Chapter 2: Meetings and Greetings
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AN; Wow...I seriously just want to thank everyone who has been keeping up with this story...D": It means so much! I never expected it to receive such kind comments and follows. :D thank you to all! As requested, here is chapter two! :D
My busy period is beginning to pass, and I will (hopefully) be able to update more frequently...both this story and Fire and Ice, so, look forward to those! :D
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"Miss Azikuria?" I glanced up from my spot on the waiting room couch, locking eyes with one of the secretaries I'd spoken with from before. She, like the one's downstairs, was quite…attractive; which-again-only caused my self-esteem to drop even lower.
"Yes?" I stated, standing from my seat. Like the entrance, this floor too had white walls and black tile, though most had been obscured by odd artwork or decorative rugs. There was a desk, on the opposite wall of the elevator, which housed the secretaries and such, though this one didn't seem to have the company logo written across. The floor was grand, considering it was only an office level (would all of them be like this?..)-Akatsuki must be bigger deal than I'd thought.
"Mr. Pain will see you now," She answered. I believe she'd introduced herself as Yari, but I wasn't entirely sure. "If you'll please follow me?"
I nodded eagerly and followed after the woman, careful not to trip over the slick floor. I really hated heels. "Mr. Pain is quite busy," She turned down the hallway and led me to a set of double doors, both large, white, and decorated with intricate glass-work. "He just finished with a meeting, and has another in about five minutes. Most of your interview will take place here," Yari gestured to the doors, "But it may need to continue on his suite a few floors up. Any questions?"
I stared at her, my mouth suddenly running dry. Would I seriously only have five minutes to impress this guy? FIVE minutes? That's less time than all of my previous interviews, divided in half…"Miss Ayame?"
Might as well kiss this job goodbye…"I understand." I blurted out, bowing awkwardly for her help. "I'm ready. Thank you."
Yari smiled as she opened the doors, wishing me luck. "Mr. Pain, Ayame is here." She called inside.
"Let her in," A voice responded, somewhat annoyed.
Great, he was already in a bad mood.
Yari pushed the door open further and pressed me inside, closing it behind me.
"Ayame Azikuria?" The voice asked.
I glanced up at the speaker, somewhat surprised to find a young, ginger-haired man staring back at me. From the conversations both on the phone and throughout the offices, I would have thought the CEO to be more…well…old. But this guy, well, frankly he didn't look old at all; maybe in his twenties, possibly thirties, but definitely not in the age range I had been expecting. Not to mention the…well, I guess they were piercings all over his face, but from this distance I couldn't really tell. "Yes?" I answered, trying to sound confident.
"Take a seat." His hand gestured to the end of the long conference table before me, specifically the chair on the end.
I gulped, attempting to swallow my nerves.
This room, unlike all the rest, was painted a surprising shade of burgundy, with little to no décor (aside from a few plants here or there). Windows lined the wall adjacent to myself, along with a series of projection screens and presentation boards-I guess they really had just finished with a meeting. The majority of the room, however, was taken up by a huge wooden table, of which Pain sat at the end-again, opposite of myself.
"Thank you," I replied, taking a seat. At least the chairs were comfortable…
"I only have five minutes, Miss Azikuria, so let's try to be brief, don't you agree?" Pain asked, glancing up from his watch.
I nodded eagerly, somewhat shocked by the purple shade of his eyes. Did everyone here wear contacts?
"It says here," He gestured to a pile of papers lying before him, "That you graduated from the University of Michigan with a 4.0. Impressive." I smiled. "What degrees?"
"I have an Undergraduate degree in Music Performance and Business, sir, and a Master's in Business-Finance. I did receive a Minor as well, in European Literature and Composition." And now comes the part where he tells me to get out of his office because I'm overqualified…
"Music Performance and Literature? Why those?" He asked, glancing up at me. More importantly, why was he interested?
"Previously, before I switched my major to business, I wanted to be an orchestral clarinet performer. But during my undergraduate studies, I received an injury to my arm which left me unable to hold my instrument. Therefore my instructor told me it would be best to stop playing, before I developed any further damage to my arm." I blushed slightly, no one had really been interested to hear about my injury, but this guy seemed genuinely intrigued. True, it saddened me to talk about what could have been, but it felt good to actually tell someone about it as well. "Personally, I've always been interested in literature; it was a hobby of mine, both in and out of my college years. And during the time of my studies, it was also a requirement for my Business degree, so I felt that I should take the extra classes and minor in that as well."
