THE JOB I SHOULDN'T GET
Amara's POV
The rain was already soaking through my cheap shoes when I ran across the street and breath came out in sharp clouds.
I was late again, TitanCorp's tower rose above me like a giant, it was cold, glassy, powerful.
My hands shook a little as I pushed through the rotating doors, this place felt too big for someone like me and then I clutched my small folder of certificates to my chest and whispered to myself,
"Just breathe, Amara, one interview, one chance."
The lobby was full of people in expensive suits and I tried not to stare at the marble floors or the glowing screens.
My stomach twisted, I worked three jobs last night and I haven't slept at all and still, I'm here, because my father's debts wouldn't pay themselves.
I hurried toward the elevator before the doors closed.
"Hold the door, please!" I called.
And then a hand stopped it and I quickly rushed in, panting.
"Thank you," My words died in my throat.
The man standing inside was breathtaking in the coldest way, his jaw was sharp, he had stormy eyes and a dark suit that looked like it cost more than everything I owned.
He didn't even glance at me, he just stepped to the side with a bored expression.
And then I swallowed. "Thank you," I mumbled again, but he still didn't look.
Great, one rude stranger to start the morning.
I clutched my coffee cup and pressed the 73rd-floor button.
He pressed 99.
Of course, only important people go up there and someone with that face probably owns the whole damn building.
The elevator climbed fast and my nerves climbed faster.
Then the elevator jolted slightly, and my hand slipped and then the coffee cup tipped.
"Ah..no, no, no…!"
Hot coffee splashed all over the man's suit and he froze
The elevator went silent and I wished it would swallow me whole.
"Oh my God! I'm so, so sorry," I babbled and I grabbed tissues from my bag. "I didn't mean to, I didn't know, it's just, please, let me…"
He stepped back like my touch was poison.
"Don't," he said. It was just one word, but it was low, sharp and cold.
And then I froze and his eyes lifted to mine at last. They are ice, they were the kind that made your lungs stop.
"You should watch where you're going," he says, brushing his sleeve with slow disgust. "This suit is worth more than your entire month's salary."
I blinked. "I…I don't have a salary yet," I whispered before I could stop myself.
His jaw tightened and I mentally slapped my mouth shut.
He looked at the spilled coffee like it personally offended him.
The elevator doors opened at the 73 floor and I ran out so fast I almost tripped and my face burnt with shame and people stared as I rushed toward the waiting area for applicants.
My heart wouldn't slow down and I could still feel his eyes on my skin.
"Why me?" I whispered.
I sat with the others and everyone looked polished and confident and I felt like a smudged pencil in a room full of golden pens.
They called names, people went in and people came out looking crushed.
When it was finally my turn, the HR woman barely looked at me.
"We will contact you," she said after two minutes, two minutes. "You may leave."
"But…"
"We will contact you."
She was already turning away.
I walked out slowly, and tried not to cry and I took the elevator again, but was alone this time.
By the time I reached the lobby, I had convinced myself of two things: I won't get the job and I will never see that rude man again.
I stepped outside and the rain had stopped and then my phone buzzed in my pocket.
And I pulled it out lazily… and my heart dropped into my stomach.
It was an unknown number.
"You are hired. Report to the 99th floor, personally." And then my breath caught
The 99th floor, the floor he pressed and then a chill ran down my spine.
"Wait… does that mean…"
My phone buzzed again. DAMIAN STONE
CEO, TITANCORP Oh. Oh no. Oh God.
The rude, cold stranger…
The man I spilled coffee on…
The man whose suit I ruined…
Is the billionaire CEO.
My future boss.
And he hired me.
The message glowed on my screen, it was sharp and unreal.
"Report to the 99th floor. Personally."
My fingers trembled. Why would the billionaire himself hire me…after that disaster?
What does he want with me?
My legs almost gave out as I entered TitanCorp again and the glass doors hissed open like they were welcoming someone important.
Someone who was definitely not me and I kept staring at the message on my phone.
Report to the 99th floor. Personally.
– Damian Stone
My stomach kept flipping, why would a billionaire hire the girl who ruined his expensive suit?
I stepped into the elevator alone and as it climbed higher and higher, my heart climbed too and the numbers glowed: 82… 90… 95… 99.
The door opened with a soft ding.
This floor doesn't look like an office. It looks like another world, it was quiet, empty, cold, too clean.
A woman in a dark suit saw me and stiffened.
"You must be Amara Cole, follow me, don't touch anything."
I swallowed and followed her straight into a large office with floor-to-ceiling windows.
And there he was.
Damian Stone stood with his back to me, his hands in his pockets, staring out at the city like he owned every inch of it.
Maybe he did and my breath caught again without my permission and he turned slowly.
His cold eyes locked on mine and then I froze.
"You came," he said and his voice was calm.
"I…You hired me," I whispered.
He studied me like I was some kind of puzzle he was trying to solve or break.
"Sit," he said and then I sat and my knees knocked together.
He didn't sit, he just walked around me slowly, like he was checking every angle.
"You are nervous."
"Anyone would be," I mumbled.
He ignored that. "Your file says you are very smart, tp of your class, good references, no experience."
His gaze stopped on my face.
"And you look like someone I knew a long time ago."
My heart jumped.
"What? Who?"
He didn't answer, he just stared harder, like he was looking into my bones.
Then suddenly, he handed me a stack of papers.
"Sort these by name, date, and relevance, ten minutes."
I blinked. "All of them? In ten minutes?"
"You can't?" His voice was flat.
I didn't know what took over me, but I grabbed the papers and started sorting fast and my hands moved without thinking.
Years of doing three jobs at once made my brain sharp even when I was exhausted.
Ten minutes later, I placed them neatly in front of him.
He checked the first few and his eyebrow lifted a little.
Then he gave me another task, it was harder, it was something that should take hours.
"Five minutes," he said.
I did it, then another, then another and I was sweating, shaking, but I finished everything.
His expression stayed unreadable.
"Not bad," he muttered.
Finally, he waved me away. "You may leave for today."
"That's it?" I ask gently .
He turned away. "For now."
I walked out feeling like I had been squeezed through a blender.
—
The elevator dropped to the lower floors and my head spinned and then employees whispered as I passed.
"That's the new girl?"
"She won't last a week."
"No one does with him."
"They say he fires people for breathing wrong."
"Or for looking like that woman…"
The last bit made me stop.
"What woman?" I asked.
The two staff members froze and one whispered, "Don't talk about it. Just stay away from him if you want to live."
The elevator opened and they vanished into it.
Who is this woman I apparently resemble?
__
The next few days passed like a storm.
Damian gave me more impossible tasks, deadlines and expectations.
But every time, I finished.
___
It was ast 10 p.m. when my phone suddenly buzzed to come to the penthouse office. Now. – D.S.
My heartbeat stumbled.
The penthouse office?
At night? Why?
I take the private elevator up. Everything is dark except for a soft light coming from his office.
I step inside quietly.
Damian is standing there alone. No jacket. Sleeves rolled up. Hair slightly messy like he ran his hands through it a hundred times.
He doesn't look at me right away.
Then he finally turns.
His eyes are darker than usual.
"Close the door, Amara," he says.
I do. Slowly.
He leans against his desk and folds his arms.
"Do you know why I hired you?" he asks softly.
My throat went dry. "N-No. I don't."
He studied my face again with that sharp, searching look.
Then he spoke, and his voice was so quiet that it sent a shiver down my spine.
"I know who you are, Amara."
My breath stopped.
"What… does that mean?"