After asking Mary to place my recommendation letter in my file and retrieve another for him, Mr. Richard turned to face me.
"You can take your leave now, Ms. Lily," he said, barely sparing me another glance before returning to the file in front of him.
That's it? That's all he's going to say?
I picked up my bag from the floor and rose from the chair.
"Thank you for your time and consideration," I said, my voice steady.
Isn't that how you're supposed to end formal letters?
Mr. Richard raised his head, a small frown forming on his face. I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or simply puzzled.
Was I pestering him?
What kind of CEO handles recruitment himself anyway?
Then again, I was the one who barged into his office in the first place.
"Have a nice day, Ms. Lily. It was a pleasure meeting you," he replied, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
Damn. He's handsome. If only he were nicer.
Get a grip on yourself, Lily.
I smiled back and left the office. Once outside, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As I walked out of the building, my mind replayed the events of the afternoon. I had barely made it before the deadline, and the thought of that alone possibly disqualifying me kept gnawing at me.
But I did make it, right?
With a disheartening sigh, I hailed a cab to take me home.My stomach growled loud enough to compete with the cab's engine, and my head throbbed like I'd spent the last hour solving quantum physics without breakfast. The joy I felt days ago, when the email first came in, now seemed like someone else's memory—distant and unreachable.
---
4:00 PM
I arrived home to find Mom and Vy in the living room, watching TV. Ethan was nowhere to be found—I assumed he was either in his room or at football practice.
"Look who's back!" Vy exclaimed in her usual high-pitched, excited tone.
"How'd it go?" Mom asked, worry evident in her voice.
I groaned, kicking off my shoes and placing them in the rack. "I don't really know. I got there at 1:50 PM, and the receptionist took seven minutes just to check my appointment." I explained dramatically, as if she were the one at fault.
"You did get to submit it though, right?" Mom asked, ignoring my attempt to place blame where it didn't belong.
We all knew the fault was mine.
"Yeah, I did," I replied. "At least just after I barged into Richard King's office. I just hope he pardons my ignorance." I added, covering my face in shame.
Vy's eyes widened as she processed my words. "Wait… Richard King? Like the one from Kingsland Magazine?"
I sighed. "No, Vy. Richard King as in the king of Pompeii." I muttered, rolling my eyes—earning a playful jab from her.
Mom, however, looked slightly alarmed. "How did you end up in his office?"
"I was rushing to submit the recommendation letter and… I just entered the office without checking."
Vy clapped her hands together, grinning. "Lil, that's badass!"
"So….tell me, what's he like? Does he look the same as on TV? What does he sound like?" Vy launched into her rapid-fire questioning.
Yeah, because barging into the CEO's office totally counts as a success story.
I rolled my eyes. "You do realize I might have just blown my chances of getting a job, right?"
Vy waved me off. "On the bright side, you just lived the dream of, like, a thousand girls in Agass."
If Mom weren't sitting in the room with us, I would have thrown a pillow at Vy. Mom chuckled, clearly entertained.
"I left some pasta for you earlier," she said, nodding toward the kitchen. "Heat it up and eat." She added, standing from the sofa. "I'm heading to Helen's and won't be back until seven. So, what's it going to be—pizza or takeout?"
I looked at Vy, and we both smiled at each other—there was no way I was going to say no to pizza.
"Pizza," we both replied in unison.
"That's settled then," Mom said. "Lily, place the order and keep some for Ethan as well." She picked up her purse and keys, heading out of the house and leaving me alone with Vy.
Once Mom was gone, Vy wasted no time pestering me about Richard King.
"Alright, now that we have the house to ourselves—spill. How tall is he? What does he smell like? Does he talk in that deep, commanding voice?"
I groaned, sinking further into the couch.
Believe me, if I wasn't agonizing over the job, I'd happily give her every detail. But right now? My nerves were completely shot.
With a tired sigh, ignoring Vy's relentless interrogation, I picked up my phone and placed an order for pizza. Then, still tuning her out, I stood up from the sofa and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
I grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filled it with cold water, and took a slow sip, hoping it would help settle my anxiety.
Vy, however, was not giving up.
"Come on, Lil," she whined, leaning against the kitchen counter. "You cannot just walk into Richard King's office and not give me details. This is prime information!"
I let out a tired chuckle, shaking my head.
"Vy, I was too focused on not embarrassing myself to take mental notes on his cologne and height, okay?" I replied, placing the glass in the sink.
"Ugh, boring." She pouted, crossing her arms. "At least tell me—was he intimidating? Did he have that whole 'mysterious billionaire' vibe?"
I sighed, leaning against the counter.
"Fine. He was definitely intimidating, but not in the 'yelling CEO' kind of way. More like... the 'sharp eyes, quiet authority' kind of thing. Every word was precise, every movement calculated. And yes, he's just as good-looking as the magazines make him out to be."
I mean, freaking damn good-looking.
Vy gasped dramatically. "I knew it!"
Before I could roll my eyes again, my phone buzzed—the pizza delivery had arrived.
"Food's here," I announced, relieved for the distraction.
Vy clapped her hands excitedly before rushing to the door.
For now, I could push aside my worries and enjoy a good meal. But deep down, I knew my fate at King's Estate was still hanging by a thread.