Just after Leon asked, he turned around and whispered, "Why, boss?"
There was no reply.
Leon just couldn't understand the reason his boss seemed to be interested in this conversation.
To be exact, not the conversation but the interviewee. Some minutes ago, he had barely listened thoroughly to the other interviewees and had given them a fail mark but in this woman's turn, he hadn't determined her failure nor her success yet and had kept bombarding her with weird questions that are not normally questioned.
Leon had already given her a pass mark because of the response she gave to the boss's initial question. Confidentiality was the main thing and it seemed she held tight to it. However, the questions his boss asked right now made all his hairs stand, waiting for the woman's reply. He believed she would have a good response and the boss might hire her immediately, however, there was still a huge doubt.
The initial question questioned her loyalty, now this one was grouped into two. One is loyalty and the other is integrity. She had to choose between the two morales and clearly, either of the options could be wrong if she didn't back up with good reasons.
Leon stared at the desk and took a sip of the chilled orange juice. "Ms. Lee?"
Eva bounced back to reality. Her eyes were now calculating more than a second ago. She had once heard this question before. She couldn't recall where. However, just when she had thought her penfriend had talked about something related, she recalled the healthy debate between her seventeen-year-old twin brothers, Eros and Cupid.
"Yes, sir. Well, getting employed and then finding out that the organisation is involved in illegal acts means putting me in a tight position."
"Obviously. Are you trying to tell me that you have no reply to this question too?"
Eve's eyes widened and her hands were flung in the air instinctively, signalling that it wasn't what she meant but she immediately dropped them and composed herself. "Of course not. If I find myself in that kind of situation, I will have to verify the source of information. Some acts might be seen as illegal for others but if looked closely actually legal."
Leon understood what she meant, so he didn't ask any question further pertaining to what kind of acts but he asked another, "And what if it turns out to be true?"
"I will report it to the higher-ups."
"What if you get ignored?"
"I will quit. No organisation should exist if it is involved in illegal acts. The organisation is also for the people, there is no use being in an organisation when it fights the people."
Leon's eyebrow rose, "Are you aware that as a secretary to CEO, there is much confidential information to be kept and no matter what it is, be it of illegal means or anything must be kept confidential?"
Eva breathed hard. "Yes, sir."
"Which means you won't turn out to be a trustable figure in the organisation. As a secretary, you need to be one hundred and three percent trustworthy but you are being the opposite and acting like an undercover."
Eva resisted the urge to laugh and cry at the same time. She was already feeling heat beneath her top and she continuously fought the urge to tear off her hair band and let her hair flow along her shoulders. It was what she does to relieve tension and she really needed it, however, she couldn't now.
"Sir. Can I be a little informal?" Eva asked, which made Leon look amazed at her boldness while Saverio, wherever he was, sat uprightly, eyes directly pointed at the woman on the screen.
"Yes."
"Is Mr Chan trying to tell me that this organisation is involved in illegal acts? Like human trafficking, murder, or bribery? Any of them or the unmentioned ones?" Eva's eyes lightened and she leaned closer.
She was serious.
She had given up the chance of getting employed so at the very least, she felt there was no need to be so tight to herself. She was now curious.
"If there is, do you expect me to say, there is? Ms. Lee?" Leon was about to laugh when she questioned, especially with the serious expression on her face but he controlled it.
Though this woman was perhaps a little bit out of the norm, Leon felt she was the right person to handle his boss. Someone like her who doesn't give a damn about anything should be able to handle his boss's female hormones.
When Leon found out that his boss had no questions to say anymore, Leon decided to ask his regular questions.
"Ms Lee, are you stressed?"
"Of course, no."
"Well, the lie detector just discovered that you lied."
"What?" Eva's eyes drifted to the system before her, well, she couldn't tell what was on it as the screen wasn't in front of her.
"Are you stressed, Ms Lee?"
"I only feel uncomfortable," Eva truthfully answered.
"And whyever would you feel that way?"
"Ah...the polygraph. It's a bit tight, I say."
"Take it off her," Leon heard his boss order after a while.
Leon smiled a little and stood up. "Well, Ms. Lee. We do not need the lie detector anymore." Leon found it unfair that it was used on the female interviewee and not on the others but he knew because this was related to his boss's opinion concerning females, however, it seemed that his boss was gradually seeing the fact that the female interviewee should get the job.
"Round it off, Leon, I need a nap."
Leon, after taking off the polygraph from Eve, slipped an envelope on his desk to avoid dropping the polygraph on it. Eve had not noticed the envelope initially.
When Eve's eyes set on it, she frowned, it was familiar.
"Here goes your last question."
"Okay, sir."
"If you have multiple projects on your plate, how do you get done with them over a limited period?"
'Simple,' Eva exclaimed, inwardly. " I will prioritise based on business importance. Setting clear timelines for each and knowing which to handle first saves time and gets things done most effectively. If it is necessary, I will seek the help of my colleagues."
"Okay, Ms. Lee, we are done for the day."
Eva smiled and waited for any more words before she could leave the office.
"We will get back to you. If you get chosen, you will be guided by the outgoing secretary on basic things you need to know. You still get the chance to be sacked if it turns out that you are not efficient."
Eva didn't understand why he sounded like she had already gotten the job. She could only hope, however, as soon as she left her office, she untied her hair band and walked her way to the elevator. She was seriously tired and weakened. She should have eaten earlier!
She looked at her wrist and shook her head, this time, she couldn't trust that wrist of hers.
Meanwhile, Leon stood up from the chair and then closed his system before talking into the earpiece, "Boss, what do you think?"
He was quiet.
Leon groaned knowing what it meant. After all the time he had spent on each interview, no one ended up suiting Mr Saverio.
Could he be taking an act of revenge against him because he was going to resign?
"Well, another interview would be scheduled in three days. You are free then. Boss, it looks like you did not like the answers said by the woman, should I specifically put down that we only need males for the role?"
However, Leon wasn't expecting his reply. "She is hired. Tell her to resume tomorrow."
"Right!" Leon smiled brightly.