TEMPTING THE BEAST

Chapter two: Weirdest interview

Leaving her hometown to the city in search of a better job and excitement was a decision Ashley made on impulse, and after series of arguments and fight with her parents she is here now squatting with her best friend Harper. 

One thing that Ashley didn't count on was how frustrating it will be looking for a job in the city, how frustrating hearing the words we will get back to you repeatedly only for them not to. Ashley was at her wit's end and if she gets rejected in one more interview she will literally go insane. She has been in the search for a job for three straight weeks since arriving here in the city still no luck. 

She was just relaxing in the leaving room in the two-bedroom flat she shares with her roommate when the said roommate swept into the apartment with her face stretched into a wide smile, a contrast from the usual worn-out look she usually wears at the end of the workday. 

Ashley gave her roommate a weird look, before asking what was making her so happy. Harper fell on the couch with a bounce and dropped her two feet on the center table before turning to face her roommate, her eyes glittering with excitement. " I have good news for you, " she said in a voice as if she couldn't contain the news any longer. 

Ashley sat up with an air of curiosity wondering what kind of good news Harper has. " What is it? "

" Guess, " Harper said.

Ashley quietly laid down back, she was so not in the mood to entertain her roommate. 

Harper sighed disappointed that her roommate wasn't playing her game. " Ok I will tell you, " she said with the excitement back in her voice. 

Ashley looked up with a bored expression having already lost interest in what the brunette has to say. Hearing Harper's good news was the least of her problems.

" My boss is in search of a secretary and I think you should apply. "

Ashley's brow went up. " You want me to apply for the job of a secretary with your boss that is controlling, arrogant,  cold, and has a ferocious temper, the one you call the scarface devil because of his overbearing attitude, that boss? No thank you very much, " Ashley said turning to continue scrolling her phone in search of any job vacancy. After hearing so much about the man from her best friend, Ashley doesn't think she could work with such a person, one she dislikes someone ordering her around and hates men that lords their masculinity over others especially females, no she doesn't think they will click. 

" Hey don't say no yet, after all, you don't have any job lined up for you so what is the harm in giving this a chance you might be surprised and you will like working for him, and another thing wouldn't it be fun if we are working together in the same building, " Harper said trying to sell the idea to her. 

Ashley thought about it and agreed that her best friend was right, so she stood up to go and apply for the job.

Ashley sat quietly along with other job seekers, it was a pretty long line, and seeing how late her application came in she suspects she is going to be one of the last ones if not the last to go in. 

She watched with interest as the interview began and people started to go in. The interesting is that some of them went in looking very confident but on the way out the confidant is replaced with a dark frown or an angry affronted expression, as for those that went in wearing a fearful or anxious expression they came out with tears running down their face or a lost look in their eyes. Seeing this didn't infuse Ashley with any confidence, adding the horror stories her best friend and her friends have already told her about her boss to be who in no doubt judging by the expression on the faces of the people leaving the interview room is the one conducting the interview himself, Ashley felt like leaving. She didn't feel like wasting her time here only to come out looking like these people, she didn't feel like any job was worth it, yet her butt was rooted to her seat with her making no move to leave. 

Well, it might seem right to think of her dignity but that is not what is going to put food on her table or pay for her rent, and the little money she had saved she had used it to bring herself to the city and to pay half the rent of the apartment she was sharing with her best friend so she was in desperate need of a job and is going to have to toughen up for the interview with the scar-faced devil, as her friends commonly refer to their overall boss. 

Time sped up as people went and came out and before she knew it her name was called. 

Ashley took in several deep breaths trying to calm her nerves making sure that none of the anxiety she was feeling was showing in her face. It wouldn't look good if you go in for an interview looking like you are not capable of doing the job, and also you shouldn't project a cocky look as if you feel that the job is already yours even if you have all it takes. Since Ashley was sure she could handle the job of a personal secretary but had already be scared by the stories from her friends she was left with being in the middle, not too anxious not too confident. 

She knocked twice on the door and waited for the summon to come in but none came. 

Behind the door, Maxton poured over the file of the next interviewer. He was intrigued by her middle name, a masculine name for a female and he wanted to see for himself the face that goes with such a name. If Maxton was to take a guess he will say a tall female with probably androgynous features. He flipped through her files and was impressed by her educational qualifications, but she lacked any working experience. He decided to hold on before making any decision, so he closed the file and waited for the lady to come in. 

