Chapter 6

He began the interview, but every answer I gave felt like a battle, each question more probing than the last, I could hear his tone dripping with that infuriating mix of mockery and control he always seemed to wield so effortlessly.

“What makes you fit for this job?” he asked, leaning back in his chair with a raised eyebrow, as though daring me to impress him.

I took a deep breath, my hands clenched tightly in my lap. “I’m not,” I said abruptly, my voice sharper than I intended. “In fact, I’m no longer interested.” I leaned forward, my eyes locking onto his with a fire I could no longer contain. “What do you want from me, Dino?”

His smirk faltered for the briefest moment before it returned, sharper this time. “I’m not sure I understand the question,” he said smoothly, closing the folder in front of him and resting his elbows on the table.

“You know exactly what I mean,” I snapped, my pulse pounding in my ears. “Why am I even here? Why are you doing this?”

Dino tilted his head, studying me like I was some puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. “You applied for the position,” he said, his tone maddeningly calm. “I’m just doing my job.”

“Cut the act,” I hissed. “You’ve been toying with me since the moment I walked in here. What is this? Some kind of sick game?”

He leaned forward, his gaze hardening. “This is business, Eloise,” he said, his voice low and controlled, but there was an edge to it now. “If you want to accuse me of something, go ahead. Otherwise, sit back and let me do my job.”

My hands shook slightly, but I refused to back down. “You don’t get to pretend nothing happened,” I said, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and hurt. “You don’t get to rewrite the past like it never existed.”

Dino’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought I saw something flash in his eyes, regret, guilt, maybe even shame. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“This isn’t high school, Eloise,” he said, his voice softer now but still firm. “People change. Maybe you should give them a chance to prove it.”

“No, people like you don’t get to change,” I spat, my voice breaking slightly under the weight of my emotions.

Before he could respond, I stood up, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. Without a second glance, I stormed out of the office, leaving Dino and all his smug arrogance behind.

Outside the building, I wandered aimlessly until I found a small shaded spot near a tree. Dropping onto the bench, I buried my face in my hands, trying to steady my breathing. My thoughts were a whirlwind of anger and confusion, memories of the past mixing with the sharp sting of the present.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t even notice when someone sat down beside me.

“Hi,” a voice said, soft but with a hint of curiosity.

I looked up briefly to see a guy with an easy smile and kind eyes. “Hello,” I mumbled, turning my gaze back to the ground, not in the mood for pleasantries.

“I’m Bryan,” he offered, his voice light and conversational.

“Eloise,” I replied curtly, still refusing to give him my full attention.

“You look angry and pretty,” he added, clearly trying to be charming. “Anything I can do to help?”

Hearing the word angry was like lighting a match to a powder keg.

“That’s why you need to leave me the fuck alone,” I snapped, my voice louder than I intended.

Bryan blinked, slightly startled but still composed. “Alright, message received,” he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “But for what it’s worth, sometimes talking to a stranger helps. No judgment, no baggage.”

I glared at him but said nothing, my chest heaving with frustration. Bryan didn’t move, didn’t press, just sat there, his presence oddly grounding despite my irritation.

After a moment, he leaned back against the bench, looking up at the sky. “You know, sometimes yelling at the world helps, too,” he said casually. “Or at least at the pigeons.”

Despite myself, a tiny, reluctant smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. Who is this guy?

Bryan, sensing he wasn’t going to get much more out of me, stood up, brushing off his jeans. “Well, Eloise, I hope whatever’s got you so worked up gets sorted soon,” he said with a small, sincere smile.

I looked up at him, my irritation ebbing slightly. “Thanks… I guess.”

He nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll let you get back to your brooding, but I hope we’ll meet again. Maybe under less stressful circumstances.”

Before I could respond, he turned and walked away, whistling softly to himself as he disappeared down the street.

For a moment, I just sat there, staring after him. There was something strangely comforting about Bryan’s casual demeanor, like he wasn’t trying to fix me, just… exist in the same space.

I shook my head, brushing off the thought. I didn’t have time to get distracted by random strangers. My life was already complicated enough.

My life was already complicated enough.

Before I could spiral further into my thoughts, my phone rang. Glancing at the screen, I saw Jessica’s name flashing. I swiped up and brought it to my ear.

“Hey, Jess.”

“Eloise…” Her voice was sharp, almost demanding. “How did it go? How was the interview?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I began pacing the shaded area. “It was a disaster.”

“What do you mean disaster?” she pressed. “What happened?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Jess. Maybe the part where the guy interviewing me turned out to be Dino Alessandro!” I practically hissed, my frustration spilling out.

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Jessica gasped. “Wait Dino Alessandro? Like, the Dino? High school bully extraordinaire?”

“Ding, ding, ding. Give the lady a prize,” I muttered, kicking a stray pebble.

“Eloise, you’re kidding. How did you not know it was his company?”

“I don’t know, okay?” I snapped, then softened my tone. “I didn’t connect the dots. It’s not like I ever paid attention to his last name back then, and ‘Prestige Global’ doesn’t exactly scream Dino.”

Jessica let out a low whistle. “So… what happened? Did he recognize you this time?”

I hesitated, biting my lip. “Of course... Of course he did, but he was playing it cool. He was all polished and professional, like Mr. Perfect CEO, and it just… threw me off.”

“Well, did you confront him?”

“Oh, I did. Midway through the interview, I kind of… lost it.”

“Define ‘lost it,’” Jessica said cautiously.

“I might have accused him of toying with me, said I wasn’t interested in the job, and stormed out,” I admitted, wincing as I replayed the scene in my head.

There was a long silence before Jessica groaned. “Eloise. Eloise. What are you doing? This was supposed to be your big break!”

“I know, Jess, I know!” I said, rubbing my temples. “But seeing him again… it brought back everything. The bullying, the scar, the humiliation. I couldn’t keep it together.”

Jessica sighed deeply. “Okay, first of all, breathe. Second, you need to decide if you’re going to let him win again. You said it yourself, this job was a step toward your future. Are you really going to let Dino Alessandro take that from you?”

I froze, her words hitting harder than I wanted to admit. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “I just don’t know.”