Twisted Fates

Interview Jitters and Unexpected Charm

With her interview paper clipped between her lips, she combed through her oily, tangled hair with her fingers, psyching herself for the interview she didn't expect to have today due to her now jumbled up schedule.

At the other side of the hall, a maintenance staff member who was pushing a housekeeping cart and whose face she didn't see greeted her and she just nodded in response.

Pull yourself together. He's the one being interviewed; not me.

But as true as it is, she was still a nervous wreck. And it is entirely her fault for feeling this way.

Every time she loses track of time and forgets what needs to get done or whenever she needs to step out of her schedule and not go as what she thought was planned, she gets panicky. At times, she even gets anxiety attacks.

She used to attend psychiatric sessions before, but this year, she dropped out of the program to allot more time to invest in the SuperFormula Project.

I got this! Everything will work just fine. Pretend that you got off the bus this morning and you're on time.

For extra measure, she pulled out the breath spray from the pocket of her lab coat, inserted the nozzle inside her mouth, and sprayed one last time. She shut her eyes tight and took deep breaths before opening the door that would lead her to the interview room where Emeric Thorne could be waiting already.

With a sweaty palm, she turned the knob and pushed the door open, the creaking noise of the rusty hinges announced her late arrival.

Sitting patiently and perfectly on one of the chairs was a handsome man with soft blonde hair pulled back tidily with hair gel and magnetizing emerald eyes.

He stood up in respect and introduced himself. "Good morning. My name's Emeric Thorne. I sent my application last week via email and I received the details of my rescheduled interview with Ms. Gellamore last night."

He was tall and, like Danny, he was physically built but bigger and more proportionate. He was wearing a nice long-sleeved plain casual polo— his abs pressing against the white fabric— with dark-colored pants. His shoes were branded and leather in texture.

His teeth were straight and as white as snow and his skin glowed under the light. His jaw was prominent and strong, his lips were full and glossy, and his eyebrows were placed against his forehead in a perfect line.

His voice sounded deep and calm, his actions were as smooth as the wind blows, and his smile was dashing—dashing enough to make a girl's heart flutter.

Everything about him was ethereally and unrealistically beautiful. While Roslyn was losing self-esteem being in his presence. He looked like a god or a tremendously luxurious CEO of a very notorious company, but next to him, Ro would be mistaken for his housemaid wearing a long dirty white coat smeared with coffee stains and chocolate pudding, her favorite midnight snack.

Oh my. I've never met a man looking like he jumped out of a Marvel comic book. He's absolutely gorgeous. I wonder if he's got a girlfriend. A wife, perhaps. That would be a lot worse. But wait! What am I thinking? Stop! Be professional.

"He-hell-hello." Her voice stuttered as they shook hands. "I'm Ms. Gellamore. Roslyn Gellamore."

"Wow! Your hand is cold. Should we adjust the temperature in the room?"

I feel so hot right now! I can't believe he's freezing.

Emeric let out a quiet chortle. "Oh no. I just drank cold coffee and the cup was filled with ice."

She scanned the table as they pulled their hands away from each other's grip.

But I don't see any coffee lying around in this room. Maybe it's in the trash can. Anyway, we should get started with the interview. I still have to attend to my sister's needs.

She motioned him to take a seat. "Did I make you wait that long?"

He sat back down in his original seat. "Oh no. Not all. I just got here the moment you came walking right in."

Ro felt relieved but pretended to be as formal as she could. She cleared her throat. "Ahem. So...?"

Emeric leaned forward, anticipating a challenging question to pop out soon; but, to his surprise, Ro asked him if he was single.

"That’s an intriguing question, but I don't see why this is relevant to work." He scoffed and leaned back in his chair. "Why are you asking?"

It took her a while to respond as she was still gathering her thoughts. For a moment, the room was in complete silence. It was getting quite awkward with Emeric staring at her suspiciously while she was on a mental block.

Ro tried reasoning out, "I just want to know if you can dedicate all your time and effort to this project. No sidelines. No distractions. I prefer someone who has this project on his or her mind for 24 hours."

Roslyn was indeed interested in him, but she didn't want to be so obvious. She wanted to ask in a subtle way without looking desperate.

Emeric rubbed his chin. "Well, that's a bit exaggerating, but I understand what you mean. I'm not dating anyone, but maybe I'll have to put in a little more effort not to fall for you."