Chapter 7
2155 Words
Lily
The day was finally here.
The day to determine my future. Okay, that was quite exaggerating. But even Kylie called me to wish me luck. Cathy too. My parents. Now that I had their supports, I mustn’t screw this up. I wouldn’t let them down.
As I pushed myself out of the Uber, my eyes only fixed on the building – Connor building. My heart was beating fast. I couldn’t get enough sleep since the day the HR called me for today. I was…too scared I would fail. My head was clouded by my past rejections. I was horrified I couldn’t answer their questions later which would result in me getting another rejection and this time, right at my face.
I inhaled and exhaled a few times. Doing a mental pep talk to calm the hell down before I finally let my legs strode myself in. I walked inside the building, looking around and seeing many workers inside – all dressed properly and poshly. The working world. I hoped I dressed myself justice. The atmosphere here was totally different.
I looked around and found the receptionist's table. Heading there, “Hi, excuse me? I have an interview today.”
“Yes. Your name?” she asked with a smile on her face.
“Lily Campbell.”
“Oh, Miss Campbell. Yes, we have your name here. Please wait here for a moment. The HR will come to collect you. You can sit on the sofa over here,” she pointed to the comfortable black couch right next to her desk.
“Thank you.” I sat myself on the couch. While waiting, I pulled out my mobile and opened the Safari. I read the company’s profile also the job description. They were looking for applicants to be their Recruiter. Mainly they would search for a candidate and make sure we reached the expectations of the certain department. Since my background was in psychology, I think I might fit into the position. Fingers crossed.
“Oh? Lily?” the so-familiar voice mentioned my name. And judging by the voice… Oh, f**k, no.
I looked to the side, finding him dressed in his charcoal grey suit. “Zack?”
He walked closer. Oh, please don’t. “What are you doing here?”
“Um, I’m here for a job interview.”
“Really? Wow, nice.”
“And you? What are you doing here?”
“I work here. It’s my first day.” What? “I think I didn’t mention where I’m working. But yeah, I work here now. As a Laboratory Assistant. Don’t comment on it, I already know your reaction.” I didn’t think to mock him or something. Besides, he was great at Chemistry since our school days.
But I obviously had no idea he was working here! And if was accepted, I would see him five times every week. This was so not good.
“Miss Campbell?” someone called. I looked to the other side and saw a woman in a black suit jacket and the same color trousers. With curly blonde hair and she was wearing glasses. Oh, she was pretty.
“Y-Yes?” I immediately stood up and she walked toward me.
She handed me her hand and I immediately shook it. “I’m Garcia. I was the one who called you a few days ago.”
“Oh, yes! Thank you very much for the opportunity.”
“Certainly,” she said and her eyes went to Zack. Her expression changed. Her business face was gone. No wonder, huh? “Oh, hi, Zack.” Er, what?
“Hello. Long time no see,” Zack greeted her. Hold on, they knew each other?”
“Yeah, long time no see. Well then, I must escort Miss Campbell to our office. We have a very important interview to do,” Garcia said. Now that was a rare sight. I honestly thought she was swooned by Zack’s presence. But she looked like she was unaffected. And she knew him.
“Sure. Make sure she’s passed. You will have a very competent staff later,” Zack stated. Oh, that did something to my heart. He looked at me and smiled. “Good luck, Lily.” And then he walked away from us. I didn’t want to admit it but when he said that, I had this weird feeling that everything would turn out okay in the end. Felt like I was going to pass the test. Thank you, Zack.
“Shall we?” Garcia asked.
“Yes.” We headed to the elevator, sending us to the office.
“Do you know Zack Miller?” she asked.
“Um, he’s my senior back in high school and university. We took different majors though. I studied Psychology while he studied Chemistry,” I explained.
“I see,” she simply said. I didn’t know why but based on her reaction, I had this feeling that I shouldn’t continue with this conversation about Zack. How did they know each other anyway? Former lovers? Probably so. But…
Garcia and Zack were like complete opposites.
Garcia looked proper while Zack was the delinquent one. Well, Zack wasn’t exactly a bad man. He just looked like that. These two were like moon and earth. However, that might be the reason these two were attracted to each other – Garcia was attracted to Zack. Oh, well. This was not my business anyway. I didn’t want to meddle with theirs. Not my problem at all. I had a very important thing to worry about.
“We’re here,” she said and the lift dinged. The door was opened, she allowed me to get out first and she followed. She took me to a room; a meeting room and I saw six people inside. Probably candidates just like me. “Take a seat anywhere you like.”
“Thank you.” I had the front seat and Garcia stood in front. I looked at the table and saw a piece of paper.
“Okay, we have everyone. Good morning. My name is Garcia and I’m the HR here. Thank you very much for your attendance today. Today’s test will begin with a psychological test and then you will be having an interview with me alongside my manager, the boss, and the HR Director. You may fill the form right in front of you first before we begin the test.”
