Chapter 6

• “Hi hi..hey.. excuse me.”
• “Damn!!!” Damien cursed as the door to the elevator got shut in his face. He pressed the button continuously a couple of times hoping the door was going to open but it didn’t.
• “Fuck!” He cursed, going back to face Betty who looked scared and confused as to what was going on.
• “What the hell happened?” He asked her again.
• “I don’t know. I was rushing, she was rushing and we hit each other. It wasn’t on purpose.”
• “I’ve told you to always stay careful but you never listen to me.”
• “What’s going on? Do you know her before?”
• “Do I need to know her before I spot what's wrong?”
• “Come on, it was a mistake and I apologized but you seem even more angry than the victim.”
• “Why am I even here talking to you?” Damien made his way back to the ground floor reception.
• “Good Morning, Sir.” The receptionist instantly rose to her feet the moment Damien approached her desk.
• “A lady just walked in. Black dress, black blazer, honey blond hair that stops almost at the waist. She should be 5’6 and has beautiful blue eyes. Does she work here?” Damien asked at a go.
• The receptionist’s eyes went wide.
• “I...I’m not sure, Sir and this company is so big that I don’t know everybody one on one.”
• “Also there are lots of new faces in the building today because we are having interviews for five different positions today and a lot of people applied for the role.”
• “I need the CCTV footage of this reception,” Damien said and took a glance at his watch. “Everything that transpired here up to the elevator section in the last 15 minutes. I also need the database of everyone present for this interview. I need all these in the next ten minutes.”
• “Consider it done sir.” She said, going straight to work.
• Damien let out a loud sigh, making his way over to the elevator. There were three elevators in the building and the first one was for the owner of the company as well as important heads of various departments.
• He entered the elevator and Betty followed suit.
• “Is there anything that you aren’t telling me?”
• “First, you seem like you saw a ghost and then you were running after a stranger. You know her before?”
• “Mind your business.”
• “You can be cocky. Sometimes I regret coming here for my internship. And whatever you are thinking, you better be grateful to me because if I hadn’t spilled coffee on her, there is no way you would have seen her with me. She would probably be long gone before you appeared.”
• Even though she was right, Damien glared at her.
• “Your reaction is even making me more furious. I know you are always grumpy at work. The only time you smile is when you are with Rumi. But this is the first time I am seeing you so eager and interested in something outside work and it has to be a person.”
• “Tell me, do you like her? You know your secret is safe with me.” Betty smirked.
• Damien couldn’t be happier when the doors to the elevator opened. He instantly helped himself out. “You will be working with Ferdinand today. I don’t want to see you!”
• “What?” Betty’s eyes went wide as she stared at Damien in disbelief.
• “Asshole! I’m going to report you to Mom.” She reached for her phone in her pocket.
• .......
• Getting to his office, Damien settled behind his desk and got to work. He was glad when he turned on his system and came face to face with the CCTV footage. In six minutes, Damien figured out She wasn’t a staff because there was no ID on her, and that she had an appointment on the fourth floor. The database was sent in time and Damien took his time trying to through over 50 people’s profiles. It didn’t take too long before he recognised her file which had her passport picture on it.
• “Melissa Rue Wilson” He said out loud the moment he saw her name. They were so engrossed with each other that night that telling themselves their names was the last thing on their minds.
• She was soon to be 28. Damien made a mental note of her birthday, her address, and the position she was applying for.
• Seeing that he had all the details needed, Dam stormed out of the office, taking the elevator to the fourth floor. He got there in no time and went to the section where the interview for sales manager was taking place.
• “Good day, Sir.” Alex, HR, rose to his feet the moment he saw Damien walk in through the door, into his office.
• “Hi. How’s the interview going?” he asked, approaching the desk side.
• “Pretty well. We’ve got just a few people left to be done.”
• Damien sat on the visitor’s side, opposite Alex who sat too after he saw that his Boss was well settled.
• “How many people do you need for the role?”
• “Just two. The sales manager and the assistant.”
• “I came to ask about the performance of one Melissa Rue Wilson.”
• Alex clicked on a few things on his laptop to refresh himself on the performance of the individual.”
• “Oh, here She is. Unfortunately, She wasn’t up to standard.”
• Damien’s heart fell upon hearing that.
• “Why? Are you sure you weren’t too hard on her?”
• “I don’t think so, sir. Not that she wasn’t smart enough but she didn’t bring her best”
• “What do you mean?”
• “I don’t know what happened on her way here but she seemed really distracted and pale during the interview. She seemed lost.”
• “Do you think you can call her back for a second chance?”
• “Don’t you think that would be unfair to other candidates’ Sir?”
• “It’s my fault. I bumped into her downstairs and spilled Coffee over her. She was probably disorganized because of that.”
• “But I understand that it’s going to be unfair to others who have performed well.”
• “No, Since there’s a good reason behind that, we can always give her a second opportunity.” Alex said.
• “No, never mind. I changed my mind. I still haven’t gotten a secretary because I need one who is skilled in business and administrative duties and she seems to have that experience.”
• Alex nodded.
