Three
1738 Words
"You can't be serious about this," Elizabeth whined as she followed Mason into his office. "It's been over one week since you discussed about this PA something and I thought you would trash it but you didn't and now, my desk is full of those people."
Mason dropped his work bag on his desk and went ahead to open the curtains and the windows. He walked back to his desk and crossed his arms, waiting for Elizabeth to speak again, which she did as expected.
"I am your secretary already and I've been helping you with some work lately. So why do you want a personal assistant, Mason? I don't trust any of those people out there," she ranted and growled when Mason rounded his desk to his swivel chair and sat on it.
"Elizabeth, I know that you're really supportive of me for long now but hiring a personal assistant will help us, especially me. All we have to do is interview them and see who's qualified enough to take up the role," he responded calmly and relaxed on his chair.
"You know, you could've promoted someone in the company here as your PA," Elizabeth offered and sat on his desk. She watched as he rubbed his chin in thought before his eyes met hers.
"At this point, I can't move anyone to a position they aren't ready for. You should know by now how tight everyone's schedule has become. And besides, if my PA turns out to be some dumbass, I'll fire he or she in a second," Mason supplied with a reassuring smile. "No one's going to take the spot you have in my life, Lizzy. Okay?"
Elizabeth frowned. "I know, Mason. I am just not comfortable with a new person around or within our circle. You know, since the whole Fiona and Leila incident, we have been careful on the kind of people we keep around us."
Mason stood up from his desk, wrapped his arms around her body and chuckled. He smiled when she returned his hug before he kissed her forehead after pulling away.
"I'm so glad I made you my baby sister," he said and grinned. "Now, let's interview some persons. And I'm sure it'll be so easy."
•••
An hour later, Mason groaned and dropped his head on his desk in exasperation. He felt Elizabeth tap his back in comfort while he breathed in and out so heavily.
"It's so hard," he simply said. "These people are annoying, too full of themselves, petty, shameless flirts, disrespectful gays and overall, stupid."
Elizabeth giggled but covered her mouth with her hand when he raised his head to glare at her. She dropped her hand and massaged his tensed shoulders.
"There are at least ten more applicants outside, should I let one of them in?" She asked while her fingers worked on his shoulders.
Mason sighed. "Just do it. Let's die at once."
Elizabeth laughed under her breath and made her way across the room to pull the door open. She peeped out the door and flickered her fingers at the next person. She left the door open and jogged back to her spot beside Mason.
The applicant knocked on the door before walking in with a small smile on her face. Elizabeth motioned for her to come forward, which she did while Mason took in her outfit impressively. She was the only one so far that dressed appropriately, knee length white pencil skirt and buttoned up black silk shirt while her shoulder length brown locks were gelled back and stayed perfectly behind her ears.
"Take a sit," he said and she nodded and obeyed before he took the documents she was offering him with a small smile aimed at Elizabeth then at him.
Other applicants didn't even acknowledge the presence of Elizabeth, she's scored ten points already, he thought.
He opened the file and read through the documents with a blank face at first but after a while, he raised his brows.
"You worked for a lot of celebrities and they left some pretty impressive report," he said and Elizabeth craned her head in the direction of the file.
"Oh, you even had Ed Sheeran as your employer and it seems like you did your homework right," Elizabeth stated and shot a look at the woman who had widen her eyes for a second before blinking and smiling.
"Yes, please. Whenever I am done with my employers, I have them write a report of how I was able to serve them. I also make sure they include even the bad parts, just for honesty," she said with a smile on her face.
Mason and Elizabeth shared a look before looking down at the set of documents in front of them.
"But none of these people have written any bad thing about you here, Miss Twinkle Rudolph," Mason said, his voice laced with the fact that he was impressed.
Elizabeth snorted. "Sorry, but what kind of name is that? Twinkle? I expected your surname to be maybe Star or Moon."
Twinkle chuckled. "Actually, it is my real name. My parents gave it to me and don't worry, I get that question a lot."
Elizabeth eyed the woman up and down skeptically then shrugged. She adjusted her glasses that lay on her nose and gazed at Mason who was still going through the documents.
