Akira was waiting anxiously at the reception of Delphi office at Brooklyn. Even though she was an academically brilliant student, she was still feeling very nervous. She was biting her nails and was shuffling through her resume every now and then. She had to make it through because a source of steady income was really important for her right now apart from industry experience.
Akira was wearing a turquoise blue formal shirt and a grey pencil skirt. The whole attire made her look very sharp and poised. She was wearing black kitten heels because she knew that normal heels were not her forte.
The receptionist looked at her kindly and smiled because she had seen many such nervous candidates who would be panicking to their maximum, before the interview. She went to Akira and asked her-
"Miss Akira, do you need water or something?"
"Umm.. no thanks," replied Akira.
The receptionist nodded and she was about to turn back to go to her seat when Akira asked her,
"Do I look extremely nervous."
The receptionist smiled back at her after hearing her question and said, "It's totally human to feel nervous before an interview. Don't worry you will do good".
Akira saw the receptionist going back to her seat, and decided to regain her nerves. The kind words from the receptionist had calmed her a bit. She stood up straightened her skirt and took a small walk around. Then she picked up her phone and called Vikram.
"Hey, how is it going?", asked Vikram.
"Nothing much. I am just waiting for my interview to start" Akira replied.
Vikram could sense that she was a bit nervous. She was super angry with him because of the incident that had happened yesterday but still, she called him. So it was a clear indicator that her nerves were all jittery. So he decided to distract her and talked about all random stuff. Within a couple of minutes, she was back to normal.
"Thanks", Akira said to Vikram.
"For what?", Vikram asked.
"For being there for me. I know you are very busy right now but you always make time for me. Hope I can do the same for you." Akira said very sincerely.
"Ok if you want to do something for me then rock the interview ok?", Vikram said.
"Ha Ha will try", said Akira and disconnected the call.
Akira returned back to her seat and gave another cursory glance at her resume. Just then the receptionist received a call. After disconnecting the call, she asked Akira to follow her. She took Akira upstairs to Mr. Raymond's cabin and indicated that she could go in for the interview.
Akira slightly knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter. A few seconds later she heard someone say - "come in". The voice had authority but it was quite calm at the same time. She pushed the door open and went inside. She had literally no idea how her life was going to change the very next second.
She saw Raymond sitting in front of him. His aura was breathtaking. He looked totally dapper in his navy blue suit. His hair was impeccably styled with not even one strand going astray. His face, his jawline was so perfect that probably God himself had spent a good amount of time chiseling him out.
Akira kept gawking at him with unflinching dedication. Of all the people who could have interviewed her, it was him. She was having a surge of a mixture of emotions. Happiness, surprise, relief, all these elements came rushing towards her. His smoldering eyes and intense gaze was scanning her from top to bottom.
This very person had left a big impression on her during their fateful flight journey, but right now she was standing in total shock, totally smitten by his charm. A part of her wanted to ask him why he left without even saying a proper bye. But another part of her did not want to accept that he mattered to her. She didn't want to acknowledge that his presence alone was making her weak in her knees.
Raymond saw her standing all frozen near the door. She looked way more delicate and feminine than he remembered. She gently tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears and started looking down in a very demure way. Raymond understood that she was as much shocked as he was and a smug smile spread on his face, but he was determined not to let his guard down, so he recomposed himself and said in a grave tone-
"Please take a seat, Ms. Akira".
Reality dawned upon Akira when she heard him calling her name. She straddled towards the chair and before sitting down she extended her hand for a handshake and said
"Good afternoon sir!!! "
Raymond looked at her but didn't bother to shake her hands. Akira felt really weird with the way he behaved. She sat on the chair opposite him and started thinking about all the possibilities.
"Do I somehow repulse him?".
"Is he germophobic?".
"Have I irked him somehow that he left without saying a bye?"