Unmasked Desires

Chapter Four

Weeks had slipped by since my interview , and with each passing day, the weight of uncertainty bore down harder. I checked my emails constantly hoping to get a message from Caldwell Enterprises but nothing came through. Their silence was s heavy storm cloud hovering over me, telling me that I wasn’t good enough for them. At the slightest buzz of my phone, I picked it up hastily silently praying it was a text from them, but each time I checked, it was just a pointless notification.

Jessica came around one morning to stock up my refrigerator with frozen food and vegetables as I couldn’t afford to get my own foodstuffs no more. I felt like an extra burden for her and I hated watching her tire herself out for both of us but she never complained. I was indebted to her and I needed this job to go through so I can finally do something for her. She tried her best to console me, her optimism a brightness in my cloud of doubt

“Maybe they’re just taking their time,” She often said “Big corporations always have a slow hiring process.”

I appreciated the reassurance, but no amount of it could beat the feeling of failure lodged in my chest. I was convinced that I blew my chances and Jessica couldn’t make me think otherwise.

One Saturday morning, I was at Jessica’s wanting a change in environment. I laid on the couch, a baggy shirt and grey sweatpants hugging my unkempt form. The TV flickered in the background with Jessica fully concentrated on it but I was uninterested. Wallowing in self-pity was my entertainment, too aware of the disappointment that fueled my soul.

“You’re gonna give yourself a High B.P at this rate.” Jessica moved to the kitchen with an empty plate in hand.

“Listen, even if they don’t call you back, you’ll still get something elsewhere. It’s not the end of the world.” She said, her voice filled with optimism.

“It sure feels like it.” I muttered, not letting her words fill me up with pointless hope. While everyone around me moved forward, I was stagnant in my failures and no optimism could propel me forward.

As I turned to the TV, my phone buzzed violently in my pocket interrupting my thoughts. I reached for it lazily, expecting a text from Mia or another spam email. It wasn’t that, the message was from Caldwell.

Dear, Elena Turner, we’re delighted to inform you that you’ve been selected as one of the fifteen candidates moving forward to the next stage of our interview process.

“Oh my God!” I gasped... “Jessica!” I screamed, my heart racing with excitement “I’m in”.

She jumped up in excitement, quickly praying to God for the breakthrough.

“I told you! I said they were taking their time! This is huge”

But as the excitement surged through us, I scanned the rest of the email and excitement soon became panic

Successful applicants are expected at Caldwell Enterprise immediately for information regarding the next step as only the first seven applicants to arrive will move on to the last stage.

“s**t! I need to get to Caldwell right now but I’m not well dressed and I look like a mess.”

“Only the first seven are moving on. Looks can take a backseat for now. Go now.” Jessica’s eyes went wide, urging me into action.

Without so much as another delay, I sprang into motion, adrenaline fueling my movement. I grabbed my handbag and quickly fastened my shoe laces. There was no time for a dress change or hair do if I was going to pull through. I had to move fast.

“Goodluck!” Jessica called after me as I exited the door.

NYC wasn’t as busy as it always was, or maybe it was because Jessica’s place was at a much quiet part of the city. The road was scanty with little to no cars playing it and the people walking the sidewalk carried no sense of urgency unlike the ones that strolled my street.

I hopped into the first taxi I saw. “Caldwell Enterprises please. I need you to go as fast as you possibly can” I told the driver, urgency thrumming through me.

The city blurred past and the almost-empty road gave the driver room to go faster. My reflection in the window reminded me of my unkempt state-my hair was a complete mess. Luckily, my comb was in my handbag enabling me to arrange my scattered hair.

Not long, we came into a gridlock few blocks to Caldwell. Not wanting to risk my opportunity, I paid the fare and rushed out the cab as fast as my legs could carry me toward Caldwell’s building.

On reaching the entrance, I spotted a man rushing toward the door. My panic level heightened springing me to intensify my efforts and we arrived at the front desk simultaneously; both of us panting heavily. I could feel Monica’s eyes on us, assessing our frantic state.

“Do you need water or anything?” She offered.

The gentleman refused, maybe he was trying to prove his composure, I on the other hand needed to cool off.

“Yes please”

She pointed to a water dispenser behind the front desk. I picked a small paper cup beside it and filled it with cold water before taking it all in one big gulp.

“So we’ve got a slight problem, six people were already here and they’ve signed their name.” She said, raising up a clipboard. “Meaning, there’s only one spot left and we’ve got two of you.” She continued, glancing between us.

I swallowed hard, taking a quick look at my more professionally dressed competitor. “ I was here before her” He insisted.

“No way, I was here first.” I defended myself. We tried going over each other’s voice erupting into a cacophony.

Monica raised her clipboard, silencing us both. “You know, even if you were the first person to get here, you don’t look professional.” She said , her sharp gaze lingered on me. “You rushed over here without even trying to present yourself professionally. This is a billion-dollar corporation. We expect high-level professionalism at all times.”

My heart sank at her words. I was in trouble again.

“I’m really sorry. I got the information at my sister’s place and I rushed down here so I wouldn’t be late. I wasn’t think...”

“That’s the problem Ms. Turner.” Monica interrupted “You didn’t think and in here you’ve always gotta think critically.” Her words felt like a dagger piercing my soul.

“However, as you can see there’s no one else here but us and that’s because we don’t open often during weekends and on days like this, informal dressing isn’t a big deal so I’ll let it slide just this once. Any more slip ups and you’re done.” She said, looking me in the eyes.

“Thank you!” I let out a relieved sigh.

“So about our situation, here’s what we’re going to do, I’ll increase the slot to eight and both of you will join the others for the final stage.” She handed the clipboard to us and we scribbled down our name and signature.

“The final part of this process is on Monday and it’s going to be a quiz. Your assignment is to research everything about Caldwell Enterprises. Dig up any article you can over the weekend and know them by heart because after the quiz only one of you will be hired. Off you go.” She said, her tone firm and sharp.

As I exited the building, I felt a new wave of hope I hadn’t felt in a while. I looked back at the building and smiled knowing I was edging closer to victory. For Monday’s quiz, I had to nail down the assignment and with the rekindled hope I had, I was confident that I could get the job.