While Aria was dressing up for the job interview, Anna barged into the room and hugged her. Aria was taken back, her brows creased with confusion.
"What's the problem?" Aria asked her sister."You've replaced our fridge and television. Isn't that enough reason for me to be happy?"Aria thought she hadn't heard hee propely. "hm? replace what?""Our fridge and television!" Anna squealed. "The delivery man brought it this morning, he said you, Aria Spencer, ordered it.""But I didn't."Anna was finally convinced that her sister was unaware of the purchase. She folded her arms below her chest and they both stare at each other for while."Anna I'm running late for my interview, I guess we'll have to talk about this later."-When Aria walked into the office, the chilly air greeted her. She took deep breaths and threaded towards the reception desk. She tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her desk and smoothen non existent rough edges of her pencil skirt. Since birth, she had not been to a job interview at a well known company. Therefore, an onslaught of emotions was threatening to reduce her to an anxious mess. She didn't know how to behave, fear and anxiety was creeping in as her heart palpitated."Good morning." She greeted the receptionist behind the desk with faux confidence.The receptionist looked like she was in her early tweenties. She responded to her greeting with a smile. "Welcome to RL enterprises, how may we be of help to you?""I'm here for the interview."The receptionist's face morphed into a sad expression. "Oh I'm sorry, the interview ended few minutes ago."It felt a knife had stabbed Aria's heart. She could hardly understand what the receptionist had said, somehow she believed she had heard her wrongly."Sorry what did you say?" Aria asked."I said the interview had ended few minutes before you came in.""There must be way out. Please help me, I really need this job.""The CEO is the one interviewing the applicants and he has declared it over. I'm sorry ma there's nothing I can do.""But it's just 9:15, the interview was scheduled to hold by 9:00.""Most of the applicants had their interview online and the few ones that came in person, came earlier than the stipulated time so everything was done in just a few minutes."Aria didn't go through the flier properly so she didn't know that there was a way she could have scheduled her interview online. She felt stupid. She hated everything, her life, the world for being so unfair to her. Maybe one day she would end it all for now, she had to fight for this opportunity. She needed to money to release herself from their financial slavery her father's debts had put them in, plus her mother's hospital bills was still there. Anna would go to college and even though she was already applying for scholarships and hoping to get one, she would still need financial help from her.Aria wasn't going to let this go. "Is there a way I can see the CEO?"She shook her head. "That's not possible. So long you don't have an appointment, you cannot see him.""But-""Please if you don't mind, I'd like to finish what I was doing before you came in." She finished with an apologetic smile.Aria's fist curled in annoyance and helplessness. "Can you lead me to his office please."She sighed. "Walk down the hallway, the first office to your left is his office."-Aria took deep breaths, recited a mantra, and muttered a short prayer before knocking at the door. The door opened by itself. When she stepped in, she noticed the back of the chair was facing her. It was high backed, so she couldn't tell if it was occupied by a person. She wondered what action she should take next to get her presence noticed if at all there was a person sitting on the chair."I guess she's here already." A familiar voice said, and then almost immediately, he spun around to face Aria, and then he removed the phone from his ear and placed it on the table.Aria could have sworn that she lost her breath for second. Robert forehead creased for a spilt second but then again, he was quick to regain his composure. His blue eyes pierced her entire body in scrutiny. She averted her gaze from his, feeling awkward. She hoped he wouldn't talk about what had happened between then that night."Oh well, look who we have here." Robert said."I-t's nice to see you again, I guess." Aria stuttered, eyes roaming around everywhere but him."My receptionist informed me that you insisted on being given a a chance to have your interview.""U-h-m she's right. I also want to plead on her behalf-""Don't worry, you may step forward."As she walked, she almost tripped on her heels. He noticed her misstep and a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Aria thought that she looked clumsly and unprofessional already."So why should I offer you this job?" He asked.Aria was expecting this question, and she had practiced her response. She had read on the internet that most employers