Just Like That

Ava sat in her chair as she watched all the ladies being called one by one to go see Mason; none of them returned to the room, and after a few minutes, the man in charge came in to call another lady.

Not having anything to do with herself, while she waited for it to get to her turn, she decided to give Maddie a call.

"How did it go?" Maddie asked the moment that she answered her phone.

"I haven't been interviewed yet," Ava said with a sigh; she was starting to think that coming here was a big mistake, and all she wanted to do was go home.

"Why not? Wasn't the interview supposed to be for 8 o'clock?" Maddie asked her.

"Yeah, I met other women here; they are attending to them first."

"Oh, you aren't the only one applying for the job then, don't worry, you're going to get the job. I can feel it," Maddie encouraged Ava.

"I don't think these other women are here to interview for the same job as me," Ava said, lowering her voice so the few women left in the room wouldn't hear her.

"Better then, if they're there for another position, then you have nothing to worry about."

"No, Maddie, I think they're here interviewing for the position of Mason's Wife," Ava whispered.

"Interviewing to be his wife? I don't understand?" Maddie sounded as puzzled as Ava when she first heard one of the ladies in the room mention it; she thought she had misheard it until another lady mentioned it again.

"I don't get it either. Why would Mason be interviewing women to be his wife? And why did he ask me to come here today if this is what he had in mind?" The more Ava thought about it, the more confused and pissed she got that Mason had deceived her into thinking he wanted her to be his personal assistant.

"Could it be that he wants you to interview for the position of his wife as well?" Maddie asked as she tried to make sense of the situation herself.

"Then why did he tell me he needed an assistant? I came here for a job and not to fight with these ladies so he could pick me as his wife!" Thinking about the fact that Mason had deceived her into coming here made her blood boil.

"I think I should just leave. All this is a waste of my time."

"No! Don't leave. Stay back and see him," Maddie said.

"What do you mean by no? I have to leave Maddie...."

Maddie didn't allow Ava to finish, "Ava, don't leave there without seeing Mason. You are already there, so you might as well just see it through. Wait and see him, then you hear what he has to say."

Ava let out a deep breath; she should have known Maddie was going to advise her against leaving.

"Ava, did you hear what I said?" Maddie asked when Ava didn't say anything.

"Yes, I guess I will just have to wait and see him," Ava grumbled.

"Stay back and hear what he has to say. I have to go now. Call me when you've seen him."

After Ava ended her conversation with Maddie, she decided to keep herself busy by reading a fashion magazine that was on the glass coffee table in front of her.

She became so absorbed in the fascinating fashion features in the magazine that she was completely unaware that the other women had left the room and she was the only one left.

"Miss Ava?" The young man who had been calling the ladies to go see Mason was standing at the door, giving her a curious look.

"That's me," Ava said, closing the magazine and placing it back on the coffee table. She stood up.

"Please come with me," the man said before turning to leave the room.

Ava followed closely behind, and when they got to a door, he opened it for her.

"Please go in."

Ava walked into the office and shut the door behind her. She was greeted by a large, well-decorated office, and she stood staring out the floor-to-ceiling glass window that provided a spectacular view of the city.

Mason sat in his chair behind his desk, facing away from her and staring out the glass window as well.

Ava considered announcing her presence, but he must have heard her when she entered the office; he was aware that someone was in the room with him. So, she chose to remain silent.

"What's your name?" Mason asked after a long minute of silence. He still had his back to her.

"Ava."

The moment Mason heard her voice, he quickly turned his chair to face her. What was she doing here? He asked himself when his eyes met Ava's. Trevor had told him he was going to call the last candidate for this shenanigan his grandfather had put him up to. Was she among the ladies his grandfather chose for him? No, there was no way that could be possible.

Ava could see the surprised look on his face. Why does he look surprised to see her? Wasn't he the one who asked her to come here?

"What are you doing here?" Mason found himself asking as he continued to stare at her.

"You asked me to come here," Ava said, stating the obvious. And when Mason continued to look at her like he didn't know what she was talking about, she added, "you said you needed a personal assistant." Was he now going to deny asking her to come here?

"Oh!" Mason covered his face with his palm as he remembered their conversation the previous night; because of everything that had been happening, he had completely forgotten he had asked Ava to come to his office.

"I'm sorry, it escaped me," Mason apologized. He glanced at his wristwatch, "I asked you to be here by 8 am; why are you just coming?"

"I came here by 8, but I was asked to wait with other candidates," Ava said in an icy tone so Mason would be aware that she didn't like the fact that she was kept waiting for over three hours.

Mason swore under his breath as he realized his mistake, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," he apologized to Ava as he dialled his assistant to come to his office.

A few seconds later, Mason's assistant walked into his office, "you sent for me?"

"Becky, this is Ava. She is going to be taking over your position after you leave. I want you to put her through everything that she needs to know. Show her the ropes," Mason said to his assistant.

The lady gave Ava a sweet smile, "hello Ava; please come with me," she said to Ava in a sweet voice.

"Becky will show and tell you all that you need to know about the position," Mason said to Ava.

Just like that? Did she get the job just like that? No interview? Ava was shocked as she followed the lady out of Mason's office.

After Becky and Ava had left his office, Mason took a long swig of the bottle of water that was on his desk.

"So?" Trevor asked as he walked into Mason's office.

"So, I'm going to have a really long talk with my grandfather," Mason replied.

"You didn't at least like one of them?" Trevor asked.

Mason gave him a look that made him feel stupid. "What was there to like?"

Trevor sighed. He should have known nothing good was going to come out of this, "what about that last girl? She looked different from the rest of them, and she sort of looks like your type."

"She is Becky's replacement. I asked her to come; she wasn't among the women that my grandfather sent."

"You already got a replacement for Becky? I thought you asked me to….."

"Ask the HR not to bother searching for a replacement. I already got one."

"Mason, are you sure she is equal to the task?" Trevor asked.

"Becky will teach her all that she needs to know."