Alexa’s P.O.V
“I still don’t understand why you couldn’t have just stayed here in New York. There are many people who could have hired you, darling. Your father and I could have helped!” my mother whined through the phone, with a hint of sadness.
I huffed in annoyance but decided to school my voice for the sake of my mother. “I know mum. Please understand that I cannot depend on you forever! I just want to know what it feels like to be on my own, for once,” I reasoned as I rubbed my temples.
She sighed on the other end. “Okay sweetheart, I get it. But if anything goes wrong, your father and I will book you a first-class ticket back home.”
I smiled despite myself. “Okay mum. I’ve got to go now. Bye, love you.” I said and after she said she loves me too; I ended the call.
It wasn’t easy for me to just up and leave my home of many years and settle in a new state. But I knew it was necessary. Life in New York started to suffocate me. Everywhere I went, people only recognised me as Heath and Natasha Winston’s adopted daughter. I mean, nobody judged me for being adopted but it always made me feel like everybody saw me differently. Whilst they are full Caucasian, I’m half Caucasian half black. But they never made me feel like I wasn’t their own, no, they’ve loved me since day one.
I’m totally blessed to have been adopted by them when I was only 10 days old. Back then, they were struggling to have a child so they opted for adoption. That’s when they found me and instantly fell in love with me. Three years later, however, Natasha got pregnant and that’s when they had Deja, my younger sister. And I’ve been living in her shadow ever since.
Deja is, quote on quote, the golden girl in our family. Better looks, better grades, better everything! However, she’s not a pain in the butt like most people would think; on the contrary, she’s a total angel. She and I are very close but she has no idea that sometimes I envy her, as petty as it might seem. She is currently studying business administration and public relations, just like our dad, and soon enough she will be working by his side in our family’s retailing company. I chose to study finance and marketing, like our mother.
To say that my parents were rich would be an understatement. They weren’t always so wealthy but because of hard work, they made it to the top and now they’re business tycoons all over the country. I tried to stay out of the limelight as much as possible but it became increasingly harder as I grew up. That’s why I decided to leave New York and start afresh in California, where I was fairly unknown.
Just when I’d settled down on the couch to hopefully stuff my face away with Lays and watch re-runs of Friends, Araminta burst through the door with her usual cheery expression. She was my roommate and friend of a week now. She had finished her day at her job at some law firm across town.
“Guess what?” she beamed and took a seat next to me, pushing my legs off the couch in excitement. “There is a job opening at Hixon & Co, and I think you should apply!”
I huffed in annoyance, having been interrupted from my peaceful evening plans. “But you already have a job,” I piped in and shoved a handful of chips into my mouth. Judging from the way her face contorted at this, it must have been really unlady-like.
She rolled her eyes at me, but smiled nonetheless. Araminta was honestly one of the most beautiful people I’d ever seen. Her Japanese features were graceful and flawless. We were about the same height, but she was curvier and more confident than me.
“Not for me silly! For you. Isn’t it you were looking for a job? This is exactly what you need…plus I heard the CEO is like very handsome but just as insufferable. Maybe this will be fun,” she added as she passed me her tablet to show me the classified on the website. I quickly went over the details and seems like my qualifications were enough. After that, I did a quick search on the company background and saw that the owner was 27 and already the biggest real estate mogul in the state. There were not any pictures of him though.
“Fine, I’ll give it a go but this guy sounds like bad news. It says he has quite the temper and fires people like they’re rocket ships,” I trailed off and she shrieked and then hugged me. She shot up from the couch and made her way over to my room.
“I’ll pick your outfit for the interview tomorrow,” she said as she left the room.
***
I’d been in the building that also happened to be Hixon & Co’s HQ for about twenty minutes now. I wasn’t particularly nervous but my wariness heightened with each passing second because I’d already watched five people burst out of the CEO’s office with flustered looks and sweat trickling down their foreheads.
Out of sheer boredom, I began to play with my manicured nails and tapped my Louboutin heel on the floor impatiently. The door opened yet again and a young scrawny looking man with glasses practically shot out of there like a champagne cork. The secretary then called out a name but I was distracted by the retreating figure of the man as he made a mad dash for the elevator. The name got called out again and I snapped my head forwards upon recognizing that it was my own.
Rising from the seat, I brushed off invisible dust off my pink pencil skirt, loosened up my white chiffon blouse and then proceeded to the door with my Hermes bag adjusted on my elbow joint. Knocking on the door, I heard a deep ‘come in’ and then I entered. Shutting the door behind me, I then turned to face the man behind the desk.
Only that my legs refused to move momentarily.
My head angled downwards as my jaw came askew. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Before sat a freaking Adonis behind a large mahogany desk. He was looking down at a paper in front of him but from what I could see, he was easily the most drop-dead gorgeous guy I had ever seen. From his slicked back raven hair, royal nose, pillowy lips to his chiselled jaw. And let’s not forget the broad chest and how the three-piece grey suit hugged his body like a glove. Wow.
“Have a seat,” he voiced gruffly and it somehow managed to sound so heavenly. His voice, oh his voice.
My legs finally started to function again so I shuffled across the carpeted floor and took a seat on one of the chairs in front of him. “Give me your details,” he said once again in his velvety voice, stretching his hand out to me. He still kept his head down so I couldn’t quite see his eyes.
Opening my bag, I handed him my papers and he began to scan them. After a few minutes, he finally looked up to and my breath hitched. His eyes were a rare shade of grey, almost silver. Although they had a certain cold quality to them, they were breath-taking. He scrutinized me deeply, a small frown forming on his face.
“Any experience?” he asked curtly. Oh, so he was that kind of guy. I should have known that the rumours about his temperament were true.
Clearing my throat, I stared at him straight in the eye. That’s the thing with my; I never show fear, intrigue or panic. I liked to be in control of my emotions so I rarely made a fool of myself. Except, how I almost did that a few minutes ago when I walked in here. “No. I recently graduated from NYU,” I said confidently and he held my gaze for a few minutes. He subtly nodded his head and his eyes went back to the papers.
“Thank you, Miss Winston. You may leave now. You’ll be informed whether you got the job or not later today.” And with that, he motioned for me to exit. Rolling my eyes at his impolite gesture, I rose from the seat and exited his awesome office with touch of masculinity and large backdrop window. Just before I closed the door, I caught a glimpse of him staring after me until I shut it completely.
Well, that wasn’t awkward at all.