Just like he had done with all the others, Maxton raised his face looking straight at the door, making sure his scar was showing as he watched out for their first reaction to his scar. All the people he had interviewed none had disappointed him with their reaction as they all flinched when their gaze landed on his scar and quickly look away. 

Maxton wasn't surprised by the reactions he was getting in fact he had expected it, but that didn't mean it didn't bother him when he sees them flinch away, some in disgust that they try to hide from him, some in pity. Maxton had to restrain himself several times from screaming that there was someone behind the scar, that the scar is not all that defines him, but he had remained calm and collected and had conducted the interview as emotionless as possible, reaping them apart to show them that they were nothing and sends them scurrying away in anger or tears. 

The knock sounded and Maxton waited for the woman to come in without saying a word but seconds passed without no one making an appearance, instead, another knock sounded. Ok, they were off to a wrong start if the woman is already acting daft. At the third knock, Maxton threw his hand up in the air and rolled his eyes while throwing himself back in his seat as he waited to see how long the woman on the other side plans to wait before she takes the initiative to come in. 

 Ashley having been brought up in a home where manners were drummed into your ears whether you want to listen or not, and had been told that when a door is closed knock and wait for you to be asked to come in before you enter and that is exactly what she did. By the third knock, she felt it ridiculous that no one was asking her to come in and turned the knob to walk in herself. 

Maxton shook his head when the doorknob turned after the third knock and strengthened up. He was surprised by the woman that walked in through the door. One she was the most beautiful woman he has ever set his eyes on and she looked younger than he expected and nothing like the image he had speculated on. Her face had this innocent and adorable appearance that woke up Maxton's protective instinct. 

He saw the young woman paused when their eyes met but he didn't see the usual flinch he had seen in the other candidates, in fact apart from the momentary pause the young woman didn't show any other reaction and Maxton couldn't ascertain her reaction to his scar. He was impressed by the woman's lack of emotion and bode her forward. 

Walking through that door, the first thing that Ashley noticed was the handsome features of the man who she has heard a lot about but no one had bothered to tell her how good looking the man was, and the second thing was the beautiful intense cold mismatched eyes, that were like laser rays piercing through her clothes and skin trying to glimpse her soul. Ashley's heart skipped in her chest and started racing as she stood under the man's gaze, the nervousness she had been trying to curb came back in full force causing her palms to grow wet and clammy. When the man asked her forward she took in several breaths to calm herself before walking in his direction. 

Why were you named Franklin was the words that came words that came from the man's lips, his voice deep and low. Not expecting the question, Ashley was thrown off by it. " What! " She exclaimed in confusion, standing few distances away from the huge dark brown desk, with the man who looked too larger than life itself behind it. 

Maxton stared at the young woman. " Your middle name, I asked why you were giving such a masculine name, " Maxton said in a slow mocking tone as if speaking to a daft child. 

Ashley rolled her eyes when she realized what the man was doing. She had understood his question, just that she had been surprised by it. " My dad wanted a son so badly that he had believed in his whole heart that the pregnancy my mum was carrying was a boy. So high was his desire for a son that he picked out a name for him, Zack Franklin Bowman, Franklin after his grandfather who was very dear to him, but when I was delivered and turned out to be a girl and not the son he had hoped for, my dad was disappointed but that didn't mean he wasn't happy for my arrival. He insisted on keeping the name he had chosen but my mother had calmly explained to him the was no way in hell her daughter was going to answer Zack Franklin so they came up with a compromise that I get to keep either of the two names and seeing that Franklin was the better of the two and held a deeper meaning for my dad I was named Ashley Franklin. Ashley courtesy of my mum in honor of her best friend m Godmother, " Ashley spoke in a slightly nervous tone, releasing the breath she didn't know she was holding. Done with her story Ashley waited anxiously for the next thing.

" You can go, " Max said after the little blonde was done with her story and bent to see if there was any other applicant after her. 

" What! " Ashley exclaimed again, in a soft tone. Were they done, was that all. She thought in an interview you were supposed to be asked some questions about your education, experiences and any other thing relating to the job and not just why your parent named you a boy's name, Ashley pondered in her mind, her confusion clear in her blues eyes which were focused on the man. 

