Chapter 6 Starting Over

Loraine, who was off the radar, was trying to get her life back on track.

She went to Universe Group for an interview.

When she saw many employees going about their duties in their beautiful corporate wear, Loraine felt that this was where she was supposed to be.

At that moment, she regretted staying married to Marco for three solid years. She beat herself up for not divorcing him before he could render her heart to shreds.

She decided to take charge of her life. She was going to live for herself and her family.

Holding her head up high, Loraine straightened her clothes and took a deep breath before entering the interview room.

Her eyes suddenly fell on a familiar face.

Vickie Archer!

It came as a surprise that one of the three interviewers was her junior high school classmate.

Vickie recognized Loraine at a glance. Her face darkened immediately.

Many years had passed, but Vickie still hadn't let go of the inveterate hatred she harbored for Loraine.

The hatred emanated from jealousy. Loraine was inexplicably beautiful, and many boys in school wanted to be with her. On the other hand, Vickie was unable to catch the eye of any boy.

Even the boy she had a crush on was obsessed with Loraine.

Now that they met again, Loraine was a mere job seeker, while she was the interviewer who could decide her fate.

The thought of sabotaging her enemy with her power made Vickie extremely happy.

"Loraine Torres, right?"

Vickie eyed Loraine from head to toe. She then leafed through her resume casually.

"So, you are divorced?"

Vickie chuckled, which stunned her colleagues, who couldn't understand why she was laughing at that.

"Graduated with honors from Presal Institute of Art..."

Vickie found this hard to believe.

Presal Institute of Art was a top foreign school. How could Loraine afford to school there? Besides, didn't she drop out of junior high school? She must be lying.

Vickie became happier that she had something on Loraine.

She almost clapped her hands in excitement as she thought of humiliating Loraine later on.

With a complacent expression, she cleared her throat and said, "I hate to say this, Miss Torres. But after looking at your resume, I must say that you are not qualified to work in Universe Group."

Loraine frowned. "Why am I not qualified? Attached to my resume is a collection of designs I have worked on in the past. Not to brag, but I think they make me more than qualified for the role. I wouldn't have gotten an invite for this interview if I wasn't qualified."

Vickie snorted at those words.

She was of the notion that Loraine's designs were fake since her educational background was fake. She didn't even bother looking at them.

On second thought, she figured that she could humiliate Loraine more.

"I see. Since you are so confident, I have to test you."

Under the astonished gazes of her colleagues, Vickie threw a document to Loraine.

"I hope you are not all mouth. This is a chance to prove yourself."

Loraine took the document confidently.

It was a project of a coastal resort. The question read, "Due to the warm weather in recent years, the rising sea level rapidly erodes the island area. The resort project has been unable to forge ahead..."

Loraine thought for a while before giving an answer.

"The resort can be built around the island. Wooden stilts can be used on the reef covered by the sea, extending from the shore to the surface of the water, forming a fence with wooden connection blocks. On the fence, sheds can curve around the coast. French windows should be included in the design. In this way, tourists can enjoy the beautiful view of the sea. For long-term development, we should consider the ecological system of the island. Through studying the impact of local climate on the ecological system, we can reduce the use of fossil materials and establish environment-friendly facilities for sustainable tourism."

"Bravo! That's a great idea!"

"Yeah. Why didn't we think of it?"

The two other interviewers, who had been silent, concurred with Loraine as soon as she finished speaking. They looked at her as if they found a treasure of inestimable value.

One of them uttered excitedly, "You are hired, Miss Torres. When can you start?"

"Thank you so much. I can resume tomorrow!" Loraine replied with a smile.

Things weren't going the way Vickie had planned. Her face turned livid with embarrassment and fury.

"No way! I don't agree!"

The third interviewer frowned deeply. "Vickie, what's wrong with you today? You asked her a question more difficult than it should be. Miss Torres has proven that she's perfect for the job. Why are you still insisting that she shouldn't be hired?"

In the face of her colleagues' antagonism, Vickie said firmly, "I don't think this plan is her idea. Something tells me she stole it from somewhere. For your information, Loraine and I were once classmates. She liked to cheat doing tests. It was so bad that she got expelled from school. Her qualifications are all fake. I won't allow such a liar to work in Universe Group!"

Vickie sneered after she finished speaking. Her lie was just perfect since Loraine had dropped out of school. She felt that her colleagues wouldn't find out the truth even if they did a background check.

The other two interviewers looked at Loraine with suspicion.

One of them put on a serious expression and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Torres. The interview is over. You may leave now."

"Wait!" Just when Loraine was about to leave dejectedly, a low and pleasant male voice came from the door. "What a disgrace! It never crossed my mind that the interviewers could jump to conclusions without solid evidence. I'm highly disappointed!"

"Mr. Benton!"