"Under the Winter Stars"

Chapter 1

Do you believe in love?

Have you felt it before with the right person or with the wrong one?

Did you cry because of it?

Me?

I don't believe in love.

All my life, I have seen how my parents broke up and fought in front of me. I never see them loving each other like how books describe them, or maybe I'm just assuming the same about my parents.

"Lily woke up! It's already 9:00 am. " I thought you were going to look for a job today," mom said from outside my room.

I almost forgot that I was going to apply for a job today. It's been a month since I graduated from college, and I'm still jobless, which annoys me. I can't stand things like this, especially because my mom is the only one who works with the bills, so I have to help her.

I've been contemplating whether to work in the office or not, because I have found it hard to find a job since last week.

I got up and looked for professional clothes that I could wear for today. After taking a bath, I scrolled on my social media only to find that Hawke Enterprises were hiring a finance manager assistant, and it was posted just an hour ago.

She excitedly jumped happily while putting her clothes on. After that, she went down to the dining area to eat breakfast.

"Hey mom! Good morning"

"What's with you today and your mood? You seem happy, huh?"

"I just found a job, and I'm planning to apply to their company today"

"Well, that's good news, good luck then."

After she ate her breakfast, she took a grab and went to the company's address.

When she arrived, it was already 10:00 am and there were a lot of people lining up for the interview. She got nervous all of a sudden, afraid that she might fail the interview, especially because there are a lot of competitors on the line who she thinks are capable of the position. She took a deep breath that turned into a sigh. This was the first time that she'd applied for a big company, not just a normal company but a famous one.

She knew that Hawke Enterprises receives a lot of rewards when it comes to business, from local to international. Accepting an employee instantly is not that simple. You're like a thread that needs to go through the hole of a needle and being hired doesn't mean you're already accepted. You have to go through training and judgmental stares from the older employees, of course, who have the higher position.

She got out of her reverie when her name was called by the secretary of the CEO, which meant it was her turn for the interview.

Her hands were as cold as Antarctica. She feels like vomiting any time now, but she knows that this is not the right time to feel that.

The secretary told her to go to the office on the right wing where the interview occurred.

She knocked three times until someone spoke inside.

"Come in"

A cold voice said, colder than what her hands feel.

She slowly opened the door like those in horror movies.

" I can do this ! She said at the back of her mind, giving herself a curage to face the interviewer.

When she entered the room, she felt like there was a black aura surrounding the interviewer. She can only see his back.

The wide shoulder of a man's back facing the wide glass fronting the large city. Even if she can't see the man's face, she can say that the man is handsome, and she's right because he turned the chair to look at her.

Is he an angel? He's so handsome, should I get his number? She was shocked at how handsome the guy in front of her. Never in her life had she seen such a creation. Before she applied, she pictured the CEO's face in the back of her mind, an old man, bald, and stinky, but she thought wrong. Never in her life had she seen a young CEO, especially of a famous company.

"What are you looking at, woman?"

Using a cold and a baritone voice, she almost jumped on her spot.

"G-Good morning sir, I-I'm here for the interview"

She didn't know where her curage came from, to speak in such a small voice, she sounded different.

"I only have one question to know if you deserve to be my employee"

"What question?"

"Why should I hire you?"

She took a deep breath before answering the ceo.

"I'm an efficient employee and can work-"her words got cut when the CEO spoke.

"I don't want to hear speech that you already use in other interviews, I need another answer, the real one."

She felt intimidated all of a sudden, not just because of his strictness but also of his presence.

"I need money. I don't want to stay jobless for another month. I need to help my mom to pay for our bills. We have a lot of debt that we need to pay and, last, I have to be a responsible daughter and not stay at home like I'm the worst ill in the world."

She looked into the CEO's eyes, not minding if he was the owner of the company she was applying for. They looked in each other's eyes, battling like no one wanted to lose in the staring contest they did, until the CEO spoke.

"Very well said"said the CEO while clapping his hands.

The CEO reached for the phone on the table and called his secretary.

"Cancel all the applicants outside, I have already found one"said the CEO while still looking at her.

She gulped and nervously looked down while biting her lips. From what she heard, she's hoping that she's already hired and can work immediately. What she said to the CEO awhile ago was true. They had a lot of debt to pay for because, after her father left them, he gambled nonstop and loaned a lot of money to the bank. That's why she's desperate to work.

"Your hired, go to my secretary, and she's going to tell you what to do"said the boss, and left her alone in the room.

After she left the room, she looked for the secretary of the boss who assisted her awhile ago and told her that the boss had hired her. The secretary looked at her with a smile and introduced herself to her.

"I'm Catalena, I've been working here for 10 years now and don't worry, I'll guide you."

She's lucky that catalena is not the same as the other employees here at the company who have a bitcher attitude.

Catalena showed her the department she was involved in, the finance department. She met a lot of employees that were in the same department and only Sasha and catalena had her interest in terms of being her friends. Why? Because they have the same goal in life, which is to work and not to flirt with the boss. Sasha was in the same department as her, in finance, while Catalena, the secretary, worked on the same floor as the boss, but her table was on the outside of the boss's office. The company has 5 floors. She's working on the 4th floor while the boss's office is on the top floor.

After catalena toured her around the company, she went back to the finance department and sat on the table assigned to her. She reviewed the company's old financial report so that she'd have an idea about it. Catalena said that she had to go for the 2 weeks' training, and she was looking forward to that.