Yes this is another chapter of the interview, but not to worry the next
chapter will give some insight into what Brady is thinking. So stay tuned
and enjoy! Reviews are wonderful as always!
"It seems your last place of employment regarded you very highly" he stated staring at her. 'And I down right deserved every bit of praise, what with the hours of over time I put in, not to mention several interrupted holidays.' She thought. But never the less she had grown very fond of the owners, and in time the job started boring her. She wasn't making the money she needed to support her and Natalie, especially with what Philip so kindly left her to deal with. 'Chloe..' she warned herself. She stopped herself from going back to the past and noticed he was awaiting some sort of reply from her.
"Yes the owners were very nice, and it was a wonderful family firm to work for." She said giving him a warm smile, that he didn't return. He just kept his razor sharp-gaze fixated on her. "You do realize Mrs. Lane that this is no small time family firm" he stated forcefully. "Are you certain you would be able to make the transition?" It wasn't so much of what he said, but the way he said it. 'Why did he always do that?' she thought, 'Why does he have to be some damn patronizing.'
"If I didn't think I could handle it I wouldn't have wasted your time and applied for the position Mr. Black." she replied with a razor sharp edge in stark contrast to her usually shaken voice. His dark blonde brows frowned as his mouth tightened. 'There goes that mouth again Chloe', she thought worriedly. Anyone witnessing the ordeal would have immediately pointed out that that was not the tone of voice you would use when meeting with your potential employer. But she would definitely argue that this was no ordinary employer oh no, this was the hauntingly confident, arrogant, and patronizing, Brady Black. Even thinking about him made her cheeks hot, and her breath catch.
"Do you own a car Mrs. Lane", came his ever-present voice interrupting her thoughts. Taken off-guard Chloe asked, "Excuse me?" "A car Mrs. Lane?" he repeated his tone one of bored, agitation. She was about to bite back, but knew she had to keep cool, so she calmly replied, "No Mr. Black, I do not own a car." "It says here that you did indeed pass a driving test. Are you a confident driver Mrs. Lane? Or perhaps I should ask are you a competent one?" he asked silkily, again challenging her with his eyes and a raise of that damn eyebrow. Without hesitation Chloe answered smartly, "I am both confident and competent Mr. Black. Mimi has me on her insurance therefore I use her car whenever I need it."
"Ahh, the ever-helpful best friend, Mimi, I see." He responded with a smirk. 'Not that tone again please!' she thought desperately. 'Don't do it Chloe, don't open that mouth. Just be quiet!' her inner voice shouted to her, but she wasn't ever one to listen to her conscience. As if sensing she was about to make a comment he said, "If you were offered the job, you would receive a company car of let's say a BMW or something else of that stature. No secretary of mine will be late due to bus troubles. I want them where I need them, when I need them, in a moments notice." She honestly didn't know what to say to his new statement. Was he telling her this because she was getting the job or informing her of what she was losing when he so graciously turned her down?
"And there will be a clothing allowance as well" he cleared his throat as his eyes ran over her second hand suit that was no match to the 300 dollar member the front desk secretary modeled. "From time to time there will be a formal function in which will require an evening dress and such", he finished, as his gaze came to meet hers. She almost let out a small laugh as she could imagine her face was flushed beyond belief. To tell you the truth she hadn't really thought about a wardrobe as she was counting pennies to keep her power from being shut off. "I see" she responded quieter than her last tone. She broke his gaze and looked down at her hands. He would never understand the things she had to sacrifice that he took for granted.
When Philip died, instead of leaving her financially stable he left her horribly in debt. Not that she expected much from him. Their whole marriage was a joke from the beginning, and in the end his horrible drinking problem had gotten him thrown through a plate glass window. She had been terribly stupid back then; she had to have been to trust the bastard. Not soon after his death, she oh so quickly learned that he had borrowed money not only from their friends, but business colleagues, loan sharks, and all for what? To finance his failing one-man business that never got off the ground? Yes, but most importantly his alcohol addiction. And when Philip had brought her things to sign she didn't even think about it, thought they were strictly routine, never worrying about why. She figured now, he probably never even cared if he tied her down into the nightmare he had created for himself.
Thinking back, when she had found out she was pregnant with Natalie after thinking it was nothing more than a stomach bug, she started to see a Philip she didn't recognize. In college, he had been the charming, flashy- eyed Romeo that everyone adored even her. Then one day his parents found his trust fund empty after he came back from a weekend in Vegas. They were outraged to say the least, not only by the fact he had wasted over a half a million dollars in two days, but that his scandalous act got him the front page on the society papers. After they dis-owned him and moved to Europe he was left with no money, and a wife and child to support, so he naturally went off the deep end. The whole time she had been married to him she brushed it off and made excuses. 'He's just busy with work.' She had told herself. 'Or he's just stressed out with the surprise of the new baby.' And now struggling month after excruciating month trying to make ends meet and pay off his debts, all she could think was Fool, Fool, Fool.
Thankfully the debts started to dwindle in an unimaginably slow pace. Her main goal was for Natalie only. She didn't want her to suffer for the mistakes she made. Giving her a warm meal every night, and nice clothes was all she ever wanted, of course her living conditions went downhill along with everything else. After borrowing money from Mimi, which was so hard for her to do, she rented a tiny one-bedroom apartment in a not so wonderful part of town.
"I take it you would be able to start immediately if offered the job Mrs. Lane?" Brady asked. "I..y..yes.." She stammered. 'See, I told you this is what would happen if you thought about the past. Now get your self together Chloe. You don't get this job where will that leave you?' "And would you accept the position should it be offered?" he asked softly as his head tilted forward and his eyes shown a different emotion she couldn't for the life of her understand. Her body started to tingle with that burning sensation that unnerved her. ''Was he playing with her again?' she thought. After some serious trust issues and lies to last her a lifetime, this man could be no different.
