Chapter 4 The HR Round!

"Hello Lily Stewart , this is Ken, the business HR partner for McCarthney Real Estates Private Limited." The HR introduced himself over the call.

"Hello Ken, it is nice to meet you. Thank you for calling." Lily spoke in a professional tone

"The contract would be slightly delayed, but the CEO is keen on having you officially registered immediately. The remuneration decided for you will remain as planned. Meanwhile, I would like to request you to mail us a few details as mentioned in the email I just sent you along with identity proofs."

"Sure, I will send the details immediately. May I please know the tentative date for the contract? I may need some time to read the document." Lily inquired hopefully.

"It depends on the CEO as he has hired you. He has certain specifications and expectations that he may want to discuss with you tomorrow. Are you available to visit the office?" Ken questioned.

"Oh, sure. I can pay him a visit tomorrow.

I am free." Lily confirmed her availability but deep in her heart, she has no confidence to meet him. She is shy and awkward remembering her interview day. She has no guts to face him.

"Thank you for the confirmation. I will send you the time post confirmation. Thank you and all the best." Ken hung up the call before even she could thank him.

She is not worried about facing the CEO and she is not aware of his name too. He did not even tell her about the company in detail and her role as she starts off with him. She understood the type of work, but she still needed the names of documents or software she would have to involve herself with if any. She sat down to write a few questions that she would like to ask her new boss.

Once she was done, she adds the paper into her folder containing all her important documents which would be carrying tomorrow again. As he complained about her messy hair, she was determined to pull a clean hairdo for him to avoid getting offended with remarks.

She planned to wear a formal dress that covered her chest up to the neck level. It did have a long chain though and the midi length perfectly fit around her knees.

She tied her hair into a bun neatly and ensured all her baby hairs were covered up well. One last look at her shoes that were well polished and shiny, she seemed very much satisfied with the way she has put up her entire attire for the meeting.

She picked her folder and was off to the company. She was greeted by the security, and it seemed like they already knew she was visiting the office. She was surprised by the treatment of them but moved on with a nervous expression.

She checked and rechecked herself as she moved to the CEO's office. She was nervous and embarrassed with her experience of the interview. She was greeted by the HR outside the office and she was escorted inside.

"Thank You Ken. I can take it from here. Lily, please have a seat." Brad gestures her to sit on the sofa as Ken leaves the office. He patiently watches the door closing after Ken leaves.

"How are you doing, Lily?" He asked her.

"I am doing great. How are you doing?" She asked nervously. She was blushing as she spoke, and he could notice her blushing already.

"I am doing great. I am sorry for calling you here again, but I thought to have a connect with you in person once again since we would be working together as a team from now on." He clarified.

"That sounds good, but I do have a few questions. Maybe you can provide me details about your typical schedule that you follow daily, and I will have an idea about the work in more detail." She replied after hearing him.

He frowned. He called her as a social meet, but she seemed more interested to talk about work. Somewhere, he was not in a mood to talk about work around her and he could not understand why.

"We are just a real estate business, but I am also actively involved in trading at the same time. I have been very busy with all travels, meetings, and lots of work. I am looking for someone to be by my side now who can support me in my work. I can be free for some time in a day." He explained.

"I will try my best." She assures with a smile.

"You look way too young, and I was confused about your age. I am meeting a woman like you for the first time who is also way too fit for her age." He looked at her directly into her eyes and she could only look away. She was nervous and felt awkward at the same time.

Ignoring her expressions, he said, "I would love to pass some of those genes to my kids."

"In that case, you may have to travel to my city to find a young-looking woman. Women in my city usually look younger than their age and I am sure you know it already." She tried to avoid her real understanding of his statement.

Brad thought in his mind, 'What did I just tell her? Kids? What is wrong with me? What am I even thinking.'

He faked a cough and spoke, "I am surprised that you are so beautiful and still single as stated in your resume."

"I was in a relationship earlier and I broke up some four months ago." She mentioned with an awkward smile. He noticed her sadness in her eyes.

He suddenly feels sad seeing her sad smile. He asked softly, "How long was the relationship?"

