Interactions

As she entered the building, she instantly felt the whole aura of the building overpowering her. Everyone was moving here and there, walking, entering and exiting meetings. 

Either creating or refreshing their minds by playing brain games in a corner area designated for coffee and relaxing.

She took confident steps toward the reception desk and asked the lady sitting there "Hey, I am here for the interview for the recently opened position of an IT support specialist."

"Yes, I'll show you to the waiting room. Your interview will start in 30 minutes, after three candidates."

As the woman named Martha showed her the waiting room, she saw a list stating the other people who were there for the interview. There were a total of eight. The position offered was that of an IT support specialist and since she had done software engineering this was the perfect opportunity for her to apply.

She sat in the waiting room, waiting impatiently for her turn. Revising each word she had to say to endure this job on her hands.

__________

A woman wearing a beautiful emerald dress looked at herself in the mirror. She had worn every article of jewelry in silver and diamonds. Silver has always complemented her skin tone and she made sure to use it to her benefit each time. 

Her shiny ring loudly spoke about her status, she was from a rich family. If not born into one, she had married into one.

She was a beautiful woman indeed, no wonder why anyone with money would have wanted to spend it on her.

That day, as she had gotten ready for her 6th anniversary, she had worn everything but earrings. She had studied her husband enough to understand what he would be gifting her.

And she was right, in a little while a guy came knocking on her door.

As she had anticipated, her husband had sent her a pair of diamond earrings. With an emerald centerpiece. She also knew that his secretary who had brought the earrings had also been the one who chose them. Her husband hadn't bothered even noticing the color of the dress she was wearing today, he didn't even see her. How was he supposed to know? 

Regardless of the fact, when his secretary brought the box and a note that said "These earrings can not add anything more to your beauty, but I hope you find them worthy enough. Happy Anniversary Love!"

This had made her heart thump with confusion in her chest. Reading that note, she didn't understand if the secretary could write it. Why was he so partial in his love? Not even in love, in everything he did. As if he wanted to prove to himself that he was indeed indifferent to everyone in his life.

She wore the earrings with half a heart, unsure of whether to feel good or not. And unaware of what the day had in store for her.

______

Ava was still in the waiting area, she was next. She didn't know what to do to make herself stand out as an obvious candidate choice. She had an incredible resumé, she had worked as an intern in a renowned firm and had some extra certificates from the courses she pursued for expanding her career.

The moment she had been fidgeting with her fingers all morning had arrived, she had been called into the office of the team manager who took all the interviews.

As she entered the room, her eyes examined each corner thoroughly, trying to learn something out of it. Until she saw the woman sitting in the center. 

"Hello, I am Ava. Nice to meet you" She was relieved knowing that her father wasn't taking the interviews. 'Even if he was I bet he wouldn't be able to recognize you' her mind had told her.

After a formal introduction, he got to know her name was Kate. She started asking her different questions related to her resumé and why she chose Helix to work. She had curated those answers long before and repeated them for a week. Trying to sound the most original, she repeated it once again.

As she was saying the last sentence about how she like other teens had dreamed of working here as it was the best in NY, the door was slightly knocked. Afterward, a tall man entered the room. She paused in the middle of her sentence and looked at him for a second, or maybe more seconds than she intended to. 

He had exquisite hazel eyes, which made him look very attractive. As he talked, his sharp jaw moved showing off his evenly trimmed beard and due to the weather being a bit cold, his reasonably proportionate nose was slightly pink. He was at least six feet tall, compared to Ava, he was quite tall. As Ava was just a bit over 5'3 even with heels.

He was talking to Kate, about his next meeting and when would she be able to wind this up. There were still a few more interviews to be taken. "If you want, I can help you with these last few interviews" Noah had said now properly entering the room.

He looked at Ava and greeted her simply, she had greeted him back with the same elegance. To her surprise, he had also worn the same color as her which was a seemingly weird coincidence. 

He sat on the seat in front of Ava and introduced himself after conversing with Kate for a few more minutes about their upcoming meetings. 

"I am Noah Richardson, the current acting CEO of this firm, Nice to meet you. Would you like to tell us more about you?" he politely said.

CEO? How could he be the CEO of Helix Corp? It was her father. She didn't understand anything but kept a calm expression for the sake of her act.

"I am Ava Thompson, here for the position of an IT support specialist." She explained.

"Oh wow, you're a Thompson too" he said smiling, but she could notice that the curve of his smile wasn't as deep as the ones before.

He blankly stared at the resumé she had given Kate and had a look at two other resumés from a pile in front of Kate.

After that, he didn't stay; he told Kate about an important call that he had to make and told her to wind the interviews up quickly.

"Ava, I loved talking to you and hearing about your passion for working with this company, I will get in touch with you to update you about the status of your application." Kate said smiling.

Ava returned home and as each second passed, her heart grew more and more impatient.

___________

Each year for their anniversary they used to set a theme and everything they did was done accordingly. This year the theme was white and emerald. All guests were encouraged to wear lighter tones, preferably whites and beiges. 

Michael Thompson had worn a gray pant-suit with a white button-up shirt. He didn't wear a tie that day. Perhaps he wanted to breathe more freely than his usual days. Fiona Thompson came to check the decor of the party, and for a moment or two, they stood together. 

She told him something about the backdrop where the pictures were to be taken and went to the champagne section to see what drinks were being served and what glasses were being used. 

They had hired a bartender from Spain, who created a beautiful emerald drink for their special day for everyone to toast to. She sipped the drink and immediately felt as if this taste had described her six years with Michael briefly. It had a bitter-sweet taste. No flavor overpowering the other. A perfect balance of bitter and sweet.

Does everyone like the bitter-sweet balance? Or do they just have to pretend to like it as I do, she wondered.

________