and glanced at me. He held one of his eye brows higher than the other. 

“8000$” I answered immediately, intimidated by his glare. 

He nodded.

“50,000$…”

My eyes widened at the whooping sum of money he mentioned.

“What is?” I replied.

“Your salary…” he replied absentmindedly. 

“Wait, did I just get employed?!” I screamed inside, complete amazed by my luck.

“An advanced payment of 5000$ for a change of wardrobe.” 

Glancing at me again, he said,

“You look like a bar attendant in that dress… and I don’t need cheap look employees to bring down my brand. Do better” 

All my excitement dissipated into the air as his subtle insult settled into my skin, ripping it off like I had been gashed.

I swallowed hard, and managed to give a smile. 

50,000$ was a good amount to swallow a subtle insult for. It’s not like I was accused of being a husband-snatcher.

But one thing I learnt was that, it wouldn’t be easy working for Mr Eye-Candy. He had proven himself insufferable on the first day.

“Dismissed.” He mumbled.

I stood up meekly and picked up my handbag and made for the door, then I suddenly stopped. I realized I hadn’t asked his name, neither did he ask for mine.

“You didn’t ask for my name, Sir?” 

Mr EyeCandy sized me up and down, like I had said something irritating.

“What do I need your name for?” He scowled.

I immediately turned pink and hid my face in embarrassment. 

He didn’t have to be so rude. 

“I’m sorry, Sir…” I apologized, heading for the door. 

“Be back here by 8am tomorrow. Don’t be late!” He rumbled.

I closed the door and immediately exhaled all my suppressed anger. 

I checked my bank account and my balance was in three zeros.

I groaned in frustration as Mr EyeCandy-turn-Eyesore’s words pierced into my mind.

“I need to buy clothes.” I whispered into the phone as I walked past the bustling environs of the Varde Clothing Industry. 

“Say it like you mean it, girl!…” Paula screamed excitedly. 

———

I stumbled into the living room of Lydia’s cozy three bedroom apartment, with loads of shopping bags in hand.

I should have known that Paula would make me spend my entire life savings on things I didn’t need. 

“Trust me, you’ll need all of them. This is Washington.” She egged me on.

“You’ll look good in it, get it” 

“Oh, orange brings out your eye color! Definitely get it, trust me you’ll love it…” 

Now that I was recounting my day to Lydia, I couldn’t explain why I believed her and bought some of the things that I bought. 

“Lydia, is there any thing she wouldn’t need here?… answer sincerely.” Paula cried.

Lydia scanned the spread out clothes carefully, 

“To be honest, she doesn’t need that leopard print jumpsuit…” Lydia said.

“Oh, that’s for me!” Paula grinned.

 

We settled for dinner, Lydia placed a pot of spaghetti and marinara sauce at the center of the table, smiling softly at me.

“Congratulations, Rosé.” She said. Lydia was really like Paula because when she spoke, I could feel her true emotions glinting behind her eyes. 

Her smile was an expressive sentence saying; 

“Things are beginning to look up for you…” and sincerely, I was happy about it too, although my mind’s eye replayed the events of the morning and I blurted,

“If I am going to work there, then I am going to be in desperate need of daily Meditation… you won’t believe the jerk that interviewed me today.

Everywhere I go, it seems like men are the bad guys!”

Lydia and Paula erupted into a soft rumble of laughter. 

“I know a few High ranking workers there, that was why I sent you to Jason…” Lydia said.

“Oh, trust me, it wasn’t Jason. Some guy, stepped out of the elevator and fired a high and mighty lady. Even though she begged him with her knees on the ground, he refused to reconsider her. It was icky to see such heartlessness. 

I think she called him CEO…”

Lydia’s spoon fell on the table, clanging on the ceramic plate.

“Did you hear her well?”  She panicked, her eyes widening in sheer curiosity.

“Yes, she called him CEO, at first. The guy is a real jerk. You know, I saw…”

“You met the walking god of Washington and you didn’t bow?!” Lydia screamed.

“Wait, I won’t get my hopes up. Describe, describe him, right now! Paula, get my phone.”

“Tall, oh so darn tall. Has eyes that can swallow you whole- in the good and bad way. Nicely chiseled face like one of Adonis’ sons. He looked quite rugged yet…”

“Charming…?” She interrupted, pivoting her phone screen to me.

One glance at the strikingly gorgeous face and I nodded instantly.

“This is he… he did my interview. He said I look like a bar attendant in that pretty dress I wore, can you believe it?!” I screamed, even more irritated as I relived the moment.

Lydia glared at me in disbelief, 

“You should be grateful he complimented you… you met Navy Leonardo, for Christ’s sakes.

The top one percent of the one percent of VIPs in Washington pay to see him.

Actresses and beauty queens are dying for him to just say a word to them, even if it’s a curse. Trust me, it’s that serious… and you got to see him and talk to him for free! Many women want to be you at least once in their lives…” Lydia rambled in a frenzy that I failed to understand.

“Well, when next you see those ladies. Tell them to be careful what they wish for. He looks like gold but he is a real jerk! A real jerk!”