I reached the reception area where a large mahogany desk occupied the corner that was once made of glass. The place seemed quiet than the others I walked by. The only thing you could hear were my footsteps and the humming of the air conditioner that was close to the reception desk.

It seems like no one is here...

"Hello..." My voice echoed around in the empty lobby.

A loud bang came from behind the desk.

"Ouch..."

A head popped out from behind the desk. A woman with red hair appeared, kneading her head, her heavy locks falling to the side, curtaining her face.

Once she had fully raised her head, she caught my stare, her eyes locking onto mine.

Her eyes were red, her long eyelashes glittering in the sunlight, displaying small pieces of evidence of her beauty.

As she stared, her eyes widened, dancing in the light.

'She is staring a bit too much. I'm now feeling awkward.' I thought.

"Ummm..."

She blinked, her red eyelashes flattering in the process.

I darted my eyes to her side then back at her.

"I came for a job interview."

"Oh!" Surprise was written all over her face. She couldn't utter a single word. She realised she behaved uncivilised to her role.

"Hehe..." Her soft laugh was audible enough to be heard in this empty space, embarrassement creeping to her cheeks. She stopped massaging her head and let her left arm fall to her side.

Taking a breath, she closed her eyes relaxing her shoulders as she tried to maintain her composure.

She stood straight, pulled her hair back as it flatterred behind her and brushed it away from her face. Her eyes flattered opened, a smile appearing on her lips.

"I see... So you came to apply?"

"Yes."

It looks like she doesn't want to start from scratch after she embarrassed herself earlier. Well, not that I expected her to.

"Did you come to apply or you had an invitee?" She said as she started rummaging the papers on her lower desk behind the one displayed. The heavy locks she drew back started to fall over her shoulders.

'Huh!?' I couldn't understand a word she said.

"Both?" Is all I uttered.

"Do you have proof?"

"Sorry?" I looked at her, puzzled, arching an eyebrow at her question.

"Do you have like a card or something to identify as proof?" She dipped her head, continuing to search.

"A...a...ah... Yes..." I opened my hand bag to retrieve it.

I removed it from my bag as I she extended out her hand. Holding it, I walked, filling the gap in between me and the desk.

"Here..."

She took it from my hand. She drew back her locks to her ears as she raised her head. She looked at the card and scanned it. There was a long pause. The glimmer in her eyes shifted as she turned it back and forth. She then looked at me quickly her hair flailing in the wind.

I swallowed hard. I don't know what she saw but I know it is all his fault. I shouldn't have agreed to it but I had no other option left. I've just got to stick to it to the end.

She stared at me for some time then she returned to her normal height.

"Name?"

"Luisa Floreraldo."

Her earlier expression was no longer there. She returned to her warm smile and welcoming gesture from before.

She drew her hair back to her ears.

"Well then Miss. Floreraldo, you are just in time." she placed her hands on the reception desk, "If you had come an hour later, I'm afraid you might have missed it."

She leaned forward, placing her forearms on the desk, "You are vey lucky since the board requested recruiting to be today."

"I'm just glad I made it." I shrugged, a smile tugging on my lips.

"Oh! How rude of me. I'm Amanda. Amanda Orlov." she said, placing her palm on her chest.

So she's Russian. That actually fits since her voice and accent sounds like one and has her features to boot too.

"I see..." Though I already knew from her name tag.

"The interview will begin shortly after 13:00 hours so you have enough time to prepare."

I glanced at the digital clock that hung on the wall in front of me.

So one hour to go huhh...

"Thank you Miss. Orlov." I pulled on the strap of my bag.

"Call me Amanda since I'm a recruit too."

I blinked in bewilderment, my mouth opening slightly to speak, then clicking shut again.

"I was assigned to this post two weeks ago but I officially started working here today." she said breaming with excitement.

"So what happenned?"

"Oh, I fell sick on my first day so I never reported."

"Uh-huh..."

"So we are both freshmen." she said as she winked.

