Chapter 1
It was a sunny and hot Sunday evening. Elizabeth Francesca West looked around the house, sighing in frustrated helplessness.
Nothing was going right.
Everything was barely managing to work and what was worse was she couldn't do more than she was already doing, about anything. She'd lost her dad at the age of fifteen and soon after, her mom had developed a Heart Sarcoma. Paying the hospital bills had been possible back then because as soon as she'd pushed through and came out of the university with an MBA, she'd gotten a job as a business analyst, and double tasked as a P.A for one of America's top gas and oil companies. The pay was great. She was fantastic at her job. She only lost it because the company had declared bankruptcy and that was two years ago. Whatever she saved up, she'd used for her mother's treatment, all while trying to get a job but somehow, it had not clicked yet. Now that her savings were almost gone, she was stuck. Her mom's next hospital appointment was in a few days and the coffee shop where she worked at was great, but the pay wasn't....
It wasn't quite alright.
She needed money and she needed it fast. Her mom was all she had. Blindly slumping down on a chair, her hand hit the remote and the TV's noise filled the room. Prying irritated eyes open, she made to turn off the TV.... Till she mistakenly took a glance at the advert showing. A vacancy....
A vacancy at Wade industries.
THE Wade industries.
A vacancy for a P.A. S
She sat up straighter. Skepticism and hope filled her at the same time. Hope because the company headquarters itself wasn't that far away and she was well qualified. She knew she could make it. That made her hope shine through brighter, but, Skepticism because the owner and CEO of the company had a reputation. Brandon Wade was not only an extremely successful young man with heavy awards to prove it, he was also a man of the ladies. Too many tales, too many women, so much gossip, it was impossible not to hear. How women presented themselves to him on a platter of gold and how he just used them and wiped his mouth clean afterwards. Now, that was disgusting, but she didn't blame him as much as she blamed the women. She'd watched an interview of him once. Her opinion of him wasn't something strong or relevant.... She just didn't necessarily like the talks surrounding him. But hey, who was she to judge? It wasn't like she was going on a gossip trek or for a sex contract, God forbid. She just hoped that whatever she had heard from people hadn't taken an unconscious root in her mind, to spoil her work culture, and that was only if she got the job. Feeling like she had just recieved a glinting star from God, she smiled to herself and ran up the small steps, into her bedroom.
Pulling her drawer open, she picked up the long unused folder containing her certificate and work experience, then proceeded to open her wardrobe. Giving the items a quick scan, she picked out the best clothes she had, hoping it was enough. Her only unfaded black elastic skirt and a peach coloured top. She set it down on the bed and scratched her head. It wasn't the best, but it was the best she had and that was going to have to do. She set aside her black flats as determination bubbled and blossomed within her, and ran her hands over them for reassurance. Grinning down at her fit, she smiled from ear to ear. She was excited. So excited. She went over to her small room's window and exhaled. By this time tomorrow, by the grace of God, she would be back home with wonderful news. She cast her eyes heavenward and closed them in prayer. She prayed for favor, and for God's will to be done. She prayed for success and a little bit of reprieve from her current state of poverty, and crowned it all in Jesus' name. She opened her eyes, gave her room one last look, walked over to her bed and lay in it. Tomorrow would be a wonderful day.
She believed.