"So you have recently graduated, then?" He leaned back in his chair, glancing me over. His eyes were definitely purple, and those black dots were most definitely piercings; not the typical image of CEO if you ask me…
-"Yes, this past spring."
"I see," Pain scowled as he racked his brain for more questions. "Have you worked or participated in any internships or abroad programs for a business or office?"
I gulped. Was it just my nerves, or was my throat really this dry? "I took part in a 12 month internship at ANBU Corp., in Lansing."
"I see," Again with the odd responses. "What was it that you did for them, Miss Azikuria?"
"I was on a project board for marketing and sales," I answered. "It was a think-tank of about five or six members, and we headed a particular study which proposed ideas for attracting customers to our franchise."
"Interesting, do you have a reference for this company?" I reached into my folder and pulled out a sheet of references to the past internships and boards I'd been a member of, placing it on the table before me.
"Good." Pain glanced down at his watch, his frown growing. "Unfortunately,"
I felt my heart skip a beat.
This is where he tells me they aren't interested, that I'm over-qualified and too young, or that I'm not the right image they have for their company. This is when I leave and go back home, beginning my search over again to which one day I could find someone who would hire me…
That, or await the day in which I go to jail for being unable to pay my student loans…
"We only have a personal secretary position open. Though you seem to have no experience with a job such as this, I think this particular field you will be working in will appeal to your strengths, be it you wish you enter into our company."
Wait.
If I want to enter the company?
Was he telling me…I got the…
I got the job?!
"Would you be interested in my offer, Miss Azikuria?" Pain was now standing, crossing the room to stand before me.
"I, uh…"
He raised a finely manicured eyebrow, accompanied by an extended hand. "Your answer, Miss Azikuria? I'm afraid I haven't all day."
I nodded quickly, taking his hand in my own. "Y-yes, definitely!"
"Excellent." Pain stated, glancing down at his watch. "Ah. I'm afraid I must leave, my clients will be unhappy if I'm late to this meeting, but I will see to it that someone shows you to your offices and such, alright?"
I nodded again, verging on giddy. "Yes, sir."
"Good. I'll be sure to meet up with you later." The ginger haired man left through the doors I had entered, calling for someone to come escort me.
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Wow.
Was this for real?
Did I really just nail a job, even a secretary position, with a company like Akatsuki?
There's no way.
I'd applied to places less efficacious than this company, for meager positions and humiliating wages, and yet they had told me that they weren't interested.
Hah. This will show them.
"Miss Azikuria," Yari, the girl from before, was standing in the doorway, giving me an enthusiastic smile. "If you'll follow me?"
I nodded and retraced our steps back through the office floor, leading us back to the elevator. She stopped, like Shirane, at the doors, putting in a password once inside. "Where are we going?" I asked, stepping in alongside of her.
"To the International Relations offices," Yari stated, pressing the floor number. "Mr. Pain instructed that I was to show you to your suite, and your boss."
I frowned as the elevator began to rise, slowly picking up speed. I didn't know I'd have another boss besides Pain, I'd just assumed the secretary position was for him. Does this mean I needed to do another interview? I mean, that orange haired guy was the CEO, and he said I had the job…Could they still deny me the position if the head of my department didn't like me?
"Do you know who I will be working for?"
The woman scowled as she racked her mind for the name, "Uhm, I believe it's Mr. Uchiha who runs that part of the company," She ran a hand through her dark black hair before going on. For some reason she seemed hesitant to divulge any other information. "But I'm not for sure."
I nodded; trying desperately to calm the nerves that had began to stir from within my stomach.
What if they told me to go home, before I could tell Kiame that I had actually gotten a job? What if I actually did get the position, but I hated the people I worked with?
Or they hated me?
Ugh, that would be so annoying…
The elevator began to slow, coming to a hault by a floor which blinked the numbers 5 and 8; were there really that many offices in this tower? "Here we are." Yari smiled, stepping out onto the black tile floor.
Like the rooms I had seen before it, this place looked similar (at least in terms of the white walls and black floors), but the ceiling was tall, surprisingly so for the location, anyway. There wasn't a chandelier in the center, like there had been in the welcoming area, but there were striking splashes of red throughout the room, which caught my attention from the otherwise normal looking decor. Red rugs, red vases, red paintings; someone clearly had a favourite colour.
I followed after Yari, trying not to make eye contact with the attractive secretaries at the front desk; were there really sets of them at every floor?