She really is suited for the job. No wonder they placed her at the reception. She has both the charisma and charm to boot not forgetting how mature she is in control. That is what you call professionalism. 

I think we will get along just fine...

"The waiting room is just right after this corner to your left." she said directing me with her finger.

I know...

The place on my left was empty, only the elevator that was far from here but you could be able to see people enter and go as they please and the large glass window that shown its light behind me. A hallway emerged from the corner after the elevator which lead directly to drawing rooms reserved for meeting guests, and other rooms. The same goes for the other corner that led to a hallway on my right, right after the glass windows.

I remembered how lively this place was those years ago. The space behind me next to the window on my left had majestically champagne gold couches that blended miraculously with the sky blue marbled tiles and the sunlight from the window hit at different angles that lighted up the lobby making it look enchanted. They were used for clients and other respective people which made it one of the best places and drew people in. They said it had luck that sealed deals and made the company grow. Everyone wanted to grow as a person in the business so they all made sure that that spot remains opened to everyone. Now that spot remained bare only the sun rays searching and waiting for the long lost days to come.

I turned back to face her. She was fiddling with her hair and on one hand and on the other she held a pamphlet, her eyes browsing through it. She looked up.

My pupils dilated for a second but vanished before she could see.

"You know to tell you the truth, I don't like when people stare at me. It kind of gets on my nerves and stresses me out. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

She noticed and it has not been that long...

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend you. It is just that... I saw how you felt restless with your hair and wanted to help."

She stared at me, eyes wide, her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of what she'd heard.

"Is a clip ok because I don't have a rubber band." I searched for the clip I put this morning in my bag.

"You don't have to..."

"It's fine. I know how troublesome it is to deal with your hair when it gets in the line of your work."

"You do?"

Oopss!...

"Here..." She took it from my hand.

"Thank you." she held her hair in her hand, "I was looking for my band but it looks like it split."

"I figured."

"There. Now we match!" She made her hair into a messing bun. She straightened her bangs and pulled them behind her ears. After she was done, she looked at me and smiled whole heartedly.

"Yes... we do."

"Thank you so much for the clip. Now I don't have to worry about anything."

"I'm just glad I could help."

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck on your interview and thank you for choosing Austin and Companies." she said, playing her part, "I hope our expertise is to your liking."

"Thank you."

"I look forward to working with you."

Me too...

I immediately took a turn from the corner of the reception desk and walked down the corridor to the waiting room.

                                                                                         ...

The wait was long. Not everyone came prepared. Others were panicking, others were fidgeting and others remained calm and composed like me. This wasn't a big deal to me since I already know what's going to happen. The ones that went before me didn't look much great after they returned. I turned to face the clock that hang on the wall close to the door. Tick-tok tick-tok it went, the time flying by.

I'll look for you when you come.

I averted my eyes so fast I thought the room was spinning. I stared down on the briefcase that lay on my lap, gliding my palms on top of it.

I'll be waiting for you.

His words were like a bombshell in my head, drawing all my concentration away from the room.

I shouldn't be thinking about this. But he said he will look for you. That is none of my concernment. What if he is waiting for you. Then so be it. He works here and it seems he is known by everyone from the expression she gave. I would gladly decline any offer he throws my way even if I have to make him my enemy. Precise I have Amanda. But it seems she has been here less than him. I don't mind since she looks more approachable than him. I can maneuver my way through without him. I don't need him at all! We'll see. Ok, whose side are you on huh brain.

After the wait, it was my time and just like that the interview ended without a problem.

I headed for the lobby, the speed in my legs against the race of time.

I hope she is still here.

I turned from the corner we dispersed, my eyes gliding to the desk where she stood. My eyes widened in shock only to realise the place now remained empty. Her presence was no longer there.

"..."

Did she leave already?

I scanned the lobby, my eyes darting to every corner and pathway leading to the lobby. The employees were moving about, the crowd growing bigger. My eyes darting, searching for her in the crowd.

"Umm... excuse me is there anything I can do for you?"

