AVA Ava was sure she had never felt so incompetent ever since she had started working at the club. The blaring lights and the booming songs made it all the more difficult for her. Scanning her eyes over the sea of heads that were dancing and getting drunk, she searched for Nicole from her position at the bar. Nicole was nowhere to be found and Ava guessed she must have escaped somewhere with a customer. It was normal for girls like them to go to dark corners with the clubbers. Working at the bar had given her the chance to always escape from the conspicuous attention- literally. She could never escape from the stares but the physical barricade gave her a kind of protection from the men. Passing off the shots across the counter to the guy who seemed like he needed a sleep more than he needed a drink. But that's their problem, they never know when to stop. "Ava I should take over." One of her colleagues shouted to her over the din. That's their
RICHARD Out of the ten applicants Victoria had interviewed from 9am till 2pm that Thursday morning, she had decided on just three. One looked efficient but wouldn't stop batting her eyelids. Victoria asked her why she kept doing that and she had said that she had blepharospasm. It wasn't anything serious that would prevent her working efficiently but Victoria wasn't taking any chances, as it already made her uncomfortable. Sorry. You have to go, Victoria said, and then rather told her that she'll hear from them soon. Sorry. Again! Shoving them aside, stacking the three CVs on top of the rest, she exhaled in deep exasperation. She had to get someone real fast before Richard's daughter gets back. Knowing she had to tell him the extent of the interviews, she gathered up the three files without looking at them and went into his office. Richard was expecting her to brief him about the success or failure of the interviews, but judging from her expre
AVA "Ava! Ava! Wake up!" Nicole shook her still sleeping friend, trying to wake her up. Ava just groaned and turned on her side, shrugging off Nicole's shoving hands. "Leave me alone," she mumbled in her sleep. Her voice coming out groggy. "You'll be late for the interview." That was all Ava needed to hear. Snapping her eyes open, she swerved her head to stare at Nicole. "The interview?" She asked. She had got an email to come for the job interview and she had spent the rest of the day, picking out an outfit. She had told Nicole that the interview was the first step to her answered prayers. She was so excited that even after Nicole had left for work, she had stayed awake till 2am in the morning. Nicole was probably shocked to find her still asleep when she returned. Ava was told to show up by 9am and it was already thirty minutes after 8. Scrambling out of the bed, "why didn't you wake me up?" The sheets tangled around her legs and sent her dropping to the floor, in a heap.
RICHARD "I still think she's a bad decision. I can get someone better. She's like a child." Victoria informed Richard, immediately they returned to his office. Richard was with Mr. Xavier when she got back, she had to hold her horses and wait till the papers were signed and eventually left. She had her reservations about Xavier Co. She thought it was a bad investment but Richard was the kind of man who never gets out of what he had made up his mind about. Still, Victoria always gave him a piece of her mind. Richard, still sitting at the head of the table in the boardroom, with the papers and empty water bottles scattered across the table, met Victoria's intruding gaze. "It's good that she's like a child. At least, I won't feel like I'm in danger around her," he said, as he loosened his tie and rounded his desk to sit on the recliner. "She hates bacon egg muffins too. That's a good thing right?" Her voice sounded wary, which had Richard glancing up a
AVA Gray eyes. Bright gray eyes. That was the first thing Ava noted, the minute she turned and stared back at the man who stood at the doorway. She hadn't heard him come in, so she had gasped when she found him standing there gazing at her. How long had he been standing there for? Blinking hard against the masculine figure before her, she felt her heartbeat speed up and drum sporadically. He wasn't anything like the gigantic portrait of himself that stood at the corner of the sitting room. Gray hair. Gray beards. Fine lines. He wasn't anything like the kind of men Ava was used to seeing. For a man his age, he sure looked really breathtaking. Heck! She hadn't seen a man like that. His streaking gray hair made him all the more formidable. Raising a hand to her throat, she swallowed and prayed he didn't hear and see how nervous she was. Looking down sharply at herself, she was grateful for the apron that covered her ugly outfit. It was d
RICHARD Richard knew he'd got to ask the question that had been on his mind since he saw her in his kitchen. He needed to know to sate his curiosity. He'd never been particularly interested about a woman's hair, but hers? It just stirred something in him. He'd never seen a red hair so curly and frizzy like her's. It reminded him of an artwork he'd seen at an exhibition a long time ago- Taylor had literally dragged him to one. It wasn't anything about a hair or a woman but it made him think of sunsets and rainbows. That was just what Ava's name made him think of. Sunsets and rainbows. And her name? He'd never met an Ava before. He even liked how it rolled off his tongue. Christ! what's wrong with me? It had just been few hours and he was already so weird and had never felt that way around anyone before. Her eyes pierced into his as she lulled over his absurd question. Richard was sure he would never ask anyone that, so what's going on? She casually
AVA It was few minutes past 6pm when Ava got home. Nicole was doing her makeup, getting ready to leave for the club. Thank goodness, she's out of that shitty job, Ava prayed silently. She toed off her shoes at the door and slumped on the bed, visibly tired. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had sat and ate and talked with her employer. No one had ever paid her that kind of attention. It was a thrilling experience, but she knew that it just couldn't be. Maybe that was how he was. Just being nice and friendly. "I can see you got the job, since you didn't get back earlier than I expected." Nicole said, leaning closer to the mirror to get a good look at the eyebrows she was trying so hard to draw. The way she drew them always made Ava think of the cockroach antennae. Funny! Sighing heavily, "I did. Like I told you I would. Isn't it great?" She asked, not expecting a response. Nicole stopped and turned to look at Ava, her brows raised. "Really? Is that ostentation I he
RICHARD Richard had been on that treadmill for approximately fifteen minutes. He'd woken up earlier than he usually did, probably because he was kinda excited about Taylor's return. He'd started by walking for five minutes, then run between intervals for three minutes. He'd been at it since he woke up. Victoria stood beside him, with a bland expression registered on her face. He knew that expression. It reeked of disinterest and somewhere in the line of something else. He couldn't find the word. Clutching the grips tightly, he set his sights on his secretary's face. "Say what's on your mind, Victoria?" Victoria pinned him with a look, then sighed as she glanced down at her wristwatch. "It's 7:7am and she's not here yet." Richard knew that was the only reason Victoria was in a sour mood. He was beginning to think there was more to her aversion to Ava. She overdid it most times, but he liked her work spirit so, he had to turn a blind eye most times. Like right now, she wore a