It does not take very long for us to reach the grand headquarters of 'Limited'. It looks more glorious in person than when I saw it online while I was applying to work here. The building is incredibly tall and almost entirely made of glass.
"Wow," I whisper under my breath and Hades chuckles.
"Doesn't look all too great as people make it out to be, huh?" He asks me as he gets down from the parked car. A specific area is reserved for him in the parking lot, and his name is sprayed in his parking space.
I am sure he is joking or being humble because the building is jaw-dropping.
I open the door of the car and I step out, there are a few people rushing to enter the building before we do, causing my forehead to wrinkle in confusion. It is still early, why is everyone suddenly rushing to get inside as if they are being chased?
A guy who just got down from his small car suddenly begins to run with his coffee in his hand when his eyes land on us. His coffee even spills but he keeps moving until he enters the building.
"What is going on? Is something wrong? Why is everyone rushing to get inside?" I ask Hades as the both of us walk towards the entrance of the building.
"Oh, I have a silly rule, if I arrive at the headquarters and anyone who works here is not already in the building, they get laid down," He explains to me as he adjusts his suit.
"You mean they get fired?" I ask incredulously, causing him to glance at me and chuckle lowly. His deep chuckle causes goosebumps on my skin, I just can not control how I am around him.
I need to get ahold of myself, it's funny because I have not felt this way about anyone for a really long time. Maybe I am reacting this way because he is famous, or maybe not, I don't know.
"Yes, Iris, they get fired," He replies to me. The way my name rolls off his tongue is distinct, no one pronounces my name as he does, it intrigues me.
In my opinion, that is a bit harsh but who am I to tell a CEO how to run his company? He clearly knows what he is doing considering that 'Limited' is one of America's most successful companies.
I try not to say anything else as we enter the building. More than a few eyes are trained on me, almost everyone is staring at Hades and me, especially me.
He leads me to the elevator and the both of us enter when the automated doors open.
"How does it feel to be a part of 'Limited' now?" He asks me as he stares at me while he smiles.
"Uh, it feels great! The funny thing is that I thought I was not accepted, but it was just a mistake," I reply to him as I chuckle.
The elevator comes to a stop and Hades gestures for me to step out first, so I do. He exits the elevator as I look at how fancy and impressive the floor that we are on looks. This is my first time entering this building, I can not begin to explain how happy I am right now.
It all feels like a dream.
"Tell me about the mistake," He says to me and I touch my braids out of instinct.
"Oh no, the mistake was not on the company's part, it was all me," I assure him and he laughs.
"Okay, but you need to loosen up. You are now part of the family, plus I do not mean to make you feel nervous if I am," He opens it glass door after swiping his card on the card reader connected to the door.
Once we enter the office, my mouth literally drops open. Dang, the entire space looks so luxurious. I strongly believe that we are on the highest floor, the floor-to-ceiling windows reveal a stunning view of the entire city.
"It was a silly mistake, my best friend's email was logged in on my laptop and she applied to work here too but was not accepted, so I thought her email was for me. She later made me understand and she helped me log into my own account which had the response that belonged to me," I explained to him, and truthfully, I did not think he would listen as keenly and attentively as he is right now.
He looks like he genuinely cares about what I am talking about. My respect for him continues to grow, most people at his level of success are usually rude and arrogant, but he is the complete opposite.
He did not even have to come to my college to personally drive me here, but he did, and that tells me a lot about him.
"Wow, that must have been a rollercoaster of emotions. I am sorry that you had to go through that, and also that your friend did not get accepted," He apologizes as he sits behind a huge beautiful shiny wooden desk.
"I would give you my personal email so you can send me her name, I would then take a second look at her application," He graciously offers.
"Oh, that's too much," I reply to him as I sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"It's completely fine, if your best friend is as smart and creative as you then I would love to have her work here. Here at 'Limited', we are always searching for the best minds," He explains to me as he opens his laptop and begins to type with an impressive speed.
A small sound startles me and I look toward the source, it's someone coming in and the small sound was the glass door being opened.
"Is this the girl?" A strikingly beautiful lady asks Hades and he looks up from his laptop.
"Yes," He answers curtly and returns to typing on the laptop.
"No," The lady says as she chuckles. She walks toward us and sits in the other chair in front of Hades' desk. The way she is eying me makes me feel kind of insecure.
"What do you mean by no?" Hades asks her and he closes his laptop. An intrigued look sits on his face as he looks at the lady.
"She's not pretty enough," The lady talks about me as if I am not even here.
"Excuse me?" I ask her but she barely pays attention to me. I am not going to allow a stranger or anyone else to disrespect me, no matter who they may be.
"Rome, this behavior of yours is rude and uncalled for. I need you to apologize right now," Hades tells the lady, he looks slightly annoyed. I guess her name is Rome.
"You and I both know that I am telling the truth," She says as she strokes her shiny black hair.
"I am not going to let someone who looks like they work in a cheap restaurant be one of the faces of 'Limited'," She adds, and I do something that even surprises me.
I slap her hard across her face.