Jessica alighted from the taxi she had taken to PulseTec Labs, the newest Tech organization, the branch was just one of many, and the Organization was known all over the world. Her gaze on the huge edifice could give off her nervousness, and it was not surprising.
"Can I do this?" She said to herself while trying to calm herself by breathing in and out. "Davison gave me this chance, I mustn't mess it up, I shouldn't mess it up… I can do it.."
She closed her eyelids.
"I can do it" After whispering that to herself four to five times more, she opened her eyes, Took a step forward, and made an abrupt pause. " Can I?" She added.
Well, she couldn't continue that, she would have to look for a way to fight her anxiousness whether she liked it or not, and if she knew she wanted to become a successful and famous reporter.
She made a resolve and moved in through the rotating sliding doors, Making her way into the building.
It was like she entered a new world entirely. Different moving robots, holograms of flying jets, people who put on different technological gears… 'Wow,' She could only think to herself.
Before she took another step further, She was obstructed by the security guard who stood just beside the sliding doors. 'Was he here before?' She thought to herself, but yes, he was. She missed him because of her earlier nerve-racking episode, and she guessed the fact.
"You are..?" The dark-skinned husky man said, putting on an intimidating expression with his left eyelash raised.
"Um… Jessie, Jessica Adair?"
The guard only tilted his head to the left in more confusion. "And what business do you have?"
"Oh…" She opened her little handbag and brought out her purse, taking out her work ID. She raised it so he could see it, "I'm a reporter, I'm sure you know NNN. I have an appointment with the CEO… Oh-"
She immediately looked through the bag again, after recalling she had received a letter from her boss earlier. The ID definitely would not have been enough to prove her worthy of stepping into the organization, "Give me a minute," She added.
She found the letter soon enough and handed it over to the guard, sighing in relief. The guard, looking through the letter thoroughly, looked at her again, gave her the letter, and allowed her in. She actually looked much younger than her age, with her height of five feet two inches not helping out.
She took some steps ahead, looked around once, and reversed her steps back to the guard.
"Sir,"
"Hm?" He turned to face her.
"Please where do I find the CEO's office?"
"Take a walk to your right, the first elevator you see, take it to the seventh floor. Ask around when you get there"
"Thank you" She smiled at him, then walked off. She was more eager now than nervous, wanting to know how great it felt to have her article on the front page of NewsNow next day's newspaper. She smiled, chuckling at intervals. Her journey from there to the seventh floor, she used it to admire her surroundings. The place was a beautiful one, filled with different innovations capable of making the future a better and stressless one.
In not much time, she was on the seventh and immediately she stepped out, another security guard had stopped her, asking for her whereabouts.
"Here," Thank goodness she hadn't stashed the letter back into her bag. She handed it over to the guard, waiting for her release.
Just as she expected, she was quickly allowed, and moving closer to the guard, she asked, "Please where is the CEO's office?"
"Take a turn to the left at the end of the hallway, you'll arrive at your destination."
"Thank you so much" The female security was less uptight than the former, and she was relieved. She followed the directions, and just as she turned to the left, she met a man at the front of the door.
Looking at him, she walked towards the door, and not sure whether the man just arrived at the door, or if he was about to leave, she abruptly asked, "Please is the CEO in?"
"And you are?" The man turned to look at her.
Wondering the position the man was to ask her the question, she answered, "A reporter, I'm here to meet with the CEO" Not waiting for his answer to her question, she chose to knock on the door instead.
"Wait a minute."
She did stop. She turned her gaze to him, giving him a look that showed her annoyance, but she was much more bothered about why the man suddenly scanned her from head to toe, she wasn't comfortable with it. "I have an appointment with the CEO, I don't have time for this," It was not the first time she had such a happening. She already branded him to be someone hitting on her.
"What's your name?"
"None of your business," She went ahead and knocked on the door twice.
"Mr. Davison never mentioned a teenage girl,"
'Teenage?' She was about to turn to him and tell him off when she came to realize who he just mentioned.
"Are you…-?"
"Yes, I am Gregory Mason."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought…"
"I know, but I have no interest in kids, What's your name?"
The degradation was getting on her nerves, and it did show on her face, but she had no right to say anything that would hinder her mission. "Jessica Adair"
"Where is the letter?" Gregory asked.
"Oh," She quickly handed it to him.
He took a glance at the letter and folded it back to her. "How old are you?"
"Twenty, sir," Her tone changed.
"Intern?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, you're young, let's go in" Gregory opened the door and walked in, leaving the door open so she could come in.
"Thank you,"
"I'm quite shocked NewsNow sent a rookie to interview the CEO of the best tech organization,"
'Hm?' She had thought after hearing his brag. Best? That would be an exaggeration. But what could she say?
"I'm an Intern, and I have been an intern for seven months now, so, I'm quite good at the job,"
"I like your confidence, would you like a tour before you begin your interview?"
"I will appreciate it,"
He signaled for her to go with him, and she did.
"On this seventh floor, is where most offices are located," He took her to the elevator, "Let me take it from down up, so we'll be starting from the lower floor,"
She nodded, walking into the elevator after him as soon as it opened.
The tour went on as he took her from one room to another. She paid utmost attention and took notes, trying her best to not miss any details.
They were leaving the door of the room that handles the creation of the PulseNow earbuds that were popular at that time when an alarm went off.
"Huh?" She paused. Was it a fire? She thought, but no one was panicking. She turned to look at the CEO and she saw him glance at his watch. With a serious frown, he said to her, "Hey, you may need to leave now, make your way back to the lobby."
"Okay, sir," She said, but she was more bothered by the sound and his reaction. 'What could be happening?' Her thoughts reasoned. The initiative of a reporter let her follow him behind to get a guess of what may be happening.
While following, she noticed some other individuals walking towards an inner pathway on the ground floor, one much more hidden than the one Where the CEO's office was located. She hid and noticed the look they had, trying to make sure no one was watching. Following them quietly, she walked through the pathway, revealing a concealed door leading to the outer premises of the building.
She opened the door a little and peeped to see what was going on. They walked towards a very little building- but not the front door. Instead, they went towards a control panel, the CEO opened the panel that had a password lock hidden in it and entered the passcode. They then made their way to the back of the building, but she could not make out what was happening there. It was out of her field of vision, but she could see an abnormal amount of gas force itself out, and that they were no longer visible, so she could tell that they had entered through a back door or something
'What could that be?' She wondered. The fact that their movement already seemed suspicious after a siren was one, then the hidden door was another, not to talk about the smoke that had popped out.
"A big story might be coming from me soon, If I can reveal this, I may be getting promoted sooner," She grinned, waiting for a chance to go in.