THE INTERVIEW.

CHAPTER 7: THE INTERVIEW.

Justin hurried to his apartment and locked the door behind him. He leaned on it as he inhaled and exhaled, doing his best to calm his nerves down as his heart raced.

He quickly went to his window which faced the street and hid by it's corner to have a look at the street. From the angle he stood, he didn't see the vehicle. So he went to the other side, and slightly parted the curtain. Peeking through, he found no trace of the car that followed him.

He sighed in relief, and sat on his bed. Anxiety had made a bit sweaty, so he wiped it off his face.

"What the hell was that? Am I being followed or what? But- But, I didn't offend anyone. Did I?" Justin questioned himself, trying to be certain he wasn't just being paranoid.

"Could it be the pick pocket?" he pondered. "Or, could it be the Adams?"

Those were the two folks that he could come up with in his wildest imaginations that would want to hurt him. But he did nothing wrong to them, so that made him even the more baffled.

"Oh well, if I am actually being followed, I guess I'll find out soon enough, won't I?" he reasoned out loud.

He went on to take a shower and prepared for the next day's interview.

It so happened that the interview was at a company belonging to a man he has had great admiration for. The billionaire, Mr Newton Bishop, who hailed from Texas, just as himself.

Mr Bishop's story is that of rags to riches, hence the reason Justin found him inspirational.

He slept that night cautious of the insecurity of where he stayed, but hopeful that he would eventually not be there for too long.

_________

Justin was up, bright and early the next morning. He did some indoor body weight exercises and got ready to head out.

Leaving his room, he passed another set of unruly looking folks muttering words amongst themselves. He minded his business as usual and walked past them and got the elevator, riding it to the ground floor, making his way to the street.

Standing outside his block for barely a minute, he found a taxi approaching and waved at it. The taxi stopped and he got into it. Telling the driver where he wanted to go, they began their commute.

About seventeen minutes later, they got to the destination. Justin paid the taxi driver and alighted from the vehicle.

Looking at the company's complex, he was amazed at how huge and sophisticated it was, up close, than in pictures.

He hurried in, as his appointment was slated for 8:30 am that morning, and he made it there fifteen minutes before the time. He briskly walked up to the receptionist, who was elegantly dressed.

"Hello. Welcome to Cap Industries. How may I help you?" the receptionist asked wearing a professional smile.

"Good morning. I'm here for a job interview," Justin said showing her the invitation letter.

"Okay. Please proceed to the elevator by your left, and head to the eleventh floor. Take your right and head to the second door. Wait there for further instructions," she directed.

"Okay. Thank you very much," he appreciated with a smile, and headed to the location he was directed to.

Getting to the second door, he stood by the door and sighed, adjusting himself, then he turned the door knob and walked in. He gasped at the sight of the crowd of people seated in there. He sure wasn't expecting to see that.

Looking round, he found that only the first five sits were vacant. So he picked one and sat.

He found that most of the folks there were way more sophisticatedly dressed than he was, making him feel worried a bit, since he wasn't dressed as they were. But he took solace in the fact that he could ace the interview, if it came to other things.

"Hey," a man sitting beside Justin called.

"Hey pal," the man called once again.

"Yes?" he answered, turning towards the man.

"You're here for the interview as well?" the man asked.

"I am," he replied.

"Looking this way?" the man chuckled mockingly, holding his hand over his mouth. "I don't mean to be sound negative, but uh, you don't stand a chance to make it beyond the first phase of the interview."

Hearing that got Justin even more worried, but he refused to let his demeanor change.

"There are many phases huh?" Justin asked, pondering. The man nodded in affirmation.

'For him to know there are many phases means he's got someone on the inside,' Justin said within himself.

"Even if you do get a job here, it wouldn't be anything meaningful, as what I'll get. I'm just saying," the man shrugged, smirking. Justin smiled back at him and turned away from him.

At exactly 8:30 am, a man dressed in ash suit walked in, prompting everyone's attention as they sat upright.

"Good morning everyone. Welcome to Cap Industries. My name is Frank Alvaro, the Human Resource Manager of Cap Industries," he introduced, as everyone paid rapt attention.

"You're about to begin the first phase of your interview. You were all selected out of the many applicants because your resume stood out. But we only hire the best of the best as we have a standard to maintain," he continued.

"To everyone who'll make it to our team, I congratulate you in advance. Good luck to you all."

"Thank you sir," they all appreciated.

Mr Frank signaled and a member of his team walked into the interview hall.

"Alright then. Let us begin," he declared.

__________

All the candidates went through the first phase of the interview and passed. After the second phase, the interview team came in to announce the results.

The candidates were anxious and jittery about the outcome of the interview.

"Out of thirty five candidates, eleven of you didn't make it past this phase," one of the interview team members said, and then went ahead to call the names.

Justin's heart raced, not knowing if he made it or not.