usually ask this question to be sure they were offering the job based on competence."I have a strong background in office management and I'm very detailed oriented. I'm also highly organized and able to multitask effectively. I'm willing to go extra mile to make I deliver the best services to my employer. Further more, I have an associate degree in office management and accounting… therefore I believe I'm a good fit for this job."Robert nodded his head, mulling over her statement. "Hmm but with all these amazing skills you still lack punctuality skills."Aria's breath hitched. "I'm sorry sir."Robert liked how she was at his mercy. She had ran away after what happened between them but now that he had her, he was willing to own her."You can't pretend that you're unaware that something happened between us that night.""We can get an annulment." Aria said."We have to give them a proof that we were actually drunk when it happened and how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Robert asked."I don't know," Aria said, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. She had been running away from confronting this. "Are you offering me the job or not?""I'm offering a better deal.""What's that?""I'll offer you the job and pay you higher in exchange for your silence.""Meaning.""You won't tell anyone about how we got married." Robert stated.Aria needed the money more than anything and she was sure she could fufil his condition. "That's fair.""You may have to escort me to some events as my wife but no sex," he stated before he winked at me, "except you want it ofcourse.""I wouldn't want that.""Just sign the contract." He handed a file over to her. He knew she would coming, his personal shy had somehow figured out that she applied for a job at his company.Aria looked at the document in front of her. All her financial problems would end, if only she scribbled her signature.Lily placed her palm on her jaw staring into the milk coloured curtain in front of her, lost in thoughts. Her phone beeped and she anxiously reached for it, but her chest deflected when she saw the content of the message. It wasn't what she wanted to see. It was a text message from her mum asking her if she was going to come downstairs for breakfast. Although she had heard her mum's soft voice calling out to her earlier on, but she chose to remain silent. She woke up with a heavy weight on her heart. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. She thought about Aria, and how she had sabotaged her relationship with her, over Ivan that had grown cold and distant towards her without an explanation. How does the dynamics of a relationship change overnight? She knew whenever they chatted, he would disappear for hours, and then he'd return with a silly excuse. But she did not think that soon he'd start taking days before responding to her messages. It made her heart ache. And whenever she'
Aria could already envision her financial problems coming to an end.It was a refreshing feeling, a breath of fresh air. For a long time now, she had been in a state of panick, constantly thinking of different means to solve one problem or the other. As much as she could feel the wave of uncertainty blowing past her due to the contract she had signed with Robert, she chose to bask in the new feeling of lightness. Tons of congratulatory messages flooded her phone When she had posted about her new job on her status. It filled her heart with joy. For once, people were not sympathizing with her nor texting her to offer her favours out of pity. She took a deep breath, muttering a short prayer of thanks. She picked up her phone, about to text her sister. Her phone buzzed with a new messge, distracting her from her course of action. Her eyes darted upwards to check the sender of the mesage, it was Ivan. He hadn't texted since she found out he had been cheating on her. Her heart pounded as
It was her first day of work. The moment she got to the door, she pinched herself just to confirm that she wasn't dreaming. It felt good, excitement bubbled within her. She smiled liked a child that had been handed her favourite candy as she checked the time on her wristwatch. The last time she had been here was for her interview and she had arrived late. Attempting to correct that mistake, she had said she would try as much as possible to be punctual now that she had been given the time. It was 7:50 am, five minutes before her stipulated time of resumption. Now that was a good start to her.She pushed the door open, and as expected, she saw the nice receptionist behind her desk, head bent over, scribbling on a note set before her. Her braids were packed in neat bun, edges properly laid, floral chiffon top perfectly ironed. Aria could perceive her perfume from a few distance away; it was soft, feminine and flowery. She walked up to her, feeling obliged to appreciate for the act of k