"It seems your last place of employment regarded you very highly" he stated staring at her. 'And I down right deserved every bit of praise, what with the hours of over time I put in, not to mention several interrupted holidays.' She thought. But never the less she had grown very fond of the owners, and in time the job started boring her. She wasn't making the money she needed to support her and Natalie, especially with what Philip so kindly left her to deal with. 'Chloe..' she warned herself. She stopped herself from going back to the past and noticed he was awaiting some sort of reply from her.
"Yes the owners were very nice, and it was a wonderful family firm to work for." She said giving him a warm smile, that he didn't return. He just kept his razor sharp-gaze fixated on her. "You do realize Mrs. Lane that this is no small time family firm" he stated forcefully. "Are you certain you would be able to make the transition?" It wasn't so much of what he said, but the way he said it. 'Why did he always do that?' she thought, 'Why does he have to be some damn patronizing.'
"If I didn't think I could handle it I wouldn't have wasted your time and applied for the position Mr. Black." she replied with a razor sharp edge in stark contrast to her usually shaken voice. His dark blonde brows frowned as his mouth tightened. 'There goes that mouth again Chloe', she thought worriedly. Anyone witnessing the ordeal would have immediately pointed out that that was not the tone of voice you would use when meeting with your potential employer. But she would definitely argue that this was no ordinary employer oh no, this was the hauntingly confident, arrogant, and patronizing, Brady Black. Even thinking about him made her cheeks hot, and her breath catch.
"Do you own a car Mrs. Lane", came his ever-present voice interrupting her thoughts. Taken off-guard Chloe asked, "Excuse me?" "A car Mrs. Lane?" he repeated his tone one of bored, agitation. She was about to bite back, but knew she had to keep cool, so she calmly replied, "No Mr. Black, I do not own a car." "It says here that you did indeed pass a driving test. Are you a confident driver Mrs. Lane? Or perhaps I should ask are you a competent one?" he asked silkily, again challenging her with his eyes and a raise of that damn eyebrow. Without hesitation Chloe answered smartly, "I am both confident and competent Mr. Black. Mimi has me on her insurance therefore I use her car whenever I need it."
"Ahh, the ever-helpful best friend, Mimi, I see." He responded with a smirk. 'Not that tone again please!' she thought desperately. 'Don't do it Chloe, don't open that mouth. Just be quiet!' her inner voice shouted to her, but she wasn't ever one to listen to her conscience. As if sensing she was about to make a comment he said, "If you were offered the job, you would receive a company car of let's say a BMW or something else of that stature. No secretary of mine will be late due to bus troubles. I want them where I need them, when I need them, in a moments notice." She honestly didn't know what to say to his new statement. Was he telling her this because she was getting the job or informing her of what she was losing when he so graciously turned her down?
"And there will be a clothing allowance as well" he cleared his throat as his eyes ran over her second hand suit that was no match to the 300 dollar member the front desk secretary modeled. "From time to time there will be a formal function in which will require an evening dress and such", he finished, as his gaze came to meet hers. She almost let out a small laugh as she could imagine her face was flushed beyond belief. To tell you the truth she hadn't really thought about a wardrobe as she was counting pennies to keep her power from being shut off. "I see" she responded quieter than her last tone. She broke his gaze and looked down at her hands. He would never understand the things she had to sacrifice that he took for granted.
When Philip died, instead of leaving her financially stable he left her horribly in debt. Not that she expected much from him. Their whole marriage was a joke from the beginning, and in the end his horrible drinking problem had gotten him thrown through a plate glass window. She had been terribly stupid back then; she had to have been to trust the bastard. Not soon after his death, she oh so quickly learned that he had borrowed money not only from their friends, but business colleagues, loan sharks, and all for what? To finance his failing one-man business that never got off the ground? Yes, but most importantly his alcohol addiction. And when Philip had brought her things to sign she didn't even think about it, thought they were strictly routine, never worrying about why. She figured now, he probably never even cared if he tied her down into the nightmare he had created for himself.
Thinking back, when she had found out she was pregnant with Natalie after thinking it was nothing more than a stomach bug, she started to see a Philip she didn't recognize. In college, he had been the charming, flashy- eyed Romeo that everyone adored even her. Then one day his parents found his trust fund empty after he came back from a weekend in Vegas. They were outraged to say the least, not only by the fact he had wasted over a half a million dollars in two days, but that his scandalous act got him the front page on the society papers. After they dis-owned him and moved to Europe he was left with no money, and a wife and child to support, so he naturally went off the deep end. The whole time she had been married to him she brushed it off and made excuses. 'He's just busy with work.' She had told herself. 'Or he's just stressed out with the surprise of the new baby.' And now struggling month after excruciating month trying to make ends meet and pay off his debts, all she could think was Fool, Fool, Fool.
Thankfully the debts started to dwindle in an unimaginably slow pace. Her main goal was for Natalie only. She didn't want her to suffer for the mistakes she made. Giving her a warm meal every night, and nice clothes was all she ever wanted, of course her living conditions went downhill along with everything else. After borrowing money from Mimi, which was so hard for her to do, she rented a tiny one-bedroom apartment in a not so wonderful part of town.
"I take it you would be able to start immediately if offered the job Mrs. Lane?" Brady asked. "I..y..yes.." She stammered. 'See, I told you this is what would happen if you thought about the past. Now get your self together Chloe. You don't get this job where will that leave you?' "And would you accept the position should it be offered?" he asked softly as his head tilted forward and his eyes shown a different emotion she couldn't for the life of her understand. Her body started to tingle with that burning sensation that unnerved her. ''Was he playing with her again?' she thought. After some serious trust issues and lies to last her a lifetime, this man could be no different.