Maxton noticed that the young woman was still standing in front of his desk and looked up. " Is there any other thing you wanted? " He asked with a lift of his brow. 

Nope, she hadn't heard wrong Ashley thought. 

" Are you not going to interview me? " Ashley asked, her tone wondering,. ,After all that was the reason she was here.

" I just did, " Maxton said in a patronizing tone not bothering to look up again. 

Ashley stared at the man head and felt the urge to smack the nape for making her feel like a dimwitted child and wasting her time, it will probably cost her the job which she wasn't sure she got but boy will that feel satisfying, she thought. She smiled at the the thought of the man's reaction if she was to actually do it. 

Ashley turned and left the office. What a weird interview she murmured outside the door before heading towards the lift. 

She was the last applicant and since so many people had come for the interview it had ran later than Ashley had anticipated. When she stepped through the revolving door of the building everywhere was dark. Ashley sighed and wondered how she was going to get home. Getting a taxi in this part of the city is always hard and the bus time had passed. 

Ashley was still worrying about how she was going to make it home when a black-tinted car pulled up beside her. 

When the young woman left and he realized that she was the last applicant he decided to leave also. He was drained from the day he had and the only redeeming thing was his encounter with the young woman. He smiled as he recalled the look of confusion and affront that came to her face whenever he did something that annoyed her. She was gorgeous and adorable he thought as he walked out of the office. 

They were about to drive past the office building when he caught sight of the object of his thought as she stood in front of the building a lost and worried look in her eyes. " Pick her up, " he ordered his driver and wined up the partition. 

The black man did as his boss instructed and parked in front of the young woman, he leaned over to open the passenger door for her. " Get in ma, " he said in a soft polite tone. 

Ashley eyed the man cautiously, he didn't look creepy or dangerous, then again most serial killers looks harmless, but she didn't have a choice and wouldn't wish to spend the rest of her night here, so she decided to enter the car praying to God that she hadn't just entered a serial killer car. 

The inside of the car smelled nice, the scent was somewhat familiar that she ranked her brain to remember where she had perceived the scent but it was out of reach. She tried deciphering if someone was at the back, but the partition was raised behind it was all darkness with no single light to see anything so she gave up and relaxed back in her seat. 

" Miss you need to give me your address, " Joe said to the young blonde beside him. 

Ashley rattled if her address before looking out the window taking in the city as they zoomed past it. 

The drive took them 45 mins to arrive at her apartment building. " Thank you, " she said gratefully to the black man, before stepping out of the car. 

" Where to boss? " Joe asked when the blonde entered her building.

"  Home, " Maxton said relaxing back in his seat.

Ashley walked into her apartment to see her friends waiting for her, exciting curious expressions on their faces while they watched her expression for the direction the interview went. 

" Oh honey, How did it go? " Harper asked coming around to hug Ashley while the other two looked on with curiosity. 

Ashley sighed throwing her bag on the sofa before flinging her whole body on it. " I don't know, " she said to her friends who have surrounded her. 

" What do you mean? " Amelia asked with a confused frown. 

" It was the weirdest interview I have ever had, " Ashley said standing to her feet. She was thirsty and needed something to drink. She headed towards the kitchen with her friends following her. She walked into the kitchen to their fridge and took out a bottle of water which she popped open and swallowed half of it without pause. 

" How so? " Harper asked dropping her butt on the counter while the other two took a seat on the kitchen chairs. 

" He asked me why my parents named me Franklin, " Ashley said dropping the can in her hand on the kitchen table. 

" Yeah, that is a pretty weird name for a girl, " Amelia muttered as if now realizing it. 

" And? " Harper asked a bit impatient. She was curious to know what cold-hearted devil had asked her friend. When she applied for a job with the company the man was not the one that had conducted the interview, thank God because she would have died from anxiety before she even faced the man. The man scares the s**t out her. She thanks God every day that she doesn't deal with the man directly. 

" Nothing, " Ashley answered. 

Her friends stared at her confused. 

" That was all he asked you? " Amelia asked her voice slightly raised in disbelief. 

Ashley nodded. 

" You are right that is a weird interview, " said Lily while her friends nodded in agreement. 

" So does that mean you got the job? " Harper asked in a hopeful tone. 

" That remains to be seen, " Ashley answered heading out of the kitchen for her room was beaten at.