"So, Miss Rudolph. Why would you want the company to accept you?" Mason asked, making deep eye contact with her to make her flinch or feel nervous but she didn't, instead she maintained the gaze with a smile and a glint of comfort in her hazel eyes.
"Because from my experience with other people, I can assist in the necessary areas you will place me. In my resumé, I am qualified enough to work any hours needed, because it is my duty to serve when needed. And since I am familiar with the processes done by this company, I can fulfill my task," she replied grimly.
To get an extra point in an interview, you need to use the positive word; can and not use the repetitive word; if. She's actually really good, he thought while gazing into her eyes.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Elizabeth tap her thigh nervously before rounding the desk to stand beside the woman who did nothing but offer her a short smile.
"Quick question," Elizabeth said and Twinkle raised a single brow then nodded hesitantly.
Mason felt the strong urge to roll his eyes at his smirking secretary but chose to raise a warning brow at her.
"Imagine that Mr. Rivers here meets you in an elevator and you greet him but he doesn't respond. The elevator begins to go up then Mr. Rivers stops it, you're confused. He unexpectedly pushes you against the wall and slowly pulls in for a kiss. One, would you slap him? Two, would you kiss him? Three, would you move away and four, would you put him in his place with a warning speech?" Elizabeth asked with a sly smile as the perplexed woman thought for a few seconds before nodding.
"Mr. Rivers is a man admired by a lot of people, young and old. He is known to have achieved quite a lot and respectfully has a fiance, that people around have confirmed a lot of times that he loves and cares for. So, to answer your trick question, I will stop that imagination," Twinkle replied, impressing the both of them.
Mason placed his hand over his mouth to hide his smile but made eye contact with Elizabeth who narrowed her eyes at him before going back to stand beside him.
"Miss Rudolph, kindly leave my office and make sure you shut the door on your way out," Mason stated coldly and observed her expression which went from blank to a few seconds shock. "You're still sitting?"
Twinkle rose up gently, took the file that Mason had dumped hard in front of her and smiled.
"Thank you for your time, sir and Miss Elizabeth," she said and left the room.
"Did your see that?" Mason asked, waving his hand at the closed door.
"Yup, you said the same thing to five other potential applicants but they responded rudely. Two used curse words while one vented. I don't know about you, but I think Twinkle is okay," Elizabeth replied and sat on the desk. "Do we take a break or let the others in?"
"Right now, we have just three people that may likely be hired and we need to interview all of them before we rank their extra points," Mason stated and relaxed on his chair. "Send the next person in."
•••
Harry walked into the hotel room he was sharing with Nora who was sitting on the floor, folding their clothes for their journey back home. He leaned on the door frame while sporting a smile on his face and a glint of love in his eyes. His blue eyes raked her long red hair, slender and smooth skin of her exposed back then her long legs.
"Damn, I'm lucky," he whispered and approached her. "Nora?"
Nora snapped her head towards the direction of where Harry stood and saluted with a single finger.
"What is it?" She asked and stood up.
Harry shrugged, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his body then kissed her cheek. He heard her giggle and kissed her jawline then her forehead.
"What?" She asked.
"I love you," he whispered, his breath fanning her forehead.
"Aw, I love you too, Harry," the red haired woman responded and jumped up into his arms with her long legs around his hips. "I love my four eyed man very much."
"Well, if I'm a nerdy man, you're my goddess," he said and kissed her lips softly for a few seconds.
"Please, I don't look like one," she rolled her eyes.
"Okay then," he added and snickered when she pinched his nose. "What? You said you're not a goddess but what you don't know is that I'm going to make you my wife soon."
Nora sighed and dropped to the floor. She was about to walk away when he grabbed one of her wrist and pulled her back.
"Why don't you like the idea of us getting married?" Harry demanded roughly. "We've been together for a year now and all I want to do is take our relationship to the next step."
Nora moved away from him with a shake of her head. She bent down to pick up the clothes then dumped them in the closet nearby. She brushed past Harry after that and left the room.
Harry sighed.
- Writer
