Chapter Ten

Irene

They had been back a few days, but Irene kept thinking about the short trip to the compound near West Shaw Heights.

Today, especially, she thought about the trip more than usual because it was her day off and she didn’t have plans for the day. She had really enjoyed the trip.

She was even a bit disappointed that she was back so soon; time went amazingly fast. She loved the woods, and she loved the people who lived there.

She envied her friend Joanna—she got to live there, had a job there, had the love of her life there. Joanna would be going to Redwater Creek on Wednesday, in two days—way too soon.

Now that she thought of her friend, she realized she hadn’t heard from her for a couple of days.

She wondered if Joanna was alright, with the destined thing and all. For herself, it was a lot to process, let alone how it would be for Joanna.

She decided to give her a call later; maybe she could give Joanna a hand packing all the things she wanted to take with her.

“Irene, look. Could this be something you’re interested in?” Luca called over from his bedroom.

When she walked over and looked at the screen of his laptop, she saw that he was pointing at an advertisement for some PA job.

“Could be,” she said. “Can you send me the link so I can look it up on my own laptop?”

“Sure, done,” Luca responded and turned to look at her. “Do you want some lunch? I feel like eating grilled cheese sandwiches today.

“Then you can tell me about your trip to West Shaw Heights. You haven’t told me a thing about it.”

“Well, sure. Can you go ahead? I am going to look at that advertisement first.” She walked into her bedroom to start her laptop up and take a better look at the job offer.

When she sat down on her bed with her laptop on her lap, she saw that the advertisement was from the Hunter Corporation. A job at that company was what everyone in this city dreamed of.

They would get a lot of reaction to this ad, that was for sure. She wouldn’t even stand a chance. When she read further, she saw it was a PA job for the big boss.

She wondered if the PA would be working for Zachary Hunter himself, or for his representative.

Luca showed his head through the opening of the door. “Lunch is ready. What do you think about the advertisement? You should apply, don’t you think?”

She turned to look at him as he walked further into the room. “You really think so?” she asked. “Do you think I even stand a chance? Everyone in this city will be applying. What makes you think I will have a chance?”

“Because you deserve it,” Luca said, and shrugged. “You are smart—smarter than you think—you are good with people, you are polite, you always have everything in order.

“You have the right qualifications. You are simply perfect for the job. I just know. If you don’t respond to this ad, I will do it for you.” He raised his finger and frowned at her, teasing. His eyes shone mischievously.

She sighed. “I wish I had some of your confidence.”

“Just do it. You have nothing to lose. Now come on, the sandwiches are getting cold,” Luca said, as he turned and walked out of her room.

She closed her laptop and walked after him. Luca was right, she thought to herself. She really had nothing to lose, and she decided to fill in the online application form once they’d finished their lunch.

Later in the afternoon, Irene’s phone rang. It was an unknown number.

“Irene speaking.”

“Good afternoon. Hunter Corporation, this is Denise Lewis speaking. Am I talking to Irene Turner?”

“Yes, you are.”

“I am calling about your application for the PA position. We would like to meet you and see if you are the right person for the job. Could you come by tomorrow to have a little interview?”

“Well, that is quick,” Irene said, surprised. “Tomorrow morning, I am free, but I have to work at my current job in the afternoon.”

“What do you think about nine in the morning? Will that be alright with you?”

“Yes, that is fine. Thanks for calling.”

“We will see you tomorrow morning then. Have a nice day, miss.”

When she put down her phone, she sat for a moment to let the news sink in. She smiled, then she ran to Luca’s bedroom.

“Luca! Luca!” She burst through his door.

He got up quickly when he saw her breathing heavily. “What is it? Are you alright?” He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her worriedly.

“I am fine. I just got a call from the Hunter Corporation. They want to see me. Tomorrow I have an interview!”

“That is quick. But it’s great news.” He gave her a hug. “We have to celebrate, how about we order some pizza, and we invite Joanna over?”

“I don’t have the job yet. Isn’t it a little bit too early to celebrate?” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled. “Of course not! We are celebrating that you got yourself an interview—that itself is reason enough.”

“Well, call her then, if you really insist. She will be gone in a week, so it’s good to get together one more time. I’ll miss her.”

Luca took Irene back into his arms and placed a kiss on her hair. “I’ll miss her too, but she’ll be fine there. And we can always visit her,” he said. “I’ll call her and then order in, okay?”

“Sure.”

After a while, the doorbell rang. “Joanna!” Irene shouted when she opened the door. She gave her friend a tight hug and noticed a tall, dark shadow behind her friend.

“Did we invite someone else?” she asked. When she stepped back, she was looking up into a set of deep blue eyes. “Ethan!” She gave him a hug as well. “I didn’t know you were in town, it’s good to see you. How have you been?”

She took a step back to let them in and shut the door.

“I’ve been well, thank you.” Ethan smiled and walked into the living room.

“I thought Joanna could use some extra muscle to help out with the move, so I got here this afternoon.”

Joanna and Ethan greeted Luca, who was in the living room, and they all got comfortable. They enjoyed each other’s company, and Ethan just fit right in like it had never been different.

After a while, the pizzas arrived, and they put on a movie and watched it while they ate. Halfway through the movie, they decided to take a break to clean up the leftovers and to pour another drink.

“Joanna said there was a reason to celebrate tonight,” Ethan said. “What are we celebrating?”

“We are actually celebrating that Irene got herself an interview as PA at the Hunter Corporation,” Luca said proudly, while he hugged her from behind.

“Really, that’s great!” Joanna said happily, also giving Irene a hug. “When do you have your interview?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“I didn’t know Zach needed a new assistant,” Ethan remarked, and they all looked at him in surprise.

“What do you mean?” Irene asked.

“Well, I drove here with Zach. He needed to attend to some business things, so he offered to let me stay at his place. I didn’t know that those business things involved a new PA.”

“You know Zachary Hunter?” Irene looked at him with big eyes.

“Well, yes.” He looked at Joanna. “Joanna, you’ve met him already. He lives with us back home. I thought you would know that.” Ethan shrugged. “I grew up with the guy, he is like a brother to me.”

“I didn’t realize he was there when we visited. I didn’t see him,” Irene said.

“Well, then maybe you will tomorrow.” Ethan smiled.

“If you see him, I hope he won’t be too hard on you. When you meet him at home, he is very laid back, but here in Rockdale he can be very tense. He is a hardcore businessman.”

“Who will I work for?” Irene asked. “Will I work for Zachary only, or for someone else? If I get the job, that is.”

“You will probably work mainly for his representative, Mr. Saunders, but you will probably be assisting Zach as well when he is in town.

“Arrange his appointments, make reservations for business dinners, type out his notes…that kind of stuff.”

They chatted for a while about the job and about Zachary, but then proceeded to watch the movie. It was very late when Ethan and Joanna finally left. Irene was nervous about what the next day would bring.