Would I have to dress like that to work here…?
"Oi, who's this?"
I glanced up, almost running into, the now stationary, Yari.
A man, around 6 foot tall, was standing before us, glancing down at me with a grin on his face.
Now, I'm not really one to stare, I mean…It's kind of rude, especially in a situation like this (I'll have to work with these people, after all), but…this guy, I swear his skin was…yeah, it was definitely blue. It wasn't even even like the sickly blue that you see on the elderly or shut-ins, but…for real, no doubt about it, blue.
Plus the…creepy, beady, yellow eyes; were there even pupils in there? "Who's this girl?" He asked again, pointing a large, and fully manicured (not to mention painted), finger towards me.
I scowled, not really amused by the way he called me girl. "This is Ayame," Yari stated, speaking up before I could reply. "She's going to take the secretary position for this floor."
"Ayame?" The man grimaced, troubled by the sound of my name (apparently). "Are you American?"
The scowl deepened. "Yes, I am, as I always have been."
"Odd name for someone from the US." He stated, taking a step closer to me. "Family?"
This guy was just being nosy now. Why did his voice have to sound so creepy? "My mother was Japanese, if you must know."
Yari stepped between the blue man and myself, holding out her hands in a defensive manner. "Mr. Kisame, I'm sorry, but I have orders from Pain to show this girl around before his meeting is through." She gestured to the long hallway behind him. "She still needs to meet Mr. Uchiha."
The man, apparently named Kisame, grinned wildly. "All be it of me to interrupt this girl from her little tour." He looked down at me and laughed as he passed by us. "Have fun."
Yari sighed as the blue man left from our line of sight. "I'm really sorry about that."
I tried to wave her apology off, but the smile I made felt insincere after the scowls I'd been holding from before. "It's fine." I stated, for added reassurance.
"Really," Yari slumped her shoulders as she started walking down the hallway, guiding me towards Mr. Uchiha's office. "Mr. Kisame isn't all that bad, but he enjoys harassing all of the new employees."
"Sounds nice." I mumbled, earning a giggle from my guide.
"Yeah," The dark-haired girl before me sighed as we continued through another series of well-trimmed hallways, coming to a hault before, yet another, large set of doors.
"I'm guessing this is his office?" I asked.
Why did all of the departments have to be like large dungeons, with these enormous castle doors and long hallways? Did they all have a power complex?
Yari nodded as she knocked on the door, earning her a sharp reply from within. "Enter."
The dark-haired girl pulled open the doors, "I have brought the new prospective secretary Pain has interviewed." She stated, "He said for me to bring her here to meet you."
There was a long silence before the voice answered. "Send her in."
Yari hurried me inside, closing the door behind me as I came into full view of this man's office. Unlike all of the other rooms I'd seen, this one was almost completely made of windows, the only wall being that of the one I'd emerged from. The floor was wooden, with the only carpet being the one under both my feet and the man's desk. The room seemed incredibly modern to me; sleek furniture, appliances (a coffee set-up to my right), and minimalistic artwork; it was more welcoming. Why was this office so much different than all of the rest?
"Are you just going to stand there or are you actually going to enter?" The man snapped, not bothering to look up from the paperwork on his desk.
I scowled, forcing myself further into the room. I may have made a good impression with the CEO, but it looks like I'll be working under an asshole here; great. "I'm Ayame," I managed to choke out, coming to a hault by his desk. I really hope I won't have to wear heels everyday...not with all of these nice floors...
"Yes, I know," He sighed heavily as he looked up from his work; meeting me eye to eye.
Holy.
Fuck.
I'm screwed.
I'm sooooo screwed.
There goes every chance I EVER had at getting this job.
Every hope, every dream; crushed.
"Ah," I winced as his voice broke through our uncomfortable silence. If this man's temperament hadn't of been venomous before, well, it was acidic now. "The girl with the coffee."
So much for that first impression…
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AN; Thank you guys again for reading! :D I appreciate every review, fav, and follow! :D Hopefully I'll have another chapter up for you guys soon...
SilverWolfMaiden; Lololol, I know. XD No longer will she walk and drink coffee...hahaha, especially now. Thanks! XD I'm glad you gigglesnorted XD
It's no problem. :D She will be included again as the story continues, definitely, lololol. I shall definitely continue! XD
SabinxItachi; Thank you so much! :D
Guest; Thanks! :D Here do be the update...;D
Happy Holidays to all! :D
~Aria