"I don't understand you." Robert said, almost rolling his eyes but he stopped halfway, realizing Ethan, his best friend, couldn't see him. "All I'm saying that I'm just interested in her." Robert sighed.Robert stood against his kitchen marble counter, awaiting his bread heating up in his toaster when he saw Ethan's incoming call. It's been five minutes now, and their conversation mostly revolved around Aria. Yeah, he needed to tell his friend about her.Ethan chuckled. "You sure you're just Interested in? you sure this isn't just a fleeting interest?""If I wanted something casual with her, I'd have let her know.""Anyways I trust you on this one. I've known you to be an upfront person." Ethan concurred, then stayed silent for a while. He just couldn't believe that his friend had found someone other Becky interesting and he didn't desire a relationship with the person yet. He was aware of his one-night stand with this mystery girl and the contract they had signed but he didn't think
About ten minutes past seven, she arrived at the hospital. She didn't plan on staying long so she didn't worry about getting late to work. She was only here to pay her mother's bills. As long as she stayed in the hospital longer, her bills increased which made Aria constantly worried about paying the bills before but now that she had a well-paying job, the fear had reduced. She couldn't stop marvelling at the fact that she had gotten a job and the worry had become a thing of the past. She was indeed grateful that things were changing for the good.Aria walked over to the hospital's accountant, who sat at the side, close to the receptionist. "Hi, I want to make payment."The accountant regarded her with a friendly look and proceeded to flip through a hard-cover note in front of her. "For who?" She asked glancing up at Aria."My mother, Eleanor Spencer.""You're aware of her bills right?" "Yes.""kindly hold on, I need to go through the records." She scanned the book for a minute and t
Robert tapped his feet impatiently, waiting for Aria's call or message to pull through. It was already eight minutes past nine and he still hadn't heard a word from her. If she wasn't going to be available today, she should have at least put a call through, it was simple work ethics. Even at that, he yearned for her presence, he wanted to see her blush at something he had said and look away. He liked it when she was shy and refused to make it obvious. If it were another person he would have been angry and worried that they had disregarded work ethics but he was missing her, her perfume, her oval face, her dark luscious long hair.Just then his phone vibrated on his table, bringing him out of his thoughts. He squinted his eyes to see the sender of the message and its contents. It was from Aria, and it read: I'm sorry I won't be available at work today. The hospital called me, my mom in a critical condition and it completely threw me off balance.He was filled with concern for her, he
Aria slouched the sofa tiredly. She had hardly been able to sleep since yesterday. Yesterday at the hospital when they had called her that her mother was in a critical condition, she drifted in and out of consciousness during her stay at the hospital. She was worried, she couldn't afford to let anything happen to her mom while she was sleeping. She owed it to her mum to watch over her while she was sleeping.So now this morning, she was tired; strength had drained out of her bones. She could faint if she attempted going to work. Worst, she was being to feel this cold inside of her that she couldn't explain. She folded herself on the sofa and covered herself with a duvet, shivering.Anna walked into the parlour, dreseed for her work with a jeans trouser and a t-shirt, slinging her bag over her shoulders. "Are you good though?" She said, pressing the back of her palm in the crook of her sister's neck.She withdrew her hand quickly. "Your body is hot and you're shivering." She confirmed,
Just then, someone who looked exactly like Aria walked in, taken aback when she had seen him. Where Aria had a pointed nose hers was button like and she was also slimmer and shorter than Aria. One could tell that she was younger. Her brows furrowed, almost intersecting with her pushed forward hairline. "I'm just surprised that my sister had a new friend and she didn't tell me about it."Aria glared at her sternly. She noticed and shut her mouth just before she was about to say something. Robert watched the two of them amusingly before he spoke, "well she might not have told you about me because I'm her employer.""Really?" Her sister asked, widening her eyes. "She must be so special then for you to have visited her at home.""My baby sister can be chatty and intrusive sometimes," Aria chipped in, waving an apologetic smile before mouthing some words, frowning her face.As if on cue, the slimmer girl was working towards the corridor. Robert knew if it were just him and Arria he'd fee