chapter 2

“Haha! Funny. I could use that, a minor distraction from my normal, boring, suicidal life.” He said the last part to himself. “My name is Keenan Hilton, your new boss.” He stretches his hand, and he takes her hand into his for a shake. “Congratulation Miss Klean, you are employed.” As they shake hands, she cannot ignore how soft his hand is and also how strong his grip on her hand is on hers at the same time.“I’m employed?” she gasps, covering her mouth in disbelief. “Mr Hilton, we haven’t even had the interview, that’s not how it’s done.” These words run out of her mouth before she can control them and at these words, his calm expression grows cold, and he gives her a blunt stare, making her swallow quickly and wish she had said nothing at all.Why does she have to ruin this excellent opportunity that has just come her way? This has always given her trouble, and now she knows she needs control over her words and even her thoughts.He sighs heavily and withdraws his hand from hers and she almost whines in protest, “No Miss Klean this is not how it’s done,” he gets up from his seat and goes over to the window to glance down at the busy street, “but I thought you were special.” He turns to her and his gaze sweeps over her, from her short, curly, black hair down to her slightly exposed chest which is because of the top three unbuttoned buttons of the v-neck pink shirt sleeve and he can’t ignore the way his body tenses at the carnal thought in his head. “Maybe I was wrong.”He admits he has never been one to control his canal thought, but at least he knows his thoughts are to himself alone, unlike the lady in his office.“No, you’re not, I am special.” Okay, am I not taking this too far? She asks herself. Special? Even she knows she isn’t even close to that word.Keenan's brow rises at her word. He knows he complimented her, but no one had ever taken it literally before, making him wonder if the lady he just employed is mentally sane even as she is pretty. “No, I’m not special.” She almost face-palm herself, what the hell is she even saying?‘This isn’t the interview I had expected, at least not the one I had prepared for last night.’ She tells herself and when she looks up, he’s staring at her. ‘Oh, sweet heaven, did she say that out loud too?’ She wonders again.He glances at his Backes and Strauss wristwatch, before turning to her, “Yes you said that out and I’m thinking that’s how you normally think-talk so I’m gonna have to get used to that aren’t I?” he says, grinning at her mischievously.She foolishly smiles back, “So when shall I start?” She asks eagerly.“Immediately,” he replies, and presses his desk phone button, “Kate, come take Miss Klean here and show her to her office, please. Dismiss the other waiting for an interview.”They wait the next minute patiently for Kate, his secretary, and after fidgeting with her finger for a while, she breaks the awkward silence with her usual stupid question. “So you’re not racist then?”He gives her a ridiculous look. “I never said I was racist before, Miss Klean.”“But you said....” she begins, pointing out what he had said earlier.“You heard wrong again Miss Klean.” he snaps and for the first time and once again she spots his Italian assent and the way he just called her name made her almost smile... Oh wait; she’s already smiling, isn’t she?Keenan rolls his eyes and can’t wait for Kate to come and take the handful called Varisha Klean away from his office.The door opens and Kate enters and Varisha gets up from her seat, nodding her head at her new boss before walking with his secretary to the door, “I will see you around, Miss Klean.” he tells her and one more time she turns to look at him and he winks at her making her cheeks heat in embarrassment.Is this what he meant when he said she was special? Or is she just seeing and overthinking things?She doesn’t want to think she got this job because he’s hoping to gain sexual favours from her. He’s not that man, or at least she’ll keep telling herself that until he proves himself otherwise.________As Varisha steps into the room, Alian greets her and smiles at her happily, handing her a can of mountain dew. Varisha returns her smile and collects the drink from her hand. “So, how did your day go? Apart from the fact that I know you’ve got a job because that is the only explanation for you returning.”Alian was the first person who had stuck to her on her first day at Stanford University and, like the perfect match that they were, they glued together and couldn’t let go of each other.Alian is half American, half Mexican and just like Varisha, who had moved from Nigeria to Stanford on scholarship, she just returned to the United States for her further studies. Alia’s father is the united ambassador of peace to Mexico and had fallen in love with her mother, who was a practising nurse in Mexico. They got married during his visit and moved to Mexico with her mother, only paying visits to The States for work. Alian was born and raised in Mexico City until she was eighteen and came for her studies.With a few connections, Alain’s father could get a permanent residence visa, after Varisha alerted him of Alian's abusive ex-boyfriend and he did it as a sign of gratitude according to him.Although at first Alian felt betrayed by Varisha, she came around and understood that she was only looking out for her. They had gotten so close that even after graduation; they rent an apartment and stayed together and pursue their master’s degrees a year ago. While Vary majored in hotel management, Alain majored in psychology and they are a few more months until finishing.“Yes, I got the job,” she can’t help smiling to herself.