I ransacked the trash can to look for my resume. I found it quickly. It was a bit crumpled, so I straightened it out. I was about to stand up to leave the building. Yes, what happened was painful, but I don't have time to dwell on it. What I need to focus on now is where I will sleep that night.
I was surprised when I saw a hand extended towards me. I didn't accept it. I stood up on my own and looked at the man smiling in front of me. He was fair-skinned, and his lips were bright red.
"Sorry for my cousin Logan Van der Bilt's behavior. I'm Chris," he extended his hand to me again. I looked at his hand and quickly accepted it.
"Cassidy," I replied. "Thank you, but I need to leave."
I looked around and saw that the scene behind me had returned to normal. Mike and the woman who called him earlier were no longer there.
I saw Mr. Logan Van der Bilt clenching his jaw while talking to the security guards and an important-looking person. He was smirking and nodding at them.
"Don't leave yet," said the man with long hair.
He looked familiar to me. I didn't know where I had seen him, but I recognized him. When he tilted his head, I realized he was a model. I had seen him on a billboard in the city square before. I stared at his perfect-colored eyes. Blue or green? I couldn't decide.
I furrowed my brow at the man. "I need to find a place to stay and work. If it's not here, then I need to leave," I said before I could stop myself. The man with long hair smiled.
"You're accepted here. What do you want? To be a janitress or a clerk?"
"I have options?" I was a bit surprised by what he said.
The man with long hair closed his mouth and looked at his watch before speaking again. "Janitress, then. We need some janitresses."
I took a deep breath. Was this for real? Was I really accepted? Why didn't it feel like it? I looked at Mr. Van der Bilt; I wasn't sure, but I felt like he was the boss here. After all, this is the Van der Bilt Corporation. If he's not the boss, maybe he's the owner? I don't know.
"Do I need to sign... uh, a contract?" Because I felt like I would be more assured of the job if that were the case.
I knew I was probably only accepted here out of pity and because of what happened to me earlier. Nevertheless, I didn't care how I got accepted. What mattered to me was that I got accepted, I have a job, and I can ask for an advanced payment if possible so I can have something to contribute to the one-month advance often required in apartments, dormitories, or any place I could stay in the coming months.
"Yes." The model guy smiled. "Actually, you can start now. We need more janitresses."
Chris nudged the model, and the model grinned at him. I frowned at their actions.
"May I start tomorrow instead?" I hesitantly asked. I was embarrassed to ask, but given my situation, I had no choice.
"Why?" The model guy frowned at me.
"I need to find a place to stay," I replied.
The man with long hair and Chris exchanged glances. Now I wasn't sure if what they were saying was true. Can I trust them? I looked at the man with long hair. Both he and Chris were in long sleeves folded up to their elbows. What were they here in the company for, and why were they talking to me instead of the HR?
"I'll talk to Logan. You can probably stay in his house!" Chris grinned at what the man with long hair said.
"Huh? Excuse me, but who is Logan? The owner? Why would I stay at his house?" I asked, confused.
"Well, Cassidy, he also needs a janitress at their house. I mean... a maid." Chris said with a grin to the man with long hair.
I saw them straighten up while looking behind me. I frowned at the two, so I turned to see who was behind me and was surprised to see Mr. Logan Van der Bilt.
"What's the problem here, Alex?" He called to the man with long hair.
"Logan, you told me she can start today, right? She wants to leave to find a place to stay." Alex, the man with long hair, said.
"Wait..." I closed my eyes because my mind was getting all tangled up. "You told me earlier that I'm not accepted. Now, I am? Is this true?" I asked Mr. Van der Bilt.
His jaw tightened, and he looked at me with a chilling expression. "Don't you want it?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I do," I said directly. "It's just a bit surprising."
"Don't be surprised; you're not special. You are hired. If you want to stay, you may stay here in the office. We need someone to watch over here, aside from the guards," he said coldly while taking a paper from a woman and signing it.
I smiled at everything he said. "For free?" I asked, realizing that maybe my problems were indeed being addressed.
"Not for free. I need your service, so I'm allowing you to stay in this building. I want my office to be clean all the time."
"Logan, that's harsh. She can stay in your house-" Alex tried to intervene.
Logan immediately cut off Alex. "Since when did you care about my employees, Alex? Besides, my house is full."
"Full the fuck. You don't even have your own maid. You are alone in that big house!"
Mr. Van der Bilt looked at me. He raised an eyebrow as if ordering me to leave. It seemed like I was in the wrong place right now.
Honestly, I don't care about their issues in their lives. All I want is to have a job and a place to stay. Now that they're offering me this, it's good enough for me. I don't care why and how everything will happen; what's important to me is that I have something.
I left them behind. I was met by a woman in corporate attire. She introduced herself as Mrs. Lee. Mrs. Lee was plump and a bit older. I felt more comfortable with her than with Mike.
"The Headquarters of the Maintenance department is on the 15th floor. There's also one on the first, but it usually only has lockers there," Mrs. Lee said. "Mr. Van der Bilt instructed you to guard his office, right?"
I nodded in response to Mrs. Lee's question. "There's no headquarters there, and I don't know where you'll sleep there," she asked a bit puzzled.
"Oh, it's not a problem for me wherever I sleep. I can sleep on the floor," I said.
"We'll just wait for Mr. Van der Bilt's order. For now, we'll base you in the Headquarters on the 15th floor. Okay? Mr. Van der Bilt's office is on the 40th floor of the building. Usually, there are guards on every floor, but not on the 40th because Mr. Van der Bilt doesn't want them there."I nodded and realized that Mr. Van der Bilt has many dislikes, and I am one of them. If someone doesn't like you, it's better to avoid them. I don't want trouble, and trouble is the only thing that will come if I insist on being with people who don't like me. After all, I won't always talk to Mr. Van der Bilt. I'm just here to clean.
"Where should I clean? The whole building?" I asked, although I knew the answer.Mrs. Lee shook her head and laughed. "No, dear. You'll die if you clean the entire building. There's one maintenance assigned to each floor here. It means there are forty of you in our Maintenance crew. I'll assign you to..." She sniffed as she looked at the paper in her hand.