Ten

ELLA'S POV 

"Yeah, please do tell us" the man sitting next to me encouraged.

I crossed my arms across my chest and pursed my lips before speaking up.

"l just don't have a good feeling about her, that's all"

"That cannot be a good reason to not hire her" Someone pointed out.

 "It sounds as if you have a personal grudge against her. You need to give a good reason why you don't recommend her for the position"

"I do not have a personal grudge against her," I claimed firmly.

 "But yes, I know her from school. We were classmates. That's why I know she might not be the kind of person we want in this company”.

"What kind of student was she?".

"The kind that cheats on exams," I said. 

"Look, I didn't want to bring this up because l'm not sure it's relevant now. But who knows, maybe she hasn't changed at all. Back then, she copied a classmates design and won an award with it. The other student was disqualified. I have no idea how she managed to convince the professor that she was the original designer, but..." I trailed off, observing my nails.

"But what?" the other woman panellist asked.

"I think she slept with him. I mean, she had a reputation for stealing other girls' boyfriends." I shrugged.

 "I wouldn't put it past her to have seduced the professor to have him accept that the design as originally hers.".

"Oh my God" the other panellist said, covering her mouth in shock.

 "That's horrible"

"You mean she is a cheat?" the man asked. 

"That's very disappointing. I had high hopes for her”.

I rolled my eyes.

 "She probably wouldn't have graduated with a certificate if she wasn't cheating and sleeping her way through college. Imagine working with someone like that."

"Oh no. I'm getting shivers just from the thought." One of the panelist said.

“You should have told us from the beginning. Do you think she somehow knew what would be on the exam today? I thought she was just impressive but knowing this now.. Who knows, maybe she has a connection with someone who leaked the paper to her."

“Yeah, we cannot trust someone with such questionable morals. I feel bad for the other designers who competed against her at the design competition. Whoever placed second was probably better than her:"

"If we allow her into the company, her incompetence will affect us. Or worse, she'll steal designs here too and cause conflicts among co-workers".

Now this was exactly the kind of statements I was expecting to hear from this chickens.

As they butchered Eve’s personality, I could barely keep my smile to myself. Well, that was easy. I had known my accusations would work. Nobody wants to work with someone who stole others' ideas or slept around with bosses to carry favour.

"So, do we all agree to reject her?" I asked, just to make everything official.

“Definitely”,

“Of course”, 

"Yes."

Wow, at this point, It looks like my job here was done.

EVE'S POV

By the time I got back home, my fears that my grudge with Ella would come in the way of me landing a job had grown. 

After all, wasn't this the best opportunity for her to get revenge? She had really hated losing the scholarship to me in college. Keeping me from getting a job at the most lucrative company in the industry seemed like a good way to get back at me.

I was unable to relax or even concentrate on looking for other jobs. The HR official I had talked to had told me that I would receive communication about the outcome of my interview within the day.

 That was good. It meant I would know whether I had the job soon and would no longer need to worry myself sick.

About an hour later, my phone rang. My heart hammered in my chest as I took a look at the caller ID. It was an unknown number and I suspected it to be from the company.

After taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I received the call.

 "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Edwards Group. Am I speaking to Eve Luciano?"

"Yes, I'm Eve"

"Okay. I'm sorry to inform you that you've not been selected for the position. We wish you all the best"

In an instant, my heart crashed in my chest with disappointment.

 "Thanks for letting me know:"

After the other person hung up, I held the phone to my chest and closed my eyes. There went my opportunity to work for the Edwards Group. But it was okay. There were many more companies I could work at. They may not be as grand as Edwards Group, but they were good and I could grow as a designer working for one of them.

Composing myself, I went back to my laptop to look for openings in the industry. I just had to

MORGAN'S POV 

When I got back home that evening, Eve was still at the table, on her laptop. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't pay much attention to me when I appeared.

That gave me the perfect opportunity to study her. She was dressed in an elegant white pantsuit, the kind one would wear to work. I knew that she was looking for a job, so i figured she must have had an interview.

The suit looked quite good on her.. It not only gave her a professional look, but also emphasised her delicate appearance. And, it wasn't anything fancy, like the overpriced type one would find at luxury shops. It was simple and practical and at the same time well-designed.

 It looks like my wife had very good taste in clothes, huh?. But the suit wasn't the only thing that captured my attention. She looked especially captivating as she sat there, her rosy lips puckered slightly as she typed on her laptop. Apparently, she looked adorable even while concentrating on whatever it was she was working on. I felt like I could stand there and watch her all night…

Clearing my throat, I made my way to the couch and took a seat. I was tired from the day's activities and wanted to rest. But at the same time, a part of me wanted to just sit there and stare at her.

 If I did that, she would probably feel uncomfortable. Or ask questions which I didn't have answers to.

 She was my pretentious wife, yet there I was, looking at her like I wanted to hold her close and..

No, I shut down that line of thought and shifted my gaze to the papers on the table around her laptop.

I wondered what kind of companies she was looking for a job at. With how diligent and focused she appeared, I was sure she would be a stellar employee. That and her kind personality.

Also, given how she had adjusted to the sudden change in her lifestyle seamlessly, she sounded like the kind of person who could be useful to a company during uncertain times.

Suddenly my eyes widened as I caught sight of something familiar under her resume. Reaching forward, I pulled it from underneath. My Edwards Group.

If she had that pamphlet, that meant she had been at my company…

Looking at her, I asked,

 "Eve, did you apply for a job in the Edwards Group?”