I jacked my head following where the voice came from. A tall middle-aged man stood where she was, a perplexed look on his face.

"Oh! umm... the woman who was here...standing behind the desk, where is she?"

"She left."

"Oh!"

"She was assigned to do a task and hasn't returned since."

"Do you know when she will return?"

"I'm afraid not."

"I see..." I pulled on the strap of my bag.

"Why? Is there anything you need from her? If you want to rely a message to her, I can do it."

"No...no. I wanted to ask her when will I receive the acceptance emails. Since you are here, can I get the time and day and what other requirements I might need if I'm chosen?"

We talked for a while as I indulged in the conversation, confirming if it all matched with the requirements of the past I once knew.

After all was said and done, I left to deal with my other task of the day. I was so excited to do it and since I know my children would love it, it fired me up more and I wanted it to be a success. I was enrolling my children to a school for the first time! If they hear me say it, they will surely jump for joy. I called for a cab, entered and left for their school.

Five hours earlier...

The noise from the office deafened my ears playing in the background, a headache emerging from my temple.

"Sir? We still have the meeting scheduled for in the afternoon."

I fiddled with the golden watch on my wrist_the list of the many brand watches I owned used for every occassion. My collection kept on piling every time a new one comes out to the market. It was one of the things I enjoyed doing.

"I have arranged everything for the meeting."

I shouldn't have put it on for today. I should feel comfortable with it and the suit I'm wearing but I'm not. This wasn't the right choice at all. Damn it! Agh! I need some air. This day hasn't gone well for me at all. I just want to head back to my office, drink my cup of coffee and relax. My eye twitched from the pain that now began to spread.

This headache is a pain.

"Sir?"

I turned my head to the central atrium taking in the view. Without a moments rest, everyone has to work to meet their quota of the day. They know very well what would happen if they don't. I took long strides, filling the gap to the edge and placed my hands on the cold glass guardrails, my eyes surveying the floor below me. I watched them partake in their work the whole floor swarming with people.

The area seems more crowded than before.

"Sir, you still have to review the draft I gave you and you haven't signed the documents I placed on your desk this morning."

Her voice faded away as I looked below. My gaze drifted aimlessly through the crowd until an unfamiliar pull anchored me toward the entrance. In an instant, the roar of the lobby muffled into a hum, and the world outside her frame blurred into grey. There she was_framed by the heavy glass doors, looking exactly like the silhouette I'd been playing on a loop in my head.

She was a study in sharp lines_black hair swept into a into a glass-sleek bun that mirrored the professional edge of her blazer. As she tilted her head back to take in the sweep of the atrium, her eyes darted with a restless curiosity before settling toward my side of the building.

That was the trap.

Her eyes weren't just dark; they were depthless, obsidian void that seemed to swallow the light of the room. It was a shade of midnight I'd never seen on a living person, a magnetic pull that made the floor beneath me feel unsteady. I gripped the railing, my knuckles white, as the memory of our first meeting collided with the reality.

She just stood there, a quiet fixture in the center of the chaos, claiming that small patch of floor for her interview. Watching her from above, hidden and silent, I felt something heavy and nameless swell in my chest. I didn't just want to watch her; I wanted to freeze her in that exact spot forever.

She actually came. Interesting.

"Sir...Sir... Sir!"

Her frantic pleas finally broke the silence, the sharp edge of her voice jolting me back to the present. I didn't look away. I toyed with my watch, my gaze anchored to her as she droned on about urgent meetings and missed calls. Every word she spoke was mere white noise; I was too busy memorising the way she stood, my eyes refusing to avert.

The heavy fog of exhaustion that weighed me down all morning vanished, replaced by a sudden, predatory surge of energy. I tracked her eyes as they darted toward a worker in the hall_a brief, hurried distraction_and took one last mental snapshot of the moment. That final look was all I needed to sustain me.

"We're leaving," I interrupted, my voice cutting through her rhythmic chirping. I let my hands fall to my sides, gave my suit sleeves a sharp, grounding tug, and walked away into the cool air of the hallway without looking back.