| T H A L I A|

I parked near the tall building, the sky reflecting on the glass windows of the building.

I look at my phone and it was only twenty minutes to eleven. I hurry into the building, sending the security guard a small smile before walking up to the front desk.

My heels clicking against the shiny white marble tiles of the lobby brought the receptionists attention to me.

It was a lady that looked in her mid 50s, her salt and pepper hair pulled up into a neat bun at the top of her head.

She looks at me before sending me a small smile, "What can I help you with?" She inquires.

"I'm supposed to have an interview with Mr. Hayes at eleven today," I answer back, trying to keep my nerves at bay.

"Ah, are you Miss. Thalia?" She asks me, scrolling through the computer screen in-front of her.

"I am." I send her a small smile.

"Alright, you can head to the 20th floor and Mr. Hayes' secretary would take you to his office," The lady replies, pointing to the elevators.

"Thank you," I reply, before heading for the elevators and pressing on the 20th floor.

I didn't really do much research on Mr. Hayes so I don't really know what to expect. I'm just hoping he's better than my previous boss, Tabitha. She can choke on my imaginary dick and die.

I step out the elevator and right ahead was who i'm guessing is Mr. Hayes' secretary typing away on her laptop.

Her blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, not a single strand out of place.

Her icey blue eyes meets my brown ones before she sends me a small smile.

"Morning, can I help you?" She greets me, her attention fully on me now.

"Hi, I have an interview with Mr. Hayes at eleven," I greet back, my fingers unintentionally fidgeting together.

"Miss Thalia Ballard, right? follow me," She replies before standing up and walking down a hallway.

This whole place just looks so...expensive.

She reaches a wooden double door, a name golden name plate with 'Mr. Theo Hayes' engraved on it.

"This is his office, unfortunately Mrs. Evelyn Hayes won't be present for the interview. She's busy with other meetings. Good luck," She reasons before she leaves me standing in front of the door, the click of her heels fading down the hall.

I'm guessing Evelyn Hayes is the grandma.

I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. A faint "come in" is heard from the other end, I grab the golden handle of the door and turn it open.

I walk into the—unreasonably large—office and almost lose my balance from the view.

The floor to ceiling windows in the office shows the whole view of the city, but what makes me want to turn around and run away is the man sitting in the chair flipping through papers.

Mystery man. It's the man from the bar last night. The arrogant jerk from today morning.

You can't be serious.

Memories from last night flash into my head and my face unintentionally heats up. Images of his large hands running down my body consume my brain.

I shake my head to get rid of the thought. Let's keep this professional and get this over with. He turns to look at me and for a slip second eyebrows raise in surprise before it goes back to being blank and stoic.

There's no way i'm getting this job now.

"You can sit down, you know. I don't have all day," Theo states.

It might just be my mind playing games with me but for a second I see his eyes rake over my body, all the way down to my legs before looking back at the papers in his hand.

I walk further into the office and took a seat on the chair across from him. My legs bouncing with anticipation.

"Thalia Ballard, am I right?" He questions, his eyes meeting mine for a split second before turning back to the papers.

"Uh, yeah" I nod, my voice a bit shaken from
the nervousness.

"Tell me about yourself" He simply asks, leaning back in his chair, waiting.

Ah, the dreaded question.

"Well, I've been working at my previous job as a marketing analyst for about 2 years—" I start off but I'm already cut off.

"Why did you leave your previous job?" He asks another question.

Are you even allowed to cut someone off mid answer?

"I didn't feel like I was using my abilities to the fullest." I keep it simple, also because my previous boss was a bitch and I barely got paid. But we can leave that out.

"And you feel like working here would make you use your abilities to the fullest?" he raises his eyebrows, his face barley giving off any emotion.

"Yes" I simply state. I want to leave, I want to
go home and hide from the world.

"I'll look at the rest of your resume, you can leave," Be looks back down at his papers, dismissing me.

Wait what? That's it?

I scramble off the chair and head for the door, but halt in my tracks when Theo calls my name.

"Miss Thalia."

"Yes, Mr. Hayes?" I turn back around in confusion.

"If you do get the job, expecting a call from my
secretary," is all he says.

Right, like i'm actually going to get this job. All hope had left my body when I saw who he was.

I close the office door shut before letting out a breath to steady my heartbeat.

How unlucky can a person be, surely?

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Word Count: 974