Chapter 2: The unexpected offer
555 Words
Kian leaned back in his chair.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Amara began to wonder if she'd said something stupid.
Then he closed her résumé.
“You can go.”
She blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“The interview is over.”
Amara stared at him.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
She slowly stood.
“So… when will I hear from you?”
“You won't.”
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“Right.”
She picked up her handbag.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Blackwood.”
She turned toward the door.
“Amara.”
She stopped.
Kian's voice had changed.
She looked over her shoulder.
“Come back tomorrow at eight.”
She stared at him.
“I’m sorry?”
“Eight in the morning.”
“You're offering me the job?”
“I'm offering you a three-month probationary position.”
Her surprise must have shown because Kian added, “Don't look so shocked. You said you were willing to learn.”
“I am.”
“Then prove it.”
Amara nodded slowly.
“Okay. I will.”
She reached for the door.
“And Amara?”
She turned again.
“Don't be late.”
A tiny smile escaped her.
“I wasn't late today.”
Kian's mouth twitched.
“Good. Then tomorrow should be easy.”
She left before he could see her smile properly.
The moment the elevator doors closed, Amara released a breath she'd apparently been holding for the last thirty minutes.
“I got the job.”
She stared at her reflection.
“I actually got the job.”
For the first time in months, something felt like it was going right.
But upstairs, Kian wasn't smiling.
He picked up the résumé again.
His eyes stopped at one particular line.
Previous Employer: Williams & Cole Accounting.
His jaw tightened.
That name wasn't supposed to be in front of him again.
Not after what had happened three years ago.
He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a thin black folder.
There was only one photograph inside.
A younger man stood beside Kian's father at a company event.
Kian stared at the photograph.
Then at Amara's résumé.
“Why did you have to be his daughter?”
He closed his eyes briefly.
Hiring her had been a risk.
A stupid one.
But he needed to know the truth.
And there was only one way to find it.
Downstairs, Amara stepped out of the building with a grin she couldn't hide.
Her phone rang.
“Mum?”
“Amara! How did it go?”
Amara smiled.
“I got the job.”
There was silence.
Then her mother's voice became strangely quiet.
“What company?”
“Blackwood Holdings.”
Another silence.
This one felt different.
Amara's smile slowly disappeared.
“Mum?”
“Amara… you need to quit.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Please.”
“Why?”
Her mother's breathing became uneven.
“Because some doors are better left unopened.”
The call ended.
Amara stared at her phone.
She had no idea why her mother was afraid.
She also had no idea that tomorrow morning, the moment she walked into Blackwood Holdings, she would step directly into a secret her family had spent years trying to bury.
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