Chapter 7

Aurora

I change into a pair of black jeans and a plane white boat neck shirt with my denim jacket and converse shoes. It's been a while since I bought something for myself, I never really had a chance to go outside anyway, so I never bothered to upgrade my wardrobe. Now, as I stand in front of Michael's office building, doubt creeps in, the whole building looks like the epitome of elegance. Without even entering inside, I know I'm going to stick out like a sour thumb. I take a deep breath and mutter to myself, "you can do this" with renewed confidence, I make my way to the glass doors of the building, they automatically slide open at my arrival and I stride inside. My jaw drops to the floor as I take in my surroundings, well… damn! This place is even more futuristic than I thought before. The floors and ceiling are all covered in white glistening marble, while the receptionist office and the couches scattered around are all plane black, there are modern steel chandeliers hanging from above, and over all this place looks like the heaven of construction business.

I'm still standing in the middle, with my eyes wide and my mouth open when someone stumbles into me and I am instantly brought back to reality, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there" of course she didn't. I give her a smile and reply "no worries" she then saunters her way to the elevator, I shake my head in disbelief and make my way to the receptionist desk. I put on a smile and try to grab her attention, "Excuse me," she looks up at me and then gives me a once over. She frowns at me and asks, "how can I help you?" "I'm here to meet Mr. Calloway for a job interview, his office called me here at 5:30 pm" I look at my clock, it's already 5:15. "Oh, give me a moment" says the receptionist and I nod, she picks up the intercom and dials a number, she speaks to someone on the other end of the phone. Her frown deepens when she looks at me, then she say's "okay", "what was your name again?" she asks "Aurora, Aurora Sinclair" she nods ones, "please follow me miss Sinclair" the receptionist says while getting out of her chair and walking to the elevator. "Mr. Calloway's office is on the 10th floor, the receptionist on that floor will help you to the office" I give her a nod, "okay, thank you!".

The elevator pings open, declaring my arrival and I walk out of it, I look for the reception desk and see a woman with platinum blonde hair. She looks quite young and has a figure to die for, she is so engrossed in her computer that she doesn't even realize that I've arrived. I clear my throat and speak "excuse me?", her eyes snap in my direction and she does the same as the woman down stairs. She assesses me, and then she gives me a bright smile, "You must be Aurora?" she asks and I nod with a smile of my own. "Great, you are right on time, Mr. Calloway will be pleased. My name is Bianca James. Let me show you into his office" I might look like the goddesses of calm on the outside but on the inside, I am a ball of unwanted nerves. What kind of job is he going to offer? Is he going to mix our personal differences into our professional relationship, I don't get to dwell on that fact for long though? We come to stand in front of mahogany wooden doors and Bianca knocks it twice, a distinct "come in" sounds from the inside and Bianca opens the door slightly. "Sir, miss Sinclair is here to see you" she says and there is a pause on the inside as if he's contemplating to send me away but then he says, "send her in".

I quietly make my way inside his office and take my time to look around the place, it is better than my living room is the first thing I notice, Michael looks up from his laptop and eyes me, then tilts his head to speak, "I don't want any interruptions for this one Bianca". She says "noted sir" before closing the door and leaving me alone with my worst nightmare. "Have a seat miss Sinclair" he says and I swear, an involuntary shiver runs down my spine, I take my seat in front of him and he too like the two ladies, assesses me. But the way his eyes linger on my body, it feels more like he's undressing me with his eyes rather than judging my appearance. My body starts to heat up under his unrelenting gaze and I clear my throat to get rid of the fog. He straightens in his seat and blinks a couple of times before speaking, "How have you been after yesterday?" he enquires and I see the slightest amount of emotions dance in his eyes, "I've been better" I say solemnly, and I really am better than I thought I would be. Perhaps because I've been through so much worse than what happen yesterday, who knows. Michael nods, "You said you had a position for me to work here?" I ask hopefully, he nods again, God! This man is so infuriating, nothing like the boy I knew nine years ago, he had a reply for every single question that came out of my mouth. Now, he seems aloof and disinterested in everything, "I do actually" he finally says as awkward silence falls between us, he gets up from behind his desk and straightens to his full height. Shit! He's even more intimidating now, than he was while sitting. He leans his hips on the desk, crosses his bulging hands in front of his broad chest, his right ankle is placed in front of his left, I gulp. He looks sexy as fuck right now and if I had any claim over him, I'd pounce on him right away. "I am in need of a personal assistant, the last one was fired a week ago and the work load is too much for me to handle" he states flatly, "You want me to be your assistant?" I ask dumbfounded "that's precisely what I said" he says more annoyed than amused. "But I have zero work experience in that regard" I protest, I can't possibly take a job I know nothing about, I'll just end up making a big mess out of his schedule and ruin things for him. He shrugs, "I'll ask Bianca to give you training for a week, besides, I thought you needed the money" he tilts his head to the side and lifts a thick eyebrow. Right, the money, so he's just doing it out of the kindness of his heart, like I am some charity case he needs to tend to. I would've felt angry at that prospect but really it isn't far from the truth. All my life, everyone around me has been doing the same thing, they see me as a charity case because of my mother's situation and my financial condition, but coming from him, it hurts. It hurts to think that even he couldn't understand my struggle, I've worked hard for very opportunity given to me, I've proved to everyone around me that I am worth more. And if taking this job will prove him wrong, then I'd gladly do it with a fucking smile on my face. I straighten my spine, look him dead in the eye and speak my next words, "I will take it".

"Great, you start tomorrow, I want you here at 8am sharp" Michael says and moves behind his desk to take a seat, shit! I didn't think this through, what about my job at the library? I can make it to the post office but the library pays more. I open my mouth to tell him just that when he interrupts me, "Your salary will be $3,000 and it will be wired directly to your bank account every fifteen days. We will also be adding a medical aid and a contract of one year, should that be enough for you or do you want to negotiate the terms?" my eyes widen and my jaw drops to the floor, because holy mother of god! I don't make this kind of money, even with my three jobs, I still could never save this much. I look at him, speechless and a little overwhelmed, what is he trying to do here? Throw money at me, to make himself feel like he has some power over me? I could be completely wrong or I could be painfully right. This could be his way of exacting the score from nine years ago, only time shall tell.