“Look at you.” Alian playfully pushes her shoulder as she passes by her to the couch, picking the remote from the table and changing it to E! “Come here.” She taps on the unfilled side of the couch where Varisha knows she’s reserving for her. “Tell me everything that happened.” when Varisha delays in moving, she frowns. “Come on.”Sighing, she harkens to her and walks over to where she seats and seats down. “So how did it go, Vary? Was Keenan Hilton a ravishing Italian man-whore as the papers make him out as?”Did Alian Google Keenan? Then why didn’t she last night?!“He winked at me.” Vary mumble out too distracted with the fashion police show going on E!Alain gasps in disbelief as she stares at her friend with wide eyes, “Seriously, girl?” She squeals and used her hand as a fan to fan herself from much heat. “You know what you’re saying is like being sported by god himself right.”Varisha brushes it off casually. “You’re overreacting, Alian. He probably meant no harm by it, besides it’s not like I’m going to go after him. I already have a boyfriend, remember. Drew?”Alian makes a disgusted face and glances at her like she was crazy, then nods. “Oh, I forgot you’ve got that too.”Varisha frowns at her friend's constant dislike at the mention of her boyfriend’s name. “Don’t do that Alian, he’s my boyfriend and I will not have you talk bad about him in my presence.”Alian had taken an instant dislike of Drew the first day Vary introduced the two of them. Varisha since then remained surprised because Alian didn’t like him because she was always the jovial and friendly one of the two of them. Although she had not pointed out a particular thing he had done wrong, she always called him bad news and Vary had always wondered why.“I’m sorry, I just don’t feel too well at the mention of his name, you can’t blame me for not seeing what it is you see in him, I’m not the one in love am I?” she counters reasonably, “besides you never liked Chan,” she reminds her with a pointed look.Chan was her ex, Asian boyfriend and Vary had always kicked against their union, calling it an imperfect match made in hell. According to Vary, he was shorter than she was, four inches shorter vulgar in speech, and always had his eyes on either Alian's boobs or butt. Vary would have forgiven all those attributes if he wasn’t heavily into drugs and ended up getting Alian addicted as well.Alian is tall, a few inches taller than Varisha, but the curvy one of the two of them, though she shrugs it off as compensation for Vary being the cuter one. She is five feet seven inches with a thirty-three-inch breast size and twenty-eight-inch waistline, and her hips thirty-eight inches. She has the perfect shape every girl, including Vary, dreams of having, but that’s not all there is to her though, she’s really smart and talented, and it is a shame when people only want to be close because of what’s on her outside. Her last boyfriend was no different and Vary hated him for never noticing how good and amazing Alian was and instead focused on her appearance.“He did drugs, and I didn’t hate him at first sight. I hated him because he was too carnal and bad for you.” She points out to her friend like she already has a million times. “Drew is different; you know that you just don’t want to admit it.”Alian sighs in defeat. Maybe Vary should have read law instead of hotel management. “I think you’re with him because he bears the same name as your brother, but fine, he’s different. So can you tell me how everything went down now?”And after twenty-minute of narrating and answering Alain's one-billionth question, she takes a deep breath.“Something finally went well after so many wrong incidents.” Vary pours the last of her soft drink into her mouth, “how did your day go?”“Well, you deserve it best friend, my day was hell, had to talk to this girl who says she still sees her dead mother of five years and she believes what she’s seeing and called me Lucifer.” She barks out a laugh. “I almost bust out laughing because that was the last thing I expected to be likened to ‘cause I do hate Lucifer.”After laughing for another minute, Vary sympathises with her friend, who seems to get red with her crankiness. “You signed in to that drama, name-calling with crazy people, the moment you studied psychology in college. So suck it up and man up to the responsibility girl.”“Yes, you say to man up to the responsibility like I can just grow balls over the night,” argues Alian, rolling her eyes.“Well, manning up does not mean growing balls literally,” she argues, her point being straightforward. “You know what I mean.”“I know, I regret letting mum talk me into studying psychology when all I’ve always wanted to do was be a good wife. She was never there for me when growing up and I vowed to never be like her, but I see myself slowly following her footsteps.”“What are you going to do about it?”She sighs and rubs her forehead mildly, “I will not change my mind now, ‘cause I’m told it gets better once it becomes your everyday life.”“Well, no career is easy to build and if you ever want to have HOPE, see it through.”“Yea, I guess you’re right.” She nods.They spend the next minute watching the fashion police and out of the blues Vary exclaims. “Oh heavens, our year anniversary is tomorrow and I’m just realising it is tomorrow thinking of what to get Drew.”“Wow, it’s already a year?” Alain asks absentmindedly, her eyes still glued to the TV.“I know, right?” she smiles widely. “It seems like yesterday.”‘Logically it’s still referred to as yesterday,’ Alain almost but shuts it because she knows how her friend would react and so, smiling, she takes Vary’s hand into hers and smiles. “You’re gonna figure something out, you always do.” Vary smiles back, “by the way, congratulation in advance on your anniversary.”“Thank you.”The girls spent the rest of the night watching TV and eating junk food. The rest of the night, being happy, they had each other and junk food.