A Wife for the Billionaire
Chapter 18: SOFIA

Chapter 18: SOFIA

"Delores Friggs and Clinton Greg" the lady in red, who according to Cole was Vera, called.

I watched those called, rise with their journals and follow her out of the room.

It was just us the applicants now, Harry had left after wishing us luck.

I tried not to let my uneasiness show. I was so uncomfortable.

"I should leave"

"What are you still doing here?" The voice in my head asked.

Even if luck was on my side, I doubt it would be enough to get me the job. I had lost it and thinking otherwise was a fantasy.

A man like Richard Wellington would never excuse an event like theirs, no matter the qualification. He may be rich, but from the little time I spent with him in the elevator, he was as petty as an old hag.

No wonder he had said,

"See you in a bit... Sofia"

He knew. He fucking knew. Which explains the grin he flashed at me before walking away. Foolish me had been so preoccupied with how he said my name to realize what he meant.

Perhaps I had hit my head so hard that it didn’t register the meaning behind those words. Or maybe I had been so blinded by rage that I couldn’t see anything else.

The urge to slap myself came in a torrent. Overwhelming and powerful. I needed to feel pain, physical pain. To numb out this feeling of guilt and uneasiness spreading through me.

To be honest, I would have done it, had I not been surrounded by people.

"Hey, are you alright? You’ve gone pale" Cole asked, the concern heavy in his voice.

"I’m alright, just nervous" I replied.

"You don’t need to be. I’m sure you will do fine, just go in there and be yourself" he said, trying not to meet my eyes even though he wanted to.

How do I know? When I wasn’t looking, he stared at me, but once I look up or direct my gaze at him, he averts his eyes.

It felt weird hearing such advice from someone as shy as him. And it had taken him a lot to utter those words. The way he rushed through them was enough proof.

"Thanks Cole, I needed..." I had wanted to say that I needed to hear those words, but no words could help me, so I settled for, "I truly appreciate."

I had been unapologetically myself at the elevator and look where that landed me.

It would take a miracle for me to get this job, and one thing I have learned from life is that miracles rarely happen for persons like me.

There was no one to blame, but myself. I did this. I ruined my chance. I literally crashed my shot of pursuing my dreams.

My attention snapped to the hallway as Clinton hurried by. He was almost running and the "What’s wrong?" "What happened?" questions thrown at him were all met with silence.

"You should really get out of here" the voice said again. " If dear old Clinton could practically dash out of there after facing Richard, what will beget of you who is not so innocent?" It asked.

Staying was a mistake. Just sitting there was a waste of time. And yet... I didn’t want to leave.

One, I wasn’t so eager to return to that hellhole of a house. Two, how do I face Em? What will I tell her? That I allowed my rage and mouth to cost me a job?

Kpo ho! CO ho!

The sound startled me out of my thoughts. It was coming from the hallway. Normally this state of art glass cube was soundproof, but the door had been left open.

Following the sound, I saw Delores being led by Vera. She was coughing non stop, her face - red and lined with veins. Her body shook and quivered, and she clung to Vera as if her very existence depended on it.

Vera held her with a grimace, not because of the weight. From how she tried to pry herself away, the way she turned her face away, and how she kept straightening her dress as if that was what mattered most.

The elevator opened and two men bursted into the hallway.

"Just get off your ass and come take this lady out of here!" Vera yelled.

The men trotted in response, reaching her side in seconds. As they alleviated her of Delores, one of them asked,

"Are we to take her to the clinic?"

"I don’t care where you take her, just get her out of here"

I felt for Delores, she was turning redder by the second and her coughs showed no sign of ceasing.

"What really happened in there? What did that monster say to her to warrant such fit?" I kept asking myself as I watched the men haul her to the elevator.

"Justin Rogers, Gail Miller, you are next" Vera called.

Those in question rose and followed her, disappearing into a door at the end of the hallway, the glass making it seem like they walked through a waterfall.

As I went and took my seat, I couldn’t shake out the feeling that one of those two were likely to secure the job. Bibs on Gail.

She had been flaunting her qualifications before Vera called her. With a degree in office management from renowned Oxford, and several letters of recommendation from Xenith, Rite and other top tier publication companies, she boasted of the position being hers already.

Again I asked myself,

"What are you still doing here?"

I wasn’t as qualified as Gail, but I sure stood a chance. Being amongst the twenty selected for interviews out of the hundreds of applications proves it. But that was before, not now that I’ve ruined that chance by letting my anger for the privileged, blind me from reason.

My stomach growled, another reason for me to start making my way out of there. I still hadn’t eaten since morning.

"Don’t tell me that like me, you were also so nervous about this interview that your stomach was queasy about food?" Cole asked.

Embarrassed, I was about to agree with him when he pulled out a protein bar from his pocket.

"Here, take this," he said, offering me the bar.

"No, Cole, I can’t. You’ve done enough already_"

"And I’m not complaining," He interjected. "Besides, you need it more than I do, in fact it will give me great pleasure if you accept it"

"That’s so kind of you, but_"

"I insist" and he shoved it into my palm.

For someone who was shy, Cole was stubborn in kindness and I found myself, a part of my heart beating in fondness for him.

"Thanks. You are awfully kind, Cole. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like you." I said honestly.

He blushed, like fucking blushed! My words have never had that kind of effect on someone. I felt like hugging him.

"You know I really hope they call us together" he said after a minute of silence and not being able to meet my gaze as I munched on the bar he gathered me.

It felt so good and I held myself from shoving the whole thing into my mouth. Instead I ate as courtesy demanded, especially as a lady before a guy who was checking her out, bit by bit. Munching it slowly.

"Why?" I asked in response to his statement.

"I don’t know, but there’s something about you that keeps me calm. Normally in situations like this, I would’ve wet my pants already and um... I probably shouldn’t have said that"

I had to cover my mouth with both hands to stifle the laughter that was threatening to burst free.

"You see my point, I don’t really talk this much, but because of you, look at how I’m chittering like an idiot" he finished, angry at himself.

"Hey, hey, look at me. You are not an idiot, you’re just a kind and charming guy who wants to express himself before a girl. There’s nothing wrong with that." I offered.

"Is it working? I mean expressing myself?"

"Um... I don’t_"

"It’s not, isn’t it? I know, what was I thinking? A gorgeous girl like you could never be with a guy like me. Now, I feel more like an idiot"

"Stop, you are hurting my feelings. Don’t ever call yourself an idiot, I was merely aiming at a joke. I was just pulling your legs, any girl who doesn’t fall for those kind eyes is the one who should be called an idiot"

He chuckled at that.

Then he said,

"Thanks, you know in highschool and college, I really had a hard time approaching girls, talk more of speaking to them, but you, apart from my initial stuttering. It feels easy talking to you"

"I’m truly flattered. And I must say, it’s their loss, I mean those girls you couldn’t approach, they never got to find out such an amazing guy you are. Kind, charming and has a way with words" I said after munching the last bit of the protein bar.

It wasn’t much, but at least it silenced my grumbling stomach.

"Do you mean that?" He asked, leaning towards me.

"Every word. You are a nice guy, Cole. The kind, any girl will be lucky to have, don’t ever doubt it." I answered.

"You know I was hoping to get this job,

but now I want and pray it will be yours"

"Yeah me too" I said meaning it, "If it isn’t Gail’s already"

"I don’t think she will be a problem," he said, pointing at a super pissed Gail stomping her way towards the elevator.

"How dare he question my worth? Who does he even think he is? The nerve!" she stormed as she passed.