"It was almost two years." She spoke.

He felt jealous and he could not understand why. He wanted to know about how close she was to her boyfriend but afraid she would end up saying something that would burn him down.

"You must be missing him and all that physical intimacy." He chuckled as he spoke about it feeling like a broken heart already.

"We were never close. I was busy earning money for both of us and he was never happy with the amount of financial support I provided him. He was cheating on me all the time while I was doing overtime to earn some extra money for him." She clarified.

"I am surprised he never touched you." He was happy in his heart and a sense of relief was inevitable. He continued, "Obviously he would cheat on you because you were always busy. I am happy that you picked yourself up well post breakup. You deserve someone who cares for you and loves you every day." He clearly meant him, and she could already notice his intentions.

She felt even more awkward and blushed. Her cheeks turned all red and he found her cute at that moment. His direct glare at her made her lose her guts to look at him and the entire atmosphere was a mix of emotions.

"He was a selfish man and not worth my time at all. He only needed my money, and I was already done with him." She said confidently and he was impressed by her spirit.

He had his heart beating faster and he could only behave normally although he already ended up saying things that is making her blush.

"You are doing well. I mean look at you. You are beautiful, cute, determined to be successful and men will often see you as a trophy wife. You are precious but you deserve care and love that only a true lover can give you. You are perfect and you don't have to change for everyone." He said and he could only shout at himself for speaking this way.

She blushed even more and gave an awkward smile to him. She still did not have the guts to look at him directly. She was feeling so shy and the way he was speaking to her, the loving tone was not something she is used to. He was adamant and cold on the day of the interview. She is not sure what changed him in a few days. He is so loving and sweet unlike the other day where he was being so authoritative that he seemed more like an owner of her than a CEO.

An awkward silence spread in the air, and she could only remain numb at the moment.

"Anyways, would you like to have some coffee? I make good one." He offered to break the silence and awkwardness. He tried to make her feel comfortable after he realized his statements he made on her.

She looked at him and nodded with a smile on his face. "I am your assistant, please let me help you with it maybe."

He agreed to take her help and they walked up to the coffee machine. While he poured coffee into the paper cups, she blended it with milk and sugar as per their respective requirements. As they sipped their coffee, he asked, "I am sure you get asked out by several men. You are short but cute."

Her eyes got bigger, and she immediately looked at him in confusion. "Why are you asking this? It's a very awkward question and we just met."

"Well, I am asking to make sure that you don't chase me away at least if at all you are doing that to other men." She blushed again. She is indeed having a very awkward moment and she has no control.

"Yeah, but I don't get impressed by any. Men are of poor quality nowadays. Good men don't exist." She clarified.

"You never know if a good man is standing by your side and having coffee with you." He spoke again and he regretted immediately.

'Is he trying to flirt? What is wrong with him?' She was left in shock. Her hands ran cold, and she had goose bumps all over her hand. With the attempt to change the topic, she asked, "Before I forget, could you please tell me about the tentative date for the contract?"

He laughed and said, "You are smart at trying to change the topic. Have you sent your details?"

"Oh yes, I did yesterday." Lily confirmed she has mailed all the details that was asked by the HR, Ken.

"I think I may have missed a mail from Ken in that case. You can mail me once again. It's the same email through which I contacted you for the interview. That should make things easier."

"Sure, I will send it right after I reach home. I think I should be heading back now. I will wait for the contract." She said as she literally wanted to run away from him at that point. She was frustrated that she could not get the contract but was called by him for a chat which seemed extremely awkward for her.

"Are you trying to run away or chase me away? Hahaha!" He laughed and the entire office echoed.

"Nothing like that, thought it would be better to send you the documents and we can sign the contract soon." She was ready to move away from him and get out of the office as fast as possible.

He smiled and looked at her for one last time. "I will let you go then and get back to working on the contract. You may need to start working here soon. Wait for further updates from me or Ken."

She nodded and thanked him politely. She picked her folder and moved out of the office giving him one last smile before heading towards the door. He smiled even after she was out of the door.