Chapter Seven
1946 Words
Alyona arrived at the address listed on the ad, she was dismayed to see the number of people that had shown up for the interview. Her mind began to race that she wasn't going to get chosen by the mystery owner. She had no idea who this person even was. All she knew was that this was the perfect opportunity for her. She just had to get this job.
Apollo was watching as the people entered the building for the interviews, he was waiting for her to show up. He tapped his toe impatiently beneath the desk. His dress shoes off, because they were so uncomfortable, how in the world did humans wear these things? They were so constricting! He most certainly preferred his sandals and chlamys to these tight-fitting clothes. There were mostly men in here, they were all busy talking amongst themselves when the door opened.
If Ally thought she would be able to sneak in undetected, she should have thought harder. Every man in the building, and it seemed to be plenty, all looked her up and down. Ally steeled herself and didn't let their looks affect her. She approached the man behind the desk confidently. She was here for the job.
"Hello," she said with a smile, "My name is Alyona Boyets, I am here to interview for the business partner position," she said hoping her voice sounded more confident than she felt.
Apollo smiled at the young woman in front of him. She was dressed smartly, her suit fit her so well it looked like Clotho herself made it. She looked beautiful yet all business. The colors seemed to compliment her well and her heels made her two inches taller.
"Hello, you may have a seat and we will call you when it's your turn. Do you have any paperwork?" he remembered to ask.
Ally handed him the manila folder she had grasped tightly in her hand. She knew that her work with her father would come in handy. She was thankful that her father believed that even the women should know how to run things outside of the home. She had been helping him with the runnings of one of their restaurants and hotels now for two years.
Apollo took the folder and laid it down, he really hoped that she was the one for Abigor, she seemed like she would be great for him. He couldn't get his hopes up though, there were a few other women here. He didn't know who they were waiting for, but Selene did. So he was letting her lead this show. He was just waiting for these interviews to end so he could get out of these clothes. He squirmed a little in his seat again, attempting to get comfortable.
Ally was studying the man behind the desk, he looked strangely familiar to her, yet she couldn't place it.
"Have you lived in Avec your whole life?" she asked him politely.
Apollo was surprised to hear the young lady speak to him, most of the other applicants just stared at him.
"No, why do you ask?" he asked, his velvety voice asked.
"You just look very familiar is all," she said eyeing him as she stepped back. She took in his features, trying to place where she knew him from. His blonde hair was a bright almost yellow look, and his green eyes sparkled with mischief.
Apollo was surprised, she was examining him as if he were a suspect to something, "I just have that kind of face I guess," he said and looked down. He wasn't quite accustomed to being stared at anymore. Hundreds of years ago, when he came down to earth, yes. But, not so much now, people on earth were too engrossed in their own little contraptions. Even now, most of the applicants were staring into the small screens in their hands.
Selene entered the room as Ally was eyeing Apollo up and down. She hoped that her disguise was good enough to hide her from the few mythics that showed up to this interview session. Her silver hair was now a stark black with a few streaks of grey to make her appear older, and she had added a little padding to change her shape. Her eyes, she had changed from blue to brown, and placed some glasses on her nose. She allowed herself some wrinkles around her eyes and mouth as well.
"Hello, my dear," she said pleasantly, greeting Ally with a warm smile. "I hope this dashing young man isn't giving you a difficult time?" she asked as she gave a pointed look to Apollo.
"Oh, no ma'am. Quite the opposite, actually," she assured the kind, old lady, in front of her. "I was actually trying to place where I recognized him from," she said. "I'll just go take a seat, though."
Selene walked over to the desk and intentionally stepped on Apollo's toes, she had told him that someone would be sure to recognize him if he didn't do a better job of hiding his appearance. He did his best to hide the yelp of pain from the pointy shoe that landed on his foot.
"What was that for?" he whispered.
"I told you, that someone would be able to recognize you, but no, you're too vain to want to appear older, or even more different," she whispered back at him angrily.
"She didn't recognize me, though," he countered back.
"But she will," Selene said. She put her head closer to Apollo, "That's the one for him," she informed him, pointing at the departing form of Ally.
"Okay," Apollo said, not getting it.
