Chapter 2

• The next morning, I feel a slight throbbing in my temples as I try to turn off the annoying cell phone alarm, throwing everything in its path. Why did I set it for 7 in the morning? I wonder as soon as I manage to turn off the phone and throw it on the gray carpet. For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was, but somewhere in my brain the idea formed that I had something important today. I open my eyes and start to sit up slowly in my bed, pushing the hair out of my face. The phone starts ringing again with its insistent and quite irritating tone, I get out of bed and fumble around until I find it, trying to focus on the screen.
• "Interview at 8:30?" I murmur, reading the screen with a furrowed brow, and that's when I react. "Damn!"
• I get up from the floor and start running to the bathroom, where I throw all my dirty clothes on the floor to jump directly into an overly cold artificial rain in a desperate attempt to clear my head. When I come out, I wrap my body in a towel and my hair in another one. Luckily, I had laid out my clothes the day before, so while putting on black pants, a white shirt, and a blue velvet jacket, I slip on some brown heeled booties and dry my hair with a hairdryer. I call an Uber to one of the many Bornout buildings, apply light makeup, take an aspirin, and rush out of the apartment, pressing the elevator button insistently while anxiously looking at the golden watch on my wrist. As soon as I got downstairs, I noticed the gray car with a certain Jake leaning against it waiting for me at the entrance.
• "Jake?" I ask as I button up my jacket.
• "Eryn?" he responds, opening the passenger door.
• I get into the seat and check my bag to make sure everything is in order while Jake drives swiftly through the streets, dodging cars. During the ride, I sent a message to Allie asking about her condition, which she probably wouldn't respond to until much later. I look at the clock again, hoping the minutes would pass more slowly. I knew I was close because I had looked up the building's address days before. As soon as the car parks in front of the large building, I open the door and thank Jake with a smile before rushing to the reception.
• "Hello, I'm looking for..." I murmur, pulling out the paper with the name written on it. "Laurie Perkins, I have an appointment for the assistant job, I'm Eryn Pryest."
• "Your appointment with Miss Perkins is on the 32nd floor," the blonde woman behind the desk comments after checking a list and typing on the computer, then handing me a badge that said I was going to human resources. "It's on the right elevator, a girl will be waiting to take you up."
• "Thank you."
• I walk towards the elevator where there were also five other girls with identical badges to mine. When the metal box arrives, we all enter and one of them presses the button with the number 32, making us go up quickly. As soon as the doors open again, I see a girl with chestnut hair and brown eyes waiting for us, gesturing for us to follow her discreetly looking around. The place was clean and well"lit, all in white and gray tones. The girl stops and gives us a smile that exudes peace."
• "You can take a seat, you will be called by name and you will have to enter through that door," she explains, pointing to a wooden sliding door a few steps away. "Miss Brown will be interviewing you, but if you need anything, I'll be in the office."
• She walks away, her stiletto heels clicking on the white tile floors, while we all take a seat, one by one, waiting for whoever was going to call us for the interview. As soon as I hear the door open, I notice a girl with dark skin and bright brown eyes, holding a black folder in her hands. She opens it and the first name that comes up is Anelie Johnson. A redhead girl stands up and walks confidently into the room, disappearing.
• I had already spent an hour when Allie replied to me saying that she was fine and asking how I was doing. Just as I was about to reply to the text, I heard the girl calling me, so I put the phone in my coat pocket, grabbed my bag, and followed the girl inside. The room itself was a fairly large conference room, with a wooden table that could seat eight people. The blinds were halfway rolled up, allowing some light to filter in and illuminate the place.
• "Please have a seat, Miss Pryest," the girl ordered, sitting down and opening the folder she had brought. "I'm Evelyn, and I'll be conducting the interview today."
• I sat on the black leather chair, in front of me there was a jug of water and a glass. Evelyn gestured for me to hand her my folder, which I took out of my bag and slid across the table to her. She slowly flipped through the pages.
• "So, NYU?" she asked, looking at me over the folder. "What did you study?"
• "International Business," I replied firmly. "And I took a few semesters in Business Administration."
• Evelyn took notes on her folder for a few moments, and that's how the entire interview went. She asked me how I had heard about the job, if I was good at working with others, and many other questions that I tried to answer as best as I could. With a gesture, she concluded the interview. She shook my hand and said that if I were hired, I would be notified within 2 days. I nodded and left the room under the gaze of the others. I walked towards the elevator and pressed the button to call it when my phone started vibrating.
• "How's the headache?" I asked as a greeting while entering the elevator and pressing the button for the ground floor.
• "Don't even get me started," she grumbled on the other end of the phone. "How did the interview go?"
• I thought about it for a few seconds as I watched the elevator counter change numbers with each floor we descended.
• "It went well, everything was fine," I replied curtly as the elevator doors opened and I walked out.
• "Did he pick you up?"
• "No, don't worry. I'll take the bus and maybe..."
• I hadn't been able to finish the sentence because I felt my body collide with something solid, causing me to fall on my backside and drop the phone, which bounced several times. When I looked up, I met a pair of gray eyes that widened in surprise, and embarrassment flushed my cheeks as the rest of the world held its breath and watched us both.
• I had just collided with Christian Bornout.