A bet that changed their lives

Part 4 - And They Meet

As soon as Arya stepped out of the elevator, she was met by a grumpy receptionist who guided her to the lobby where other candidates were waiting for their turn. She glanced around, conscious of the fact that some of them definitely gave her an inferiority complex with their confidence and the way they were conducting themselves. Arya had been a highly preceptive, intelligent person, but what she lacked the most was confidence in herself, in her skills that were probably a class apart than almost everyone who had come for the interview. She moved to an empty seat as she settled herself, nervously chewing on the insides of her lower lip. She halted her action immediately when she felt a pungent iron taste in her mouth, cursing herself for being so anxious and chewing on the insides of her lip that hard. She wiped off the sweat on her palms that threatened to trail down her wrists.

She was being ridiculous now! It was just another interview, she mentally chided. An interview that would be the key to a well-paying job with one of the best companies to work for, her conscious butted in.

The receptionist called out yet another name, yet another confident lady who sauntered into the conference room, only to emerge with a faltered stride. "Arya Davis," the receptionist called, as Arya nervously made her way to an imposing, impressive black door, which had 'Derek Jones' neatly engraved in gold. She ran a hand over her skirt and blouse in a nervous attempt to iron out any crease. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door, faintly hearing a deep, baritone voice say "Come in". Okay, this was it, no more delaying. You can do it, you have it in you, she repeated this in her mind, trying to boost her confidence as she opened the door and stepped in, mind chanting mantras, any mantra in fact, that would calm her nerves as she took in the imposing figure of her interviewer.

***

Derek Jones was at the end of his patience. He had interviewed 27 candidates since morning. 27 deserving candidates on paper, but they were all hollow personalities - some lacked awareness of his business, others were clueless on practical application of theoretical concepts. And not to get him started on the third kind, who were under the impression that they simply had to show some skin and the job would be theirs. As if by bending a bit more than necessary to show their cleavage or by making their voice appear sultry, they would be handed over the job in a platter. He was frustrated, almost on the verge of ending the interviews. But he knew better than to do that.

The desperate kind today reminded him of Melina, and he couldn't help but draw similarities, which only aggravated his mood and steeled his resolve to never hire them, even if it meant that his receptionist would have to bear the workload for some more time. He would compensate her handsomely for the work, but he would never make the mistake of hiring such chameleons masquerading as humans. The way Melina had her tell whenever she lied, these girls did too, and he was now tired of this charade. But if he were to be brutally honest, some of the girls did have a tempting body and an attractive face, the way his previous secretary did. But these were no good for him if they couldn't do their basic job right. And also, he hated mixing business with pleasure, hated spoiling the work culture that he had worked so hard to create. And that's why, he was a bit sceptical to hire a pretty face. He knew he was generalising, at the risk of being stereotypical, but he thought it was better to be cautious than be sorry, yet again. He definitely didn't want another secretary of his to embezzle funds or leak out company secrets. He had managed to avoid having bad press once, and he doubted he would be able to do it again.

Shaking his head out of such thoughts, he picked up the 28th resume from a pile, his eyebrows furrowed as the applicant was obviously just starting out, with no prior experience of being a secretary. He was intrigued by her university accomplishments and her previous bosses at her internships had to say but couldn't help but wonder if this application was a mistake, amybe she wanted to apply for another position in his company. Deciding to give her a chance, he asked the receptionist to call Arya Davis. A few moments later, he heard faint knocking on the door and he distractedly mumbled "Come in". He was going through an important mail, a huge business deal he had been after since a few months now. The company director had asked for a few changes yet again. He mentally sighed, he had had enough of their back and forth on the ever-changing terms. This was the last time he was going to entertain his request. His thought was interrupted when the sound of heels on floor made him look at the direction of the source, a tall girl in grey pencil skirt and blush pink blouse, with her hair tied in a bun and anxious brown eyes looking nervously at him. She was peculiar, he thought. Not your typical beauty but there was something bewitching about her. Like a breath of fresh air, unlike anyone he had ever seen. He felt something come alive in him but he quickly masked it when he realised she was now glancing curiously at him.

She was the one he would be interviewing for God's sake! What was he thinking staring at her? He mentally chided himself as he stole another glance at the girl. A pretty face for sure, the exact kind that he wanted to avoid. But there was something about her, and her resume of course, that made him rethink his choices and give her a chance.