Selene picked up the nearest folder, and whacked him on the head with it, "You moron, she's a history buff," she whispered.
The solid smack on Apollo's head made Alyona turn. She looked at the two behind the desk, she was sure she recognized the man, and there was a small glimmer of recognition over that woman as well. She walked away from them and found a seat, she would think about them later. Right now she wanted to be sure that she got this job and wasn't going to lose her focus on anything else.
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Abigor was in the office seated behind a massive oak desk, the sunlight from outside a welcome respite from the gloom of the Isle. He had honestly forgotten how much he loved the warmth of the sun. When he found out that he could be outside of the darkness without consequences he relished in it. He would have to make it a point to do this more often. He was getting tired of the interviews, these people were stodgy and full of themselves. These were the kind of people he would have gladly let the mermaids have.
He looked up the latest applicant, another young man barely out of college, who thinks he knows the answers to everything.
Abigor was getting bored with the same answers, so he asked him, "What do you do if someone is stealing from you?"
The young man was taken aback by the question, "I would investigate the man and see what he was stealing, and then call the police," he said smugly. He had a feeling he would be getting this job. He had answered all the questions so far perfectly.
"Okay, what about liars?" Abigor asked. These questions were so standard, how would he find the 'right person' as Selene had put it. This question he thought of was because of Brigid, he was still letting her get to him.
"Depends on what they lied about," he said easily.
"That's not the right answer," Abigor said. He stood up then, and indicated the door, "Thank you for your time," he said. "I'll have my secretary contact you if I decide to change my mind."
The young man in the chair sputtered, "But, but, some lies are harmless! I have the best qualifications for your job," he said.
"Sally," he called, to Selene. "Please see this gentleman out and bring me in the next applicant," he said, sighing over the man's continued protests.
"Of course, sir," she said taking the man by his shoulder and leading him down a hallway, where she wiped his memory clean and sent him on his way.
When she walked in, she saw the look of exasperation on his face. She almost felt bad for him. Almost.
"How many more people are there?" he asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He wanted to end this and get out of this damned suit. He wanted to get back to the Isle if only to get rid of this tension.
"You have about seven more people," she said. She was over this process as well, why did she think this was a good idea? If it wouldn't cause such an uproar, she would skip the other six and just bring in Ally and get this over with already.
"Alright, send in the next one," he said as sat back down in the chair and rolled his shoulders.
Ally was bouncing her foot up and down, nervously, she was the last one to interview, and that could be a bad thing. One thing she noticed was that the interviewees were not coming back out the way they came in. The kind old lady came into the room and smiled, "Alyona," she called.
Ally stood up and straightened her suit, "I will land this job," she said to herself. In the back of her mind, she was looking for a way to escape if things went south, though because she still didn't know where the other applicants went.
"Oh, dear, " Selene said, as if she were reading her mind, "They were guided out this door, here so they wouldn't talk about the interview," she said pointing to a door. "Mr. Pretium likes his privacy," she said.
Ally looked at the lady, her eyebrow raised, "Are you a witch?" she whispered. "If you are, your secret is safe with me," she said and placed a gentle hand on the old lady's shoulder.
Selene smiled, "You could say that," she said.
She opened the door to the office and announced, "Mr. Pretium, your final interview for the day, Ms. Alyona Boyets," she said loud enough for the man staring out the window to hear. To Ally, she whispered, "You have this, young lady."
"Thank you, Sally," came the tired voice from the chair.
Ally stood there, waiting as the door clicked gently closed behind her. She took in her surroundings, these were beautiful pieces of workmanship.
"You can sit down," the man said, without bothering to turn the chair. It was as if he were trying to keep the final rays of sunshine on him for as long as possible.
"Thank you, Mr. Pretium," she said and made her way to the chair opposite of him.
She could hear him sigh as if he didn't want to do this. She was just as nervous, she could feel the butterflies flowing through her stomach.
"Let's begin, shall we," he said. He took in the beauty in front of him and did his best to focus on the task at hand. He wanted her as a partner. She was simply the best of everyone that had shown up. The two got on with the interview in record time. Once it was through, he called Selene back in and escorted Ally out the door.
When Selene returned with Apollo they looked at Abigor and waited.
"I want her as the business partner," he said simply.
- Writer
