Chapter 6

Helena’s POV

My spine stiffened.

That was the name I had given the lawyer during the signing process.

He couldn't possibly know that, but the way he said my name got me thinking otherwise, it made something shift inside of me.

He looked down at the paper again, then back up to my eyes.

Then repeated slowly this time around, “Helena.”

Then his eyes rested on mine as the air in the room felt thinner.

For one irrational second, I thought he knew. I thought somehow he had managed to know about what happened in the court. 

I was beginning to believe that he had been told of the contract or something, or maybe he's the stranger on the other end.

But it's impossible. He didn’t know my face, I didn’t know his. This was a coincidence, right?

His gaze lingered for half a second longer than it should have, then he shrugged lightly and looked back at the file.

“Must be a common nickname then, heard it around so often,” he said dismissively.

I let out a deep breath as his casual, not suspicious or confrontational tone wiped the nerves away.

He flipped the page and continued reading as if what just happened a few minutes ago happened in another timeline.

I swallowed, staring nervously at him as I just realized that his words would determine me getting this job or not.

And the worse part? I couldn't tell which I feared more.

“Let’s continue,” he said calmly, leaning back in his chair. “In your application, you mentioned your ability to restructure digital outreach pipelines to increase retention metrics. Walk me through that logic.”

I did? I didn— oh Lord, Tessy.

I forced my brain to get to work as I actually knew the answer to that.

We spent the next twenty minutes dissecting data projections and long-term scaling models. 

He interrupted often, keeping things professional and simple.

Every time I thought I had completed a thought, he'd pull another layer out of nowhere.

“Your assumption here is optimistic,” he said at some point.

And as I tried answering that, he came up with another. “Based on what data?”

I didn't finish with that before he cut me off again. “Quantify that.”

He was intense, like a human god of fire. And in everything, he wasn’t for once cruel, he just aimed to know.

Then at one point, I hesitated for far too long before his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you guessing, Miss Helena?” He asked carefully.

The quiet challenge in his tone lit something stubborn inside me.

“No,” I replied steadily. “I’m recalculating, actually,” I replied with a little hint of class.

A faint flicker of surprise passed across his expression, more like he was amused by my quirky comeback. But it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

By the time the interview ended, my head hurt, my palms were damp, and my trousers were soaked.

He closed my file dramatically. “The HR will contact you when the time is right,” he announced.

So flat, so void of emotion to tell me the extent of my hope.

And there was my dismissal. I stood, bowing slightly. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Barron,” I remarked and he gave a short nod before reaching for his tablet before I even turned towards the door.

The conversation was over.

I walked out with my head high, but the complete opposite happened inside of me.

“How was it?” Tessy asked as I walked a few feet from his office.

I only offered her a tight lipped smile and shook my head.

“You'll get it, I'm sure of that,” she said and tapped my shoulder softly.

I nodded even though I didn't feel it, and slowly turned to leave.

“I'll see you at home, I need to rest up,” I muttered and walked off. Tessy didn't argue, she didn't even try stopping me.

I dragged myself out of the building and flagged down a cab immediately. After an intense interview like that, the only solution was tea.

The drive back home was short, shorter than I could process and I was out before the driver could park properly.

I handed over his money, didn't even bother waiting for change or anything before heading straight for the door.

I stepped in, not even knowing fully well why I felt gloom, but I just had this feeling that I wasn't just myself.

I made myself a hot cup of tea and quickly prepared a few sets of pancakes.

I took the cup of tea and pancakes to the living room, setting them down and letting the tea cool slightly while going to take off my annoyingly tight clothes.

By the time I returned, the steam coming from the cup had greatly reduced and I took a long sip, resting back as it went down my throat satisfyingly.

I took a bite of my pancake, yummy. In about five minutes, I had practically downed all the pieces and was left with half a cup of tea.

The tea settled warmly in my tummy and pulled me to rest my head. I laid down on the sofa and didn't know when sleep took over my eyes till I heard her voice.

“Look who decided to serve herself pancakes without me,” I heard her say before opening my eyes and sitting up hurriedly.

“Oh, she was even asleep,” she added with a small laugh. “What did Barron do to you in there?” She asked as she sat carefully beside me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked as I was still trying to process my environment.

“Uhm, the interview? How did it go? You didn't say anything about it back in the office,” she continued.

I didn't respond immediately as I wasn't sure what exactly I was hearing.

“Can I have those?” She asked and pointed down to my plate of pancakes that had two pieces left.

I nodded slowly and she picked them up without any hesitation.

“I'm starving,” she muttered before taking a bite. She closed her eyes as she chewed, murmuring slightly before swallowing whole. “This is amazing,” she remarked and took another bite.

I watched as she finished the first and went halfway down with the second.

“You didn't tell me you were this good at cooking, how long are you planning on staying?” She asked as she took the last bite of the pancakes.

“Uhm,” I tried to respond but honestly had no answer.

“If you keep this up, you can stay for life. Girl, that was good,” she remarked as she set the empty plate down.

She then picked up the cup of coffee and sipped it before keeping a face at it.

“Okay, tea's cold,” she laughed as she placed it back down on the table.

In all these, I barely said a word.

“Are you okay?” She finally asked gently as I sat still.

I took a deep breath out. “I'm fine, Tessy. It was my first real interview and it didn't help that you wrote my application letter for me,” I replied.

“Oops,” she remarked with a hand over her mouth. “My bad, but I thought you knew those things back in college,” she remarked.

“I did,” I replied. “I wasn't just ready for the kind of pressure he put on me,” I added honestly.

“It's fine, girlfriend. Barron can be very intense, we all had rough interviews and rougher first days. You'll get the hang of it,” she replied and put a hand over my shoulder.

“Thank you,” I muttered and she smiled before getting up.

“Let me get something proper to eat,” she said as she walked away. “You freshen up and relax!” She called back from a distance.

I hope I can.

I remained there for another few minutes before heading over to my room, taking a shower and plopping down on my bed.

I feared I wouldn't be able to sleep so I brought out my phone and scrolled through aimlessly.

I kept scrolling and didn't know when it slipped out of my hand or when my eyes closed.

It was the same buzzing phone that woke me up some time later.

I jolted up and stared at the time. 2.15am

I wondered who could be texting by this time, only to check and find an email labeled; VERY IMPORTANT.