Cold CEO at Dawn, My Baby at Night

Chloe’s POV I sat there in silence, one awful thought crossed my mind; maybe God didn’t just like my gut. “You won’t move an inch here until you apologize to me!” The voice roared in my ears as I sat hopelessly in the cab while the driver argued with the passenger. I took another dejected look at my wristwatch; my interview was scheduled at 10am and I had consented to it. To my horror, 10am had passed away about five minutes ago. I rushed out of the cab and called out to the driver, “I am late for my interview.” Can we leave now?” I shouted angrily. “I am sorry ma’am.” The driver got into the cab and we drove on. Despite how much speed he had put up afterward, I was obviously late. No disputing that. The moment the cab came to an abrupt stop at the Peak Hill company driveway. I resisted the urge to stand and admire the topnotch exterior design of the company just as I had drooled over its pictures on the internet. I rushed through the front door and observed all necessary security protocols before I was allowed onto the ground floor. I made my way to the front desk but unfortunately, I was told the interview waiting room was already closed. I let out a deep sigh. Was I to return home just like that? I hung my head up in defeat. I was right all along; God didn’t seem to fancy me. I had recently resigned from my previous job at a jewelry company due to the toxicity of the workplace and also my obnoxious boss’s s****l harassment. To think I had a high hope that getting a new job at the prestigious Peak Hills company would ease the long bills on my mum. My hope was finally shattered. I held my bag in my left hand and draped it over my shoulder. I was halfway toward the front door when I heard a voice behind me. “Ma’am, I was told to allow you in.” I turned around to face the front door attendant. She had a subtle smile on her beautiful face. I had to resist the urge to hug her tightly. “Thank you, I appreciate this,” I said, beaming with a smile and she nodded affirmatively. She ushered me towards the door leading to the interview room. As I had expected. The room was filled with many other people. At that moment, my initial skepticism returned. This was going to be hard. Despite my preparedness, I still felt intimidated by the seemingly endless smart-looking people in the room, not that I wasn’t smart too but I guess spending over two hours in a cab had made me less confident in myself. The microphone in the room came to life. Myself and the rest of the others listened in silence as instructions were dished to us. “The interview would be done in batches. The next five to be called….” That was it. I heard names that I couldn’t identify until I heard one, a very familiar one. My own name. “….and Chloe Vance.” I got up on my feet and followed the other four that were called. In a single line. We walked to the interview room. I was mesmerized by the fancy interior that I almost forgot about the fact that this was a hot seat. “Candidates, please have a seat.” A warm female voice called out to us. I looked above us; four interviewers sat at the high table, obviously assessing every single thing about us. I noticed two of them were busy scribbling on their notepads while the older woman glared at us like a hawk. The younger woman smiled softly as we all settled on the chairs. “Can we proceed with the interview now?” The younger woman turned to the lanky man beside her. “No! He specifically requested that we conduct this interview in his presence.” Who? But my curiosity was filled soon enough as a powerful force walked into the room. Liam Thorne, the newly appointed CEO of Peak Hills Company. Honestly speaking, he wasn’t photogenic because the man that just walked towards me was a demigod in the human race. He had every bit of perfection around him until he made his first statement. “You shouldn’t be here, were you planning to work with me wearing wrinkled shirts?” He paused, “Leave!” I turned slightly as my heart thumped loudly in my chest. Despite spending a long time getting my appearance together, I almost thought he was referring to me until the man sitting beside me got up on his feet and left the interview room. My breath caught in my throat and I held my hand to my chest. He walked past me and made for his seat right beside the lanky interviewer. The others acknowledged his presence, but he just brushed off their pleasant greeting with a raise of his hand. “Let us proceed.” What a jerk! The process was long and so were the questions. We took turns answering questions from the other interviewers. Liam just sat there and watched. The cold unreadable expression on his face remained frozen in place. Now it was finally his turn to question us. That was the breaking point because the first participant started to stammer immediately and ended up bursting into uncontrollable tears. My heartbeat sped up; I was the third participant in the column. Mr Thorne didn’t seem to have the least bit of empathy in his bones. He disqualified the first person, stating that he didn’t need a crybaby as a secretary. He turned towards the second participant and questioned him. His response sounded so unintelligible and instantly, he was disqualified on the spot. I prepared myself for my turn, but it never came. Mr Thorne turned towards the last participant and threw her the question. I was pissed. I balled my hand in fist beside me as he carried on. I waited patiently hoping it was an oversight, but when he threw me a casual glance and looked away, I knew I had to step up.I raised my hand up in the air, and he raised his questioning brow in my direction. “You skipped me over, Mr Thorne.” He drew back slightly in his chair and his brow furrowed deeper. “I did. Because you are disqualified.” He responded coldly. My jaw dropped open and so did the rest of the judges. “Mr Thorne, she had the highest score in the online test.” The youngest interviewer pointed out. “So?” He responded coldly, staring intently at me. I swallowed the lump in my throat; I reminisced on the pain of getting prepared for this interview only to be deemed unfit for no apparent reason. I got up on my feet and stared intently at him. “Why was I disqualified?” His phone chimed, and his attention was quickly turned from me, so I did what I had to do to regain it. I raised my voice! Loud enough. “Mr Thorne, give me a clue of why I was disqualified and if I deserved it, I would walk out of here immediately.” Several gasps echoed through the room. I didn’t care; I wasn’t certain if I was being bold or stupid right now, but I had to be one. “Are you that desperate to know?” He responded coldly, but I didn’t bulge. “If you must know Miss Vance, I disqualified you because…..”