HIRED
1098 Words
ADRIANA
Walking into Stone Corp, the nervousness I had felt a week ago still clung to me. Silently, I prayed that everything would go smoothly.
Laura had finally convinced me to take the job. “All you need to do is avoid any entanglements with him,” she had said.
“What?” I had chuckled. “Levi is the last person I’d ever get entangled with. And trust me, I don’t get good energy from his fiancée.”
“Very well,” Laura had said, patting my back. “Just go and be yourself.”
And that’s exactly what I did. I arrived early, unsure of my next move, and settled into the waiting area.
I had checked Levi’s office earlier, but he wasn’t in yet.
My hands were tightly wrapped around the bag on my lap as I contemplated what my life would be like in the near future. I could finally provide for my child, send him to a good school.
But working closely with Levi—how long would I be able to keep the truth about his son hidden? Or how would he react when he finds out he had a son with me?
“What are you doing here?”
Startled, I snapped out of my thoughts. Looking up, I saw Levi standing in front of me, surprise etched on his face.
“What are you doing here?” he repeated, this time with a stern look.
I recognized that expression all too well.
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to sound clueless. “I got the employment letter.”
“No, you didn’t,” he said, surprise evident in his tone. “I specifically asked the HR manager to hire someone else.”
“What?” My heart sank. “Then why did I receive the job offer email?” I asked, pulling out my phone and scrolling to the email.
“It must be a glitch, but—”
“This doesn’t look like a glitch,” I said, handing him my phone.
He took it and glanced through the email briefly.
“I don’t care what this says.” He looked up quickly, his face hardening more. “You can’t work for me. You need to find another job. End of story.”
I couldn’t say anything, just stared at him as he turned to leave.
“Levi, wait,” I called out.
“Forget it, Adriana,” he cut me off. “I can’t risk Kira finding out about us while you work as my assistant. Just leave it at that. You can’t have the job.”
“Levi!” I snapped, my voice low but firm. A few people passing by glanced our way, but I didn’t care.
“I need this job, and trust me, I have no intentions of rekindling anything with you. If I’d known you owned this company, I wouldn’t have applied. But now that I’m here and hired, you’ll just have to act like nothing happened between us, okay?”
“How?” He looked exasperated. “Do you even understand what this job entails? You’ll be around me almost every day, practically every hour.”
“So?” I challenged. “You’re engaged to Kira. Why should that be an issue?”
As if summoned by her name, Kira’s voice came from behind me.
“Levi, there you are.” She approached us, not even sparing me a glance as she wrapped her arms around Levi, planting a kiss on his lips.
I shifted awkwardly, scratching my head as I turned away, pretending not to see.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at the Clarence project site,” Kira said, clearly still holding onto Levi.
People were staring at them, smiles on their faces, and oddly, that made me uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I just came to grab a few things. I’m on my way now,” Levi said.
“You could have sent your new assistant.”
At that, I turned and found both of them looking at me.
“Huh, Kira,” Levi said, scratching his head nervously, his eyes betraying his apprehension. “Kira is actually… there was a mix-up with, erm.” He stuttered as he tried to explain, but Kira wasn’t even looking at him.
Her gaze was fixed on me, a thin smile on her lips. “Adriana, right?”
I nodded. “That’s right.”
“You were the one crying in Levi's office the other day.”
I immediately turned to Levi, quick enough to see his Adam’s apple bobble before he turned away.
“That was embarrassing, I know.” I smiled nervously.
Kira simply shrugged and turned to Levi, as though I hadn’t said anything. “You should go get ready, Levi. Probably we should meet after lunch.”
Levi nodded, sighed heavily, and turned towards his office.
The moment he walked away, Kira’s smile faded as though it had a mechanical switch.
Her face was bland as she stared at me.
She stepped closer to me, glancing around. The scent of her perfume radiated around.
People were milling around, but I was sure they couldn’t hear us.
“You’re wearing makeup today,” she said calmly.
I frowned, puzzled by her comment. “What do you mean?”
She did not reply in an instant. She stared blankly for a while before saying, “Last time, your face was bare.”
“Oh.” I drew a breath, realization suddenly dawning on me. I let out a small, awkward smile. “I was in a hurry last time, so I didn’t have time to—”
“I liked the bare face better,” she said with a wider smile.
I touched my face, unsure whether to laugh or frown. Her smile felt unreal, so I decided to keep a neutral face. “You prefer me without makeup?”
“Yes,” she blurted, nodding. “You can wear your makeup though, but be rest assured that you won’t last as his assistant.”
“Maybe you should—”
“Hey, sugar,” Levi materialized beside us, kissing Kira on the cheek.
“Sugar?” I froze at the word. That was what Levi called me. How could Kira suddenly become his sugar overnight?
They didn’t notice my shock. “I’ll see you later,” Levi said to Kira and walked past me. As he did, he whispered, “Two weeks. You’ll work with me for only two weeks.”
- Writer