• “Send her an email. Let her know that she didn’t do well but there is an opening for the position of a secretary to the CEO. It comes with great pay and other benefits. Interview for 12 pm tomorrow if she’s interested.”
• “Okay, sir.”
• “Send the email and if there is no response within two hours, give her a call.”
• “Noted sir.”
• “And let me know her response,” Damien said, rising to his feet.
• “Thank you.” He said, then exited Alex’s office.
• ......................
• On getting back to his office, Damien reached for his phone and dialed Roland, subsequently adding Taylor to the voice call.
• “I found her!” The relief didn’t go unnoticed in his voice.
• “Found who?”
• “Who the hell is that and why do you sound so anxious?” Roland and Taylor said respectively.
• “The babe from the club.”
• “We meet so many people in the club. Who in particular are you talking about?”
• Damien groaned, “Come on Tay, how many clubs have I been to in the past few years!”
• “Holy shit, is that what I’m thinking?” Roland voiced out in realization.
• “The one from the one-night stand that has been giving you sleepless nights all these years?” Taylor said in disbelief.
• “Yes.”
• “I can’t believe she’s alive,” Tay added.
• “Same here.” Roland chipped in. “I mean you searched for her everywhere.”
• Damien sighed, taking slow walks towards the window that revealed the beautiful streets of California. “I can’t believe it either. It still feels like a dream to me. I mean, I paid people to search for her but it was almost impossible because I never knew her name.”
• “Still found it strange you fucked someone without knowing her name or where she hails from?” Taylor said.
• “Don’t start with your brutal words again, man. Stuff like that happens when you are carried away.” Roland defended.
• “But Mate, are you sure she’s the one? I mean where did you see her? Did you both talk? How did it go?” Roland asked Damien.
• “She’s the one. Her voice, her looks, her eyes. I can never forget them.”
• “I bumped into her at the reception. I was so shocked and before I could even approach her, she left.”
• “I was confused, not sure if she was a staff here so I had to do some investigation. She came for an interview in my company.”
• “Crazy but I’m glad you still get to see her. I was almost convinced you fucked a ghost that night.” Taylor said.
• “Come on, man, can you be a bit sympathetic?” Roland attacked Ty.
• “Yeah, I’m sorry. I was only expressing my feelings. But what is going to happen now? It’s a good thing She applied for a job at your company. What’s the next step? What are you going to do with her?”
• “Of course, he’s going to give her the job. Won’t you?” Roland voiced out.
• “I don’t know, mate. There’s just so much going on in my head.”
• “I mean why now? Why does it have to take this long before we see each other again.”
• “Do you still like it here?” Roland asked.
• “The woman that has been taunting him in his dreams for years now. Of course, he still likes her.” Taylor concluded.
• “She really looks so different now. She’s got more curves and she even looks more beautiful.”
• “But the look in her eyes. I don’t know why but I have a feeling that She wouldn’t have applied to work here if she knew I owned this company.”
• “You shouldn’t make such assumptions. This is the first time you all are bumping into each other, of course, there’s going to be lots of emotions flying around.”
• “Yeah, Taylor is right.”
• “I hope. I really hope so. I’m happy that I now know her name and where she lives. Unfortunately, she didn’t do well in the interview. The Head of Human Resource confirmed that she was disoriented. Probably because she saw me before the interview.”
• “Who cares? Still, hire her. It’s your damn company.” Taylor voiced out.
• “Yeah, Tay is right, mate. I know you’ve got some damn principles but I think giving her the job is the only thing you can do to keep her close by. Well, unless you are willing to lose her again.”
• “Her being the sales manager means she’s still out of my reach. I still haven’t gotten a secretary yet so she’s going to be mailed with that vacancy.”
• “You think she’s gonna want that?” Roland asked.
• “If the role could be filled by just anyone, then I think I would have gotten a replacement long ago. We’ve been searching for someone with the perfect qualifications. A blend of business, sales, and administrative experience. She will attend business meetings with me, business trips, and other work-related stuff. Having someone with a deep knowledge of business helps so much when it comes to brainstorming issues.”
• “Not bad,” Tyler mumbled.
• “So what happens next if she accepts the job?”
• “I don’t know. But I just feel like there’s so much left to be unsaid. I have a strong feeling that she has something to say to me.”
• “Like what? That she likes you?” Tyler said.
• “What if she’s married?” Roland said.
• “Come on, guys. Don’t crush my heart.”
• “No one’s crushing your heart, dude. You just need to be prepared for anything.” Tyler explained.
• “Besides, don’t forget that your life is a mess so be careful about leading her on.”
• Damien sighed, knowing Roland was right.
• “I don’t don’t know if I should call this a blessing or a curse.”
• “There’s no need to be depressed about anything. Give this an open mind and I’m sure you will figure this out.” Tyler assured.
• “Thank you. I will talk to you all later. I got in late so I have so much work to do.”
• “That’s strange. Anything the matter?” Roland asked, knowing Damien never joked with anything work-related.
• “I had to take Rumi for her check-up before dropping her off at school.”
• “Hope she’s better now?” Ty asked with a very concerned voice.
• “Yes, She is.”
• “I should get going. I will let you all know how it goes.” Damien said, ending the call.