As the door creaked open, the sound of someone's voice just as Teressa opened the door made her heart almost jump out of her chest. This was the maid her mom hired for her? She looked like a creep with the glasses hanging on her nose and a weird smile on her lips with her hair tied into a bun and her apron on her. She had a cute face with dimples on her cheeks adding to her cuteness alongside the happy bubble surrounding her as if she had not experience the cruelness of life. Like an innocent soul with the face of an angel.
"You must be the person that was hired. What's your name?" Teressa asked earning a smile from the girl's lips. Why was she smiling every single time? It was already getting weird. The girl answered still with a smile on her lips "Tina, my name is Tina ma'am." Tina moved forward to carry the bags but Teressa's hand stopped her.
"Don't call me ma'am. You look my age so it's weird. Call me Teressa." she said and retracted her hand allowing Tina to carry it while she helped her with the other ones. After she had settled in, she went downstairs for dinner since Tina already left halfway to make food. Just as she entered the dining, Tina came in with the food and was about to leave when Teressa called her back "Sit down and eat with me. Don't consider yourself a maid, consider yourself as my friend so as my friend, it is right for you to sit down with me."
Tina smiled awkwardly and sat down. She was not used to nice treatments from people. All her life it was one suffering to the other. Her mom died when she was just five years old and two years later, her father married another wife and it turned out they already had a child together who was five years old so technically it meant he was cheating on her mom. And that was when her entire life turned upside down.
She was turned into a maid in her very home. Even the 5 year old had the power to command her around. Every little mistake she made either earned her beatings or her not eating through out the day. One day, she finally couldn't take it anymore and she ran away from home and that was where she met Mrs.Anderson who came on a business trip and hired her for her daughter. Since Mrs.Anderson was nice, she had an hunch that her daughter would be same and here she was sitting with her extremely nice daughter. Tears came into her eyes thinking of all she had been through.
"Thank you." she said as she tried not to choke on tears making Teressa's face twitch in worry. "Sorry, did I say something wrong? If you are not comfortable sitting here, it's fine, You can go." Even though she didn't understand why the girl was crying, she had to be considerate anyways.
"No, it's not that. I just thought of something that made me emotional, that's all." she said as she took a spoon and plated some food as evidence that she was okay and Teressa responded, "If you need anyone to talk to, I am here." Well, she understood the concept that behind everyone's smiles, there are hidden scars that run deep within better now. Who would imagine that the girl she saw grinning like a creep at the door immediately she stepped in like she had no sadness in the world probably had hidden wounds behind the smile she put on since the moment she met her.
The meal continued with quietness enveloping the whole room and after dinner, Teressa and Tina did the dishes and went into their respective rooms to sleep.
The next morning....
Teressa woke up, had her bath, did the usual morning routine and had breakfast with Tina before boarding a cab and headed to Greenfield Corporation, the place where she was going to take the interview. When she got there, she was wowed at the size and height of the building which looked as if it had endless floors. She knew the company had different branches and this was their base but she didn't really look up anything about the building but heck, it was big. Well what did she expect? This was the most productive company in the country. She walked in with heavy steps and headed to the receptionist.
"Good morning. I am here for an interview for the position of personal assistant to your boss. My name is Teressa Anderson." she said and the receptionist instantly made a call. Oh, yeah. Company protocols. She was sure if she was a receptionist, she would probably sleep on duty. They had a lot of work to do. Making calls, making sure that the person who came looking for a certain person was not a scam. They are more like the second security of the company. Their work was really tiring.
She was brought out of her reverie when the receptionist's voice sounded again "Ma'am, you can go. You are cleared. Please head to the second floor for the interview." And the second sentence made her dumbfounded. Cleared??? Was she a thief or what? She shook her head as she headed to the elevator which took her to the second floor and she entered the office she was directed to. She was shocked at the amount of people there and she chose the empty seat next to the lady with blonde hair. She went to the seat and sat down tossing and turning waiting for her turn and then the blonde spoke.
"I'm Alisha. So why are you here? To see the face of the boss or is it for the money or for the experience? Most people are here for the face of the boss. Many people want to know if he is old, middle-aged, young, hot, ugly or average?" she asked and Teressa was surprised. Some people were here just for the face?
"I am Teressa and I'm here for the experience. Just wanted to explore some new things in life." She said and then she heard her name through the speakers.
"Miss Teressa Anderson, you are up next." she took in a deep breath as she proceeded to the door. It was time to decide her fate.