Snacks (2)

GRACE

Seconds later, we were walking past a huge car park and our feet led us to the rear of the building. We entered through one of the revolving doors and faced an elevator moments later. The fanciness in that space met my expectations and as we waited for the ting of the elevator, I kept my eyes glued on the red rug that ran its length and breadth over the entire ground in that empty room.

The elevator opened without wasting much time.

“After you, ma’am,” The guard ushered me in before he walked in.

Once we were settled and the doors were closed, he pressed one of the buttons.

PH 5.

That could only mean that we were heading for a penthouse.

Damn...

This family is without a doubt, rich. Because residing in a penthouse in the great Hotel Pierre can only mean that these people are the true meaning of super-rich individuals.

Soon the elevator stopped and vomited us into an open room that had a dark green carpet decorating its floor.

As the guard and I stepped out, the elevator adjacent to ours opened as well and its not-so-many occupants stepped out, their eyes dutifully glued to the devices in their hands.

They were all dressed in fancy, well-tailored suits, so I took a big guess and concluded that they were businessmen. But their crazy concentration on their phones was a thing of bother. I never knew that grown men were likely to be very attracted to their devices.

As I continued accessing their group for reasons unknown to me, the cluster dissolved as they shifted from the entrance of the elevator. Each person found his path and it became easier to see their faces.

My curiosity grew and I wondered if I would recognize one of them from the daily papers, internet news, or maybe the business weekly magazine. So, with my intent of the day briefly forgotten, I scanned each person until my eyes landed on a particular sturdy figure that managed to exude charisma without doing much.

Uhm... Okay... I think I have gotten to a point of this fine day where I have to stop my dignity from running away from me. And if at all it runs away, I must hurriedly pick it up before I do something silly as Drunk Rose would.

I watched, my lips slightly pried apart, as the tall man directed his attention to the man next to him and as he uttered some words that were inaudible to most of us in that space, I felt my breath cease for a second. Watching his lips move with grace almost caused me to paint a picture of where we would be kissing, but I quickly snapped out of that thought. I need to retain my dignity.

But then, his irises were so gorgeously blue that they seemed to have the ability to peer into a person’s soul to the point of figuring out everything about the person. And that deep blueness made every other thing about him shine.

From where I stood, his long lashes became prominent. The way they blinked as he spoke made his eyes much more beautiful. His almost square face retained a serious expression and that made his demeanour appealing and ravishing.

Oh boy... I don’t think I have thirsted this much over a man in a while.

But the sleekness of his hair which was cut into beautiful layers made it almost impossible to look away. Even his black suit was not left out of the shine, it formed around his body in a way I just had to admire.

The man beside me cleared his throat and the resurrection of Drunk Rose was cut short. After another glance at the handsome man, I hoped that I had not managed to embarrass myself while I was deep into the business of ogling.

But, without wasting time, I composed myself. I briefly ran my fingers over the sides of my mouth to make sure that I didn’t embarrass myself to the point of drooling.

Once it was certain that all was fine, I faced the guard and flashed a smile.

Then, he said, “Sorry, I had to take a call.”

The man left my side to receive a call? Whoa... I was very deep into the ogling business.

“Shall we?” He motioned toward a particular direction and I walked behind him. “Good day, Mr. Powers,” he eagerly greeted one of the businessmen.

And when the devilishly handsome man directed his gaze in our direction, my breath hitched again even though he didn’t directly look at me.

After the man briefly raised his hand to acknowledge the guard’s greeting, he spared me a micro-second glance before he returned to his chat.

As we walked past the men, I hoped that I didn’t have a crazy, starved look on my face while staring at him.

I started to wonder about the man’s identity when the guard stopped in front of the entrance of what I guessed was the penthouse.

“After you walk in, you will see a corridor on your right. It will lead you to the interview room. Just sit with the other applicants until it is your turn.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I pushed one of the grand doors open and my eyes widened in admiration. The living room I was staring at from where I stood was simple yet exotic. And the fact that I was able to see a great deal of the city thanks to the uncovered French doors that spanned to the ends of the wall staring at me from a distance.

The amount of expensive taste in the room caused me to urge my soul to remain calm even though it was a great deal to me. As I maintained my cool, I noticed the setup of five white couches which were arranged a little close to the entrance. They were given a square setup and a glass table was set in the middle.

The arrangement was grand, but there was still a lot of space left so much so that a grand piano was placed very close to the staircase which was a few steps from where I was standing.

But, even with all that, there was a lot of space left.

Before I could get unduly immersed in the richness of the penthouse, my brain remembered what I was there for and I quickly walked down the corridor on the right. I admired the mini-artworks hung on the walls as I walked and soon, I heard chattering. The room I was approaching turned out to be the kitchen, which of course, was large as well.

I quickly went to join the seated people who were waiting to be interviewed. We were not much that was left in the room, our numbers were about ten if not less.

Once I was settled, I took out my phone to stop myself from staring at the beauty of the kitchen in awe. Conversing with the women in front of me was not in the books for me either.

After a while, I was called to the interview room. And I must say, their seemingly unused storage room made a great interview room. It was spacious enough to take an average office desk and two chairs.

“Good morning Miss...”

“Sands,” I replied to the middle-aged woman who styled her silver-ish hair in an admirable way. The woman sat opposite me and wrote a few things down on the paper in front of her.

Now that I think of it, it’s kind of odd that they decided to hire a babysitter in such a crude manner. I would have guessed that they would have employed their resources to find the best of the best babysitter in the rich world.

“Miss Sands.” She threw me a short smile. “Have you ever babysat before?”

“No. I have never done it before.” Not even as a teenager.

“Are you a University graduate?” I nodded affirmatively. “Is this your first job application?”

“No, I used to work at a publishing company as an assistant editor.”

“That’s such a nice job. Why are you here then?”

“I uh...” I don’t think it will be safe to sell my shortcomings at an interview. But this family is rich and can choose to look into the kind of person I am. So, I guess telling the truth would be better in this situation. “I got fired yesterday.”

“Why?” Her friendly voice turned concerned.

“I uh... I went to work late a lot of times.” I felt very ashamed. “Actually, it is my fault I got fired. I chose to distract my pain by using a terrible method and it affected me work-wise.”

“And how can we be sure that it won’t affect this job?” She wasn’t judging me and that made me feel less ashamed.

“I want this job to be the distraction I am looking for. It is much more decent and it is also a new experience.”

“I see, that’s all for now. Leave your details in the box outside and you can treat yourself to some of the snacks on the island. Good luck.” She smiled widely and I appreciated her for having me, surprised that she just said to help myself to snacks.

If only most interviews could end that way.

Once I was outside, I pulled out my file jacket that contained the needed files and I dropped it into the box planted right in front of the storage room. As I did that, I began to debate whether to help myself to the mentioned snacks. I didn’t want to appear greedy.

Aw, fuck it!

This could be my only chance to eat something from a super-rich family’s kitchen. So, I did a little dance in my head and approached the kitchen.