Chapter 3. Unlucky Day?

How he regarded me... He's acting as though he knows who I am? She walked on while reflecting. Ah, Iza... whatever nonsense comes into your head. Fair enough; he does have a rich-looking appearance. Who is that, exactly? An actor? A rocker? Hmm... It doesn't appear to be. Otherwise, the crowd began to attack his attention a while ago. 

She was last in line. Those in front of her turned to look at her, and a simple smile spread across her lips. Although aware of the numerous inspections, she pretended to be busy as she looked at her watch. It was eleven in the morning. It would soon be lunchtime. 

Would she survive with her persistent hunger? Her mind wandered when she spotted a car from a while ago entering the high-rise building's basement. She thought that they must be working in the same building.

Although there was an extensive line, those in front of her moved through it quickly, leaving only five people behind. She reasoned that it appeared there was no time left. As she took in her surroundings and observed the small security camera in front of the building, she could not conceal her agitation. She didn't mind watching it. 

A security guard arrived to update them when only three of them remained. "The time is up, ladies. The three of you need to return after lunch," he said.

She could not help her snide remark., "You should have told us earlier that it was only till 11:30." She raised her hand just as the guard was going to speak. She answered with a blank expression, "I get it. It makes no difference, guard. Perhaps your manager has already decided from among the many candidates. I'm grateful, but I’m not coming back."

"Of course, 'said the one in front of her hurriedly. "I won't be back either if it's after lunch. " 

The person in front of the line said, "Me too. But may I ask what positions are open right now, guard? And how many candidates are required to fill the position?"

Izabella was eager to hear what the guard had to say, but his cell phone in his chest pocket rang before he could respond. 

"Yes," you said.

The final three applicants were paying attention to what the guards were saying. When the guard nodded in response to his call, they slyly exchanged glances. He then looked at the three of them while placing the cell phone back in his chest pocket.

The guard allowed, "You may go together for the interview. You're in luck since the Chief Boss just showed up to finish it. You're all fortunate! When the marketing manager is out to lunch, he never covered for an extended interview.”

WHEN Izabella's cell phone rang inside her bag, she postponed entering the building. She had a call from Shanda. Before answering the phone, she motioned the two applicants to go without her when she noticed they were waiting for her. 

"Ugh. I have one more ambiguous, but I'm too lazy to work on it. How are you doing?" Izabella replied to her friend.

"Oh my, my head is hurting a little, and I'm at home, but I must know what happened with your interview. What then? You failed?" "Something like that. One is a personal assistant (PA) and modeling, which I gave up. Getting that PA would be fantastic, but I'm not placing much hope in it. I also don't want to be a dog's body, to be honest."

"Oh, you're not taking summer classes, so get back to modeling. Try to put some money aside to cover your expenses. I'll follow suit." "Are you serious? I don't want that crazy man to track me back."

She was startled by her friend's loud laughter. 

 “Blame your parents. Being tall and attractive has served you well, but it's not all that terrific for you," Shanda said. " Just go to the interview and see if I can blend in.”

"Ugh. No modeling for me. If luck were on my side, I'd choose to be a marketing assistant." 

"PA, what about it? That's exciting if your boss is attractive."

"Actually, no. I'm not interested in working as a PA. It sounds like your employer is being babysat."

Shanda's laughter was thunderous. 

"I don't mind doing any typing work, either." “Why do you sound so helpless.”

Ugh. What kind of thinking is that? She scolded herself.

"Oh, I could use any task to keep me occupied to get out of the house. I requested his calendar itinerary and learned that my father would spend most of his time traveling. Even though it hasn't happened yet, I could already feel myself being choked." 

"That horrible, huh?" Shanda's laughter could be heard once more.

"Sort of. Even though our home is spacious, I feel crowded in it now that Camilla spends so much time there. Just thinking about what my stepmom said yesterday has me feeling overworked. I had the impression that wasn't a casual comment. For all I know, she might already consider some men to pair with me as her chosen husband. Even worse, Jerry, her brother, is not present. He hasn't contacted me in more than a month." 

"So, if your half-brother wasn't driving you today, who was?”

"Nobody. Jerry is not at home. I hailed a cab. Dad is unaware of my activities. Bring your behind over here and grab me. I'm starving..." Izabella paused her remarks when she saw that the two interview subjects had already left. They raised their thumbs in approval. 

"Congratulations!" she yelled. Nearly simultaneously, both women turned their heads back. 

She overheard Shanda muttering, "Go and have your interview. I need to shower immediately to get my headache out."

"Oh, wonderful!" Izabella grinned brightly. "Your GPS located me?" 

After saying, "Wait for a second," Shanda vanished for a while.

Izabella seemed to be waiting for her as she regarded the guard. 

"Alright. Got it, "Shanda agreed. “I'll drive quickly on my motorcycle.”

"Cool. Please wait for me. I'll take about my most recent interview first. Get me ready for pickup. I'm starving, so bring me a sandwich!" She hung up the phone before her friend could respond. The guard's voice calling for her could then be heard.

She followed the guard who was leading the route after silently nodding. But throughout, she felt off-balanced by the way he occasionally turned to glance back at her. She even spotted the subtle but noticeable brow crease as he glanced at her. 

She started being wary and vigilant about the people she interacted with after what happened to her last summer. She would get insane when things went wrong, especially now that she was alone. When he stopped and raised his right hand, he quietly told her he needed to answer the call. It was a quick call. All she heard was three times 'yes' coming from the guard. 

What's going on? Her thoughts were concerned as she followed the guard. Shall I continue or head back to the side street and wait for Shanda?

***

Izabella handed the receptionist her résumé and was then silently led into the conference room, which was large and elegant, screaming right in front of her eyes. She wanted to give it a shot because the workplace was impressive. Even though her father's workplace was unique enough, she couldn't help but compare it to her current location. 

She could work at her father's place of business, but that would mean she would be supervised by whoever her father assigned to be her office nanny. And she didn't view that as being independent of her father. It's another method of spoon-feeding her subtly. And that might give her father the idea to put her in charge of a company she had no interest in.

The room was chilly as she entered, and the flowers were fragrant. There was only a 16-seat rectangular oak table, and a large screen typically utilized for presentations was in the center. Each leatherette chair had several folders spread out on the table. 

Her spine tingled as a cold breeze came from the ceiling. She deduced that it must be centered because the entire space was chilled. She didn't need to be shocked because even in their home, in Manhattan, the electricity tariff was expensive when it was sweltering in July.

The intercom announced, "Take your seat, and someone will be with you shortly," in a woman's well-spoken voice. "Please read and complete the information in the folder to keep the interview on schedule.”

She occupied the middle seat, where a folder was placed on the table. Before opening the folder, her hand moved after a brief moment of stillness. She took a big breath and pondered. I guess another resume with their company letterhead on it. Given that she was on a hunger strike, she found it tedious. However, she needed to fill out two pages of the paper as she inspected it.

She took a glance at everything, including the ceiling. The fact that she assumed she hadn't noticed a security camera in the conference room when, in fact, the entire organization had one installed was quite strange. She wondered if it was concealed somewhere. 

As soon as she entered, she noticed a coffee maker in the back room. The smell was rather alluring. Her stomach lurched, and she felt it. She was famished!