CHAPTER FOUR: THE INTERVIEW
1144 Words
My phone rang again at 2 a.m.
Jade Callister.
I stared at his name until the screen went dark, then turned the phone off and placed it beside me. My chest tightened, but I forced my eyes shut. If I picked that call, I knew myself. One word from him, and I would forget everything he did.
Morning came before I slept.
Nina handed me a blue shirt and stood by the door while I changed. She kept looking at my face like she wanted to ask something but held it in.
“You’re still going?”
I picked up my file and nodded.
She frowned. “After last night?”
I looked at my reflection once, then away.
“Yes. If I stay down, they win.”
Nina stared at me for a second, then moved aside.
“Then go prove them wrong.”
Cole Group stood in front of me like another world.
The building was too big, too polished, and too expensive. People walked in confidently, dressed like they belonged there. I looked down at Nina’s borrowed shirt and my old shoes and almost turned back.
A woman bumped my shoulder and clicked her tongue.
“If you’re not going in, move.”
The file nearly slipped from my hand.
At once, Serena’s voice came back.
You have nowhere to go.
My fingers crushed the edge of the paper.
I lifted my head and walked inside.
The waiting hall was full.
Men in suits, women with expensive bags, everyone speaking softly like they already knew someone inside. I sat at the last chair, holding my file close while trying not to notice how plain I looked beside them.
The man beside me glanced at my clothes, then laughed under his breath.
“First time?”
I turned to him.
He smiled like it was a joke. “At a place like this.”
Before I could answer, the HR woman called our names.
We stood and followed her in.
The test paper landed on my desk.
I looked at the first question, and for the first time since yesterday, my mind went quiet. Numbers covered the page. Forecasts, Calculations, Models. My hand moved before I could think, and the pen kept moving until everything around me disappeared.
I forgot Jade.
Forgot Serena.
Forgot the blood on the floor.
When I dropped the pen and stood, the woman collecting papers looked at me like I had made a mistake.
She checked the clock, then my paper.
Her brows pulled together.
“You’re done already?”
I nodded.
She looked at me for another second, then pointed outside.
“Wait there.”
The others looked up as I walked out.
I didn’t look back.
I had barely sat down when the whole hallway changed.
The guards straightened. Receptionists stood. Even the people talking lowered their voices.
I looked up.
Ethan Cole walked in like he belonged to everything around him.
Handsome, Tall, Dark suit, Calm face, No smile. He said nothing, but the people near him moved immediately. He passed three managers without stopping, then his eyes lifted.
And landed on me.
My fingers tightened around my file.
He slowed.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But enough for me.
The man beside him followed his gaze. Ethan said something low without looking away, and the man nodded quickly.
Then he walked into the elevator.
The doors closed.
And I realized I had stopped breathing.
An hour later, they called my name.
The office upstairs was quiet. Five people sat behind a long table, asking questions before I even finished sitting down.
“Why this company?”
I kept my voice steady.
“I studied mathematics. This role matches my field.”
The woman nodded. A man beside her adjusted his glasses.
“No experience. So why should we choose you?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
Because my husband left me yesterday.
Because I have nowhere to sleep after tonight.
Because if I don’t get this job, I have nothing.
I swallowed and met his eyes.
“Because I can do the work.”
He looked unconvinced.
Then the door opened.
Everyone stood immediately.
I turned.
Ethan walked in.
The room changed again.
He didn’t greet anyone. He picked up my test paper, read the last page, then read it again. His eyes moved slower this time.
The manager cleared his throat.
“Sir, we were just…”
Ethan lifted one hand.
The man went silent.
He kept looking at my paper, then finally raised his eyes to me.
“This method,” he said quietly, tapping the page. “Who taught you?”
I held his gaze.
“No one.”
One of the managers gave a small laugh, like he didn’t believe me. “Sir, many candidates copy advanced formulas online before interviews. It happens.”
I turned to him immediately. “Then give me another one.”
The room went still.
The manager frowned. “Excuse me?”
I met his eyes, my chest rising fast. “Give me another question. Any one. Right now.”
The HR woman looked uncomfortable, but Ethan said nothing. He only pulled a pen from his pocket, walked to the board behind them, and wrote a long equation across it.
Everyone in the room stared.
The manager cleared his throat. “Sir, that’s from the senior analyst level exam”
Ethan cut him off without looking away from the board. “Exactly.”
Then he turned to me and handed me the pen.
“Solve it.”
My palm was sweating when I took it. I could feel all their eyes on my back as I walked to the board, but once I saw the numbers, everything else disappeared. I forgot the room. Forgot the people. Forgot that my life ended yesterday.
The pen moved fast.
By the time I stepped back, the room was silent.
The manager who laughed earlier stood up and walked to the board, reading every line. His face changed. He checked it twice, then turned to Ethan.
“Sir… it’s correct.”
Ethan didn’t seem to look surprised.
He was already looking at me.
Then his assistant entered quietly and leaned near him, whispering something into his ear.
The way Ethan’s expression changed.
His jaw tightened.
His eyes came back to me, sharper now, like he was seeing something else.
He closed my file slowly and said, calm enough to make my heartbeat stop:
“This application says Khloe Luna.”
He looked past me, toward the glass wall behind the office.
Then his voice dropped.
“But the man downstairs is asking for Mrs. Jade Callister.”
He took one step closer, and this time his eyes stayed on my face.
“Why is your husband looking for you in my company?”
- Writer
