The building was four stories high. It made me wonder how long it would take to get to know this place. Inside, the ceilings were about ten meters from the ground. The lobby held the most luxurious pieces of furniture. Beautiful glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Pillars had designs carved on them. The designer red carpets reflected the light from the chandeliers, making the lobby look like a beautiful royal hall. Employees hustled with files in their hands trying to get as much work done as possible.
The other floors of the building, unlike the lobby, were quite modern. The white walls and studio lights gave the feeling of a strict workplace. Cubicles were all filled with people on computers, busy doing their work. The cabins all had wooden doors with tinted glass windows. A name plate on each door held the names of the person the cabin belonged to.
The first room on the third floor was larger than the others. It had two doors instead of one. On the name plate, it said, 'CEO, David Berg'.
Just as I was about to knock, I heard a male voice say, 'Are you sure about this?'.
Another voice scoffed. 'How can he be sure? he doesn't even know the girl' The guy sounded frustrated and arrogant.
Although it didn't go with my ethics, I pressed my ear against the door to listen more clearly. I was trying to make sense of their conversation when I heard a familiar voice, 'I know, Ian. I barely know her. But I am sure about this. She is different'
'How exactly?', asked Ian, the guy with the arrogant voice. 'How is she different than any other human being? She is just as fragile.'
Then, as if they had nothing to say, the entire room fell silent before a female voice spoke up, 'Whatever it may be, whomever she may be, we are going to treat her well. Especially you, Ian. Do not lay a finger on her.'
Who were they talking about? What did they mean by fragile? I couldn't take more of the eavesdropping so I finally knocked on the door. I heard shushing and shuffling of feet before someone asked me to come in. But as soon as I opened the door, I gasped.
In front of me stood the CEO of Night.co transport and communications, David Berg, the same guy I had met last night at the bar.
'Please come in miss Carson. I have been expecting you.', he said with a rather polite smile.
My eyes wide with surprise, I slowly walked in. The room was dimly lit. Sheets of paper lay scattered all across the floor. Stacks of applications were dumped on the desk in the middle of the room.
'You must excuse the mess.' David noted. 'We were having a bit of a... disagreement.' Then he turned to the other people in the room.
'Miss Carson, this is Terence, Ian, Jade and Markus', he said, pointing to each one simultaneously. 'Everyone, this is Olivia Carson.'
Jade was the first to greet me. She gave me a smile as she shook my hand. Terrence and Markus were friendly too, but Ian just scoffed and rolled his eyes. Everyone in the room looked like the models from those fashion magazines they sold at the mall. Terence seemed like an athletic man with really nice, dark skin. His brown eyes completed the beauty of his face. Jade and Markus were both brunette with pale skin like David's and green eyes. They looked like twins to me. Ian was probably the youngest of them all. He was blonde with silver, moonlike eyes. His hair was pushed back into a half bun like do and he wore an earring in his left ear.
Everyone looked like they worked there. They were all dressed in suits, and each carried a sense of pride and a skip in their step. They all looked at me like I was an alien or some enemy race. I could feel the tension in the air as their eyes conversed. There were a few minutes of awkward silence before David spoke up again.
'Okay then, off you go, all of you.', he said, 'I have an interview to take.'
***
I sat in front of the TV, a slice of pizza in one hand and a big soda in the other. The interview had gone pretty well and I was certain I was in. Now, it was time to relax, stretch my legs and watch my favorite show. David had told me I would get a confirmation soon and I could start work next week. The pressure was off and I could finally have one worriless evening. I called Mel and asked her to come over.
The doorbell rang along with the excited scream of a very proud best friend. With no further ado, I opened up and Mel gave me a big hug. She set down the bottles of champagne on the kitchen table and lounged on the couch.
'You know I don't drink, Mel' I said after noticing the bottles resting on my kitchen table.
'Oh those?', she asked, 'They're both for me.'
We laughed about that for a long time as we binge watched an entire season of our favorite show. I told her about the interview and the things I had heard through the door.
'Different, huh?' Mel pointed. 'Are you sure they were talking about you?'
'Well, who else would they be talking about?' I said, 'I am the new recruit.'
Mel tampered with that sentence for a while, then moved on to the one thought that was probably lingering in her mind for a long time. 'So, how hot were they?' she asked.
'Pretty hot.' I laughed, 'All of them. I felt like an ugly outsider.'
We laughed again, but our little party was cut short by a ding from my phone. It was an email from my new boss saying I was to start work the next day and I was supposed to be present at the office by nine. I hated sending Mel away, but I didn't want to have a rough start at work. I cleaned up the living room and went straight to bed, excited for my first day as junior manager of the public relations department at Night.co communications. Little did I know, it was just the beginning of the biggest chapter of my life.