Chapter 2 - Disappointed

• The following morning, Emma tidied herself up and went to the JE.
• Emma’s mother, Stella Tanner, stayed in the hospital to look after Toby, while her father, Tom Tanner, went to work. Toby was in an ICU, and they weren’t allowed inside. They had to wait in the ICU waiting room for visiting hours and always be available in emergencies.
• Stella remained in the hospital, while Tom went to the office. They couldn’t both skip work, especially Tom, who made more money and his insurance covered all of them.
• In the meantime, Emma figured she should handle her financial problems.
• JE was the most famous new and rising jewelry company in the country.
• JE was established only five years back, yet it had already made its presence known in the field. JE had risen to prominence due to its unique aesthetic that combined traditional elements in modern jewelry, making each item unique and priceless.
• Moreover, the lack of information about the founder gave it a mysterious aura. It was known as much for its works as for its mysterious founder. Everyone was curious about the man responsible for the success of JE. All the JE’s new launches tend to sell out almost immediately. So, clearly, the founder knew what he was doing.
• Moreover, people were also curious about JE’s backers. Business is a cut-throat world and people do not survive on just talent.
• Emma had applied for an internship as her design inspirations matched JE’s requirements. An internship in JE would be a huge star on her portfolio. Besides, she could work full-time in JE after graduating.
• She had previously received a call stating she was shortlisted for an apprenticeship directly under the chief designer of JE, so she made a gamble and went to JE with high hopes. If she managed to get employed by JE, the insurance would cover all her brother’s medical bills.
• That job was of utmost importance to her.
• She went to the receptionist and politely enquired about Ms. Sully. She explained that Ms. Sully had called to inform her of the shortlist and explained the purpose of her visit.
• The receptionist was polite enough and asked her to wait in the lounge while she enquired.
• However, Emma waited several hours and enquired several times, but no one came to see her.
• Unbeknownst to Emma, Althea kept watching her, cutting off all her chances.
• _____
• Julian Baker saw Althea Bartel in his office as soon as he entered. He had only left for a meeting, and someone had entered his office. He wanted to fire his secretary.
• Julian detested Althea Bartel to the core. His heart always held only one person in it, and Althea’s cheap attempts to copy her were as tasteless as they were obvious. She always stuck to him like glue, even though he had made it clear in every way that he hated her and would never accept her.
• But this time, something was different.
• Julian noticed that Althea immediately left after he told her to get lost, which was unusual. It must be the second time she had not bothered him incessantly.
• He would have been happy about not being disturbed if it was any other day. Except this time, he had noticed the cruel glint in her eyes that he had not seen in over a decade.
• He had sensed something unusual about her when she was there three days ago. But he had not paid any attention to it. She had left when she was told to without pestering him, and he had forgotten about her.
• However, he became curious when he saw her expression.
• He had always known that the Bartels were bloodsuckers exploiting everything that belonged to his Em. Yet, they pretended to be kind and considerate.
• Althea pretended to be docile and innocent in front of him. So what made her unable to keep up her act this time around?
• Her abnormality got his attention because he suspected Althea of something sinister.
• Julian asked his assistant, Steven Clausen, to enquire about it without raising suspicions.
• Steve teased him instead, “I can’t believe the legendary Julian Baker, heir of Baker Industries, founder of JE, would get anxious if his fan following stopped pestering him.”
• Julian snapped at him, “Get it done! I am sure she is up to something.”
• Steve continued to tease, “Don’t think too badly of her. You know she is your fiance.”
• Julian growled, “Get lost!”
• He hated those words the most. The word fiance always hit a raw nerve with him. It reminded him of his first and only love. She was still missing after thirteen years.
• ‘Em, when will you come back?’ Julian murmured as he caressed the necklace he had wrapped on his wrist.
• Steven came up with the results within an hour.
• “Emma Tanner - 21, A+ student of SM School of Designs. She is here to enquire about an internship. She says she received a call from Ms. Sully. Miss Bartel kept Ms. Sully from seeing her but kept the girl here.”
• Julian stiffened, “Did you just say her name is Emma?”
• Steven nodded. He knew what the name meant to Julian. Everyone knew what Emma meant to him.
• “Julian, the strange thing is we went through all the shortlisted candidates yesterday, but her resume was not there. Ms. Sully confirmed that she was indeed shortlisted. Moreover, she had jotted a special recommendation for her as her portfolio was quite exquisite.”
• Steven explained his findings.
• Julian thought for a while and sent Steven to investigate Emma Tanner. When he was alone, he checked the surveillance camera of his office. Only he knew of the camera installed in his office.
• He checked the video from three days ago.
• He saw Althea go through things on his table absentmindedly.
• However, she froze while checking the list of candidates and slowly pulled out a paper.
• Althea looked at the application wide-eyed as hatred contorted her entire face. Hearing the voices from the door, she stuffed it inside her bag.
• She hurriedly held another application and pretended to put it back when she saw Julian coming inside.
• Julian had only seen her put back the paper and threw her out after warning her.
• He pulled out his phone and entered a series of commands to navigate the hidden alternate profile. He quickly sent several messages to people he trusted.
• Julian could only think of one person who could bring out so much hatred in Althea Bartel.
• He pondered in his head - ‘Em, is this a sign? Are you coming back? Is this you?’
• He eagerly waited for the results from his private investigators. He had been deeply disappointed by the Baker family’s security team for their inability to find Emma. This time, he only contacted his private investigators. They were very efficient and held customer secrecy in high regard. They were expensive, and Julian had spent a portion of his private wealth to hire them. But it was worth it.
• Besides the private investigators, he asked his assistant Steven to investigate Emma. He completely trusted Steven but had to take extra steps when Emma was involved.
• Moreover, Steven also did not have any breakthrough in finding Emma. Julian did not take it to heart. Steven only started working for him after JE started, and by then, all the leads to Emma had disappeared.
• Nonetheless, he intuitively thought something was wrong as every report Steven sent to him had leads going cold perfectly. Steven was meticulous in his work, and Julian knew Steven should have been able to see something was fishy.
• But Steven did not mention anything. Julian did not want to doubt him. And he did not keep his guard up when it came to work. However, as Emma was involved, he tasked the private investigators.
• _____
• Ultimately, Emma left JE feeling frustrated.
• She had to find another solution to her financial problems.
• After leaving JE, Emma went to the police station to enquire about the investigation. But she was once again disappointed.
• Emma called several people and asked if they could help her get a job with health insurance. She was desperate for more money, but nothing worked.