THE CEO MEMOIRIST

Chapter Two

In the office of Mr Grimes Branagh, he was engaged in a cool yet tense argument with a rather tall man. Grimes was seated on his chair, behind his desk, dressed in a red suit that showed off the gracious wonder of creation he was. He had his hands in each other and rested his chin on them. "Grimes!" The tall man called his name with ruthless intensity. "I won't say this again, you have a way out, for the first time in what feels like forever, you have a chance to end it all and be free, so I admonish you, take it. Take it and stop f*****g about!" He ended and walked out of the office.

"Oh Tatlock, let me take a freaking breath." Grimes expressed to himself when Tatlock had left the office. He picked up the telephone on the table and talked to his secretary through it. "Sira, let the next applicant in," he said with unease. Akshara was making her way through the corridor as directed by the receptionist who sent her up, she got to a turn which she was about to make when a huge man made the turn from the other side also, almost colliding with her… they both tilted slightly enough to not head dive into each other but not enough to avoid a collision of shoulders. The man turned to Akshara with a disgusted look on his face, he was so furious he looked like he was about to pounce on her and strangle every life out of her. Akshara knew she wasn't getting an apology from him and she was definitely not willing to give an apology to such an ill-mannered tramp" which were the exact words she spoke in her mind. She turned and walked away while he did the same. She got to an oddly designed office space where there were so many paintings, swords, sculptures, and armor parts hanging on the wall. There was a receptionist seated at a large table with two computers on them and several documents and on one side sat three other people, applicants who were waiting for their turn. "Name?" The receptionist asked her. "Akshara. Akshara Ramakrishnan." "Take a seat." The receptionist said to her after going through the list she had and finding Akshara's name. Akshara walked to where the others sat and joined them, greeting them with a nice smile. She looked at the guy beside her and he was visibly shaking and sweating. She could see the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead and just under his nose. She knew at that point that she was having it easy. Suddenly, two young ladies, somewhat around her age came into the area, clearly applicants, and Akshara suddenly felt this comfort knowing that there were people more scared and late than she was. She let off a little smile which was then dusted off by the woeful expression the applicant that exited the door had on when he came out.

The secretary called the next person who went in. In terror, he lasted barely 3 minutes in there and was out with an even worse expression. The next person went in and came out crying. Akshara was called next, she stood up with a frown on her face, she didn't know who the interviewer was but she sure as hell she wanted to give him or her a piece of her mind, making people feel so bad about themselves all over a job was just disgusting. Grimes on the other hand was fed up and was waiting to just cast the next interviewee aside. Both of them with negative emotional agendas when suddenly, Akshara walked in and their eyes met. Grimes gasped, he did not expect to see someone so beautiful standing in front of him that day, it was almost so obvious that he was in awe of her with his half-open mouth and bulging eyes. Akshara on the other hand could see his handsomeness and boy did she feel that shift in the air but she could not wrap her head around how someone who looked so angelic could make people feel like hell. She took her seat grumpily, even without waiting to be told to sit. Grimes became aware of the obviousness of his admiration that he quickly shut his mouth, cleared his throat, and leaned forward, with no greetings or exchange of pleasantries, he asked "So, what do you think you are here for you?" "To be the personal human diary to Mr Grimes Branagh, I suppose." "I see. And you are?" "Akshara Ramakrishnan." "Okay, Akshara, what do you think are the roles of a quote on quote, a personal human diary to Mr Grimes Branagh?" "Hmm. To document his li- You know what? I'm not gonna do this." "Indulge in your toxic cliche story." "Cliche?" "Yes.

You being rude and judgemental to every single applicant here today, making them take a walk of shame and embarrassment, dangling their insecurities in front of them and making them feel less than what they are." "And how is that being cliche, they simply do not qualify." "They do not what?! Are you just indifferent and lack any ounce of emotional intelligence or are you simply an outright dick." "What did you say to me?" "You heard me. I don't like repeating myself." "You insolent little brat. Do you know who I am?" "Some wannabe tough guy who cannot pull his own weight amongst the staff so he's doing so with interviewees, abusing the little power you are given." "Get out." "With pleasure. Stuck up prick." Akshara ended and stormed out of the office. Akshara was furious for the next ten minutes, walking with the furious energy of a hungry dinosaur… even the pavements she walked on could feel her rage. She wanted to hail a taxi but she recalled not having any money on her so she just kept walking, hoping to get to the station before she would start punching the air like a mad person out of frustration.

Grimes who was so furious after his interview with Akshara called his secretary and asked her to run a background check on Akshara, he found her tone and words insulting in every manner, and yet, there was something about the way she challenged him, he couldn't quite get a hang of it. "Why, Sir? Is she your preferred candidate for the job?" "Let's just say that after all this time, finally, something makes me tick." Grimes said with a cryptic smile.