New Applicant
"How does he keep rising anytime I succeed in reducing him to nothing," Mrs Haward thought as she paced up and down her room. "I need to do something and fast too," she thought and sat down to think.
In the home of the Hawards, everyone was having trouble sleeping. Mirenda tossed and turned unhappy about how she meant very little to her mother. She sometimes wondered if probably just like Jason she was also adopted.
"If I am adopted, I need to know," Mirenda thought lying on her side on the bed.
James knows Jason too well when it comes to dealing with offences. He may be the eldest among the three but Jason does not care about age when dealing with offences. He was sure, sooner or later, Jason would come for him for what he did to Julia. He didn't care before but now he does, seeing that Jason is rising again. If Jason becomes powerful, he will end up in prison for sure. The story was no different in Mrs Haward's room. She had made Julia transfer all the Haward property to her. If Jason gets to know this was done under some sort of duress, he would claim everything back. She knows the two are separated now.
"I just need to make sure, these two never get back together while I send Jason back to hell," Mrs Haward thought.
The next day, a bright and beautiful Florida city came to life. Julia woke up with high hopes of securing a new job. She had not been successful with that for almost two months now. It was quite strange nobody wanted to employ her service given she has a very good CV and academic background.
In the morning, Julia got ready for an interview and after saying a prayer she stepped out of the apartment after breakfast and hailed a taxi to a Construction Company. She arrived half an hour earlier than the interview scheduled time and was asked to wait in the waiting area to be called. There were other applicants in the waiting area when Julia walked in. She found a space and sat down after greeting them. Very few of the applicants already seated responded to her greetings but they all turned their gaze to look at her as soon as she entered with a few looking at her till she sat down. Julia felt a bit uncomfortable with the way everyone was staring at her but luckily for her, she didn't have to endure the judgmental gaze for long.
"Julia Harrison?" came the voice of a lady in a black suit.
"Yes please," replied Julia.
"Come with me," the lady said and exited the room with Julia following her holding her file close to her chest.
"Welcome Ms Harrison," came the voice of a rather sophisticated-looking woman with a panel of three.
"Thank you, please can I sit?" Julia inquired.
"Sure," came the voice of another woman.
"So, who is Julia Harrison?" asked the only male interviewer on the panel.
Julia answered the question by starting with a brief introduction of herself and focusing more on her skills, experiences, and what she can bring on board focusing on the company's vision and mission. Even though she answered the question very well, the interviewers appeared not to be impressed by her detailed and well-articulated answer.
"What is your relationship like with people you work with especially men?" asked one female interviewer.
"I work very well with everyone as far as work is concerned," Julia replied wondering why such a question on gender-specific.
"Do you prefer working with men more than females?" asked another interviewer.
"I don't have a preference I work with whoever is in my team," Julia replied.
"I see. We have reason to believe you prefer working with men, especially on a one-on-one basis," asked another female interviewer.
"No, please. The nature of my work will require me to work alone most of the time," Julia replied.
"So, this is the time you prefer a male companion?" asked the male interviewer.
Julia was confused and was wondering how the position of an architect turned to focus on her relationship with men.
"No," replied Julia with a frown.
"No further question but we wouldn't want to waste your time. We are sorry you are not fit for the position advertised within our company," the sophisticated lady said to her with an expressionless face.
"Thank you," Julia said feeling disappointed.
She had really put in a lot of preparation for this interview, giving it her all since it was an area of her expertise. She had not expected the conversation will be centred on her relationship with men. She was lost in her thoughts as she walked towards the exit. It didn't make sense to her until a statement made by the receptionist got to her when she walked past them.
She stopped in her truck and replayed the statement in her mind 'This is the lady seen in the video seducing the guy,'
"What are you talking about?" Julia asked upon reaching the reception table.
"Nothing," replied the receptionist who looked a bit nervous.
Julia stood there for a while and turned to walk away. Outside the building, she went online and googled scandals involving seduction. A few videos came up but none had anything that could implicate her.
"So, what are they talking about?" Julia thought as she walked further away from the company.
She stopped a taxi and sat in it, heading for home. On the ride home, she went online and put in an application for the position of waitress at Paradise Hotel. It is better to start from somewhere than to have nothing. She submitted her application feeling dejected.
At Paradise Hotel, another successful day with more people walking into the restaurant. News of the amazing dishes had already spread through the town. Some people have already started booking spaces for programs, conferences and workshops.
Peter was sitting behind his laptop ensuring the bookings were not clashing. An email notification popped up on his screen for a new application. He quickly opened it since they were looking to employ more staff with the daily increase in customers.
"Julia Harrison!" Peter read the name in his mind and froze.
Jason, looking at his record, had set up the hotel business without linking it to himself. People were just curious about the mysterious CEO of the Hotel. Peter and Jason had addressed the guest and later Jason was the tour manager. Using the term 'we' multiple times made it difficult for people to conclusively say the Hotel belongs to Jason. He also had on a good disguise on the day.
Julia had also applied without knowing who owned Paradise Hotel. For her, she needed a job and after searching for two months without success, it would be good to start with jobs she knows she will get.
Peter stepped out of his office on the ground floor close to the reception area, and using the elevator, he went up to Jason's office on the last floor. He knocked and entered the office.
"We have a new applicant," Peter announced upon entering.
Jason frowned wondering why that was a reason for him to come up to the 10th floor. He looked at Peter with one eyebrow raised.
"It's Mrs Haward," Peter added and Jason moved from his relaxed position to sitting up straight.
The room was silent for 5 minutes as Peter awaited directions from Jason. He knew Jason would want to employ her but not as a waitress.
"She will be working with the head waiter. Push the application to him to interview her," Jason said, calmly rather to the shock of Peter.
"Sir, you will have your wife work as a waitress in your hotel?" Peter asked and got silence as a reply from Jason.
"As a good friend, I would advise against it. She will not be happy with you if she finds out," Peter warned.
"I don't want her to be happy with me," Jason said and Peter raised his brow. "You seem to forget I am running a business here and not raising a family," he added."Push her application to the head waiter to handle," he repeated sternly.
"Yes boss," Peter replied and left his office disappointed.
That was not what he was expecting. He returned to his office and pushed Julia's application to the head waiter and told him Julia was his cousin and requested he share her performance at the interview with him directly.
Julia, upon reaching home, received a call inviting her for an interview the very next day.
"Thank you. I will be there," Julia replied not so enthusiastic about it.
"How did it go?" came the anxious voice of Mary.
"Yeah, your fancy Hotel people called me in less than 20 minutes of submitting my application," Julia replied and made a face.
"That is good news. You will see, you will love the place and you can search for other jobs during your free time," Mary encouraged.
"Yeah, you are right," Julia replied in resignation and headed for her bedroom.
"Congratulations ma'am," said Mary sounding more excited than Julia.
Back in the Haward's home, Mrs Haward was on the phone with someone and she smiled once the call ended.
"Time for better Media attention. Better than the one we have here," Mrs Haward said reading the news on the amazing newly opened hotel which appears to be doing so well.