Okay. Time for the real thing.
***
After the test was over, we were asked to wait in the same room. I could do the test. The next step was an interview. Garcia would be there with the manager and the Director. We were called one by one by Garcia. The first person was being interviewed for almost thirty minutes. The second person around fifteen minutes. I didn’t know which one was a good thing or a bad thing.
Finally, “Miss Campbell,” Garcia called. I stood up and followed her to the next room. Inside, an older woman who I assumed Garcia’s manager was sitting right next to another old man, the Director. “Have a seat,” she said. I sat right in front of them as Garcia claimed hers, right next to the older man. All their eyes were on me. I swallowed hard. I think my heart just stuck in my throat.
“Don’t be so nervous, Miss Campbell. Just relax,” the Director said with a warm smile. Come to think of it, I said the same thing to Cathy before when she was going to have an interview with James last year. Well, she said it wasn’t exactly an interview. More like James was digging about her private life.
“My apologies, sir. This is my first and, to be honest, I’m quite nervous.”
He giggled. “Most candidates will be, especially the first timer. Don’t worry. Well then, shall we begin?”
“Yes, sir.”
Along the interview, most of the questions came out from Mr. Robinson. Rather than a formal interview like what I read from the internet, we were like chatting to each other. He asked me what I studied in the university, why I chose psychology, and also…
Why I didn’t continue with my father’s business.
I told them what I wanted – what I dreamed of. Based on their expressions, they weren’t mocking or looking down at me. They clearly wanted to know the reason. Maybe even they thought the daughter of the most well-known businessman didn’t need to look for a job because my future was secured. Well, I wasn’t like most daughters and I wanted to live independently.
After Mr. Robinson had finished, the rest of the questions came from Mrs. Natasha or Garcia. I counted almost fifteen minutes with them. Garcia said the result would come out in three days. Well, I’d done my best. Hopefully, I would get the job. I looked at my watch and it was already past twelve. I pulled out my iPhone and texted Kyle to pick me up. She said she didn’t have any class today.
“Are you done?” Again, I didn’t need to digest my brain to find out who that was. I turned around and saw Zack walking toward me. “How was it?”
“Well, I did my best. I hope I get it.”
“I’m sure you will,” he said. I wonder why he was so positive I would get it anyway? Because he trusted my abilities? Or he just said it out of blue? “Are you going to have lunch now? Let’s go together then.”
“What? Is that okay?”
“Of course. What are you worrying about?” Well, nothing actually. Why did I ask him that anyway?
“I mean, today is your first day. I thought you should be with your colleagues or something? You know, to be friends with them.”
“Oh, that. Well, I was worried about you and a little fairy telling me you just finished so I came down and saw you alone. Don’t worry about me, I’m sure they won’t mind.”
“Well, I am. You can’t skip lunch with your senior or your boss. What if they suspect something?”
“I don’t think they will do that. And I don’t care about rumors anyway. I will feel guilty if I didn’t keep you company. Not after your first interview,” he easily said. How come he could say that? He didn’t really care about his reputation? That was not new though. Zack was always like this since our high school days. But the first impression was important. I was glad he wanted to accompany me and even though I didn’t like him, I didn’t want him to get into trouble.
“I appreciate your kind offer but thank you. I can eat by myself. Besides, Kylie is coming. You should be with them. I don’t want you to get into trouble and make a bad impression on your first day,” I convinced him. I really hoped he would listen. I didn’t want to be blamed just because I stole the newbie. But then again, why did I have to worry about him?
And I didn’t expect anything from him when his warm hand grounded on my head. I looked up to him as he gently patted my head. “You are really kind, you know? You will never change and that’s why I can’t leave you alone.”
“W-What?” He pulled his hand back. He didn’t say anything and pulled out his phone. He was typing something until my phone chimed. Did he just text me? Wait, I never told him my number. How did he—
“See you soon, Lily,” he parted and turned back. I saw people waving their hands at Zack. See? They were around. And he was with them until he saw me by myself.
I pulled out my phone and saw the new numbers. Zack’s new number. Because since that day, I deleted everything about him. Did he expect me to call him?
No.
I wouldn’t call him.
I would never call him.
I was about to delete it. I was about to touch the delete word, only feeling my thumb was heavy like there was a rubber pulling me to not do it. I didn’t want to have anything with him again. I didn’t want to get hurt.
Good luck, Lily.
Closing my eyes, I pushed my phone back into my bag. Walking out of the building, I saw Kylie’s car in the lobby. I immediately ran toward her and deposited myself in. “Hi, sis! How was it?”
“I’ll tell you at lunch. Any suggestion?”
“Sure! I know a good place.”
“Cool.”
- Writer
