Chapter 1 Job hunting

Nora

The metered taxi deposited me, Nora Reidy, at the corner of my intended destination. My neck worked overtime as l studied my environment. Downtown Bluewaters was cleaner, less crowded than my noisy, overcrowded stomping ground, the upper part of town.

The upper part of town hosted a cauldron of races, blacks, whites, brown, any colour you know, Bluewaters had it. Here the prominent race appeared to be white.

The stationary and moving cars looked expensive. The few people l saw on the street wore costly clothes, shoes and accessories. I felt naked in my washed out jeans, scruffy sneakers and a sweater that had seen better days.

I turned a corner and the Ratliff offices came into sight. I uncapped my l liter bottle filled with iced water from home. l could not afford to pay for the taxi and buy bottled water at the same time. I gulped down the water and studied the building.

All my hopes were pinned on this building. If l failed to get the job today, my world faced total collapse.

You see, my beloved granny was dying, she needed a kidney transplant. We could not afford the surgery. Our family was dirt poor. Our relatives ignored our plight and refused to help.

My life was in limbo right now. My university results were yet to come out. I was a medical student who just finished her studies to become a neurosurgeon. My several attempts to get a job failed drastically.

My mum was still alive, but she chose alcohol and a man over her own daughter and mother. At the moment, her whereabouts were a mystery to me. It was granny and l against the unforgiving and harsh world.

Two glass doors faced me, l pushed my wavy brown hair from my face, craned my neck, and looked at the tallest building in town. At the top, the words Ratliff Airlines Group were written in gold against the black backdrop. My gaze moved to the door again, l sprinted inside.

The security guard stopped me as l made my way towards the reception area.

" Sorry miss, where are you going?"

I backtracked and halted in front of him.

" To the CEO'S office, l have an interview there."

" Ok miss, floor 29. Good luck."

I nodded and started towards the elevators. There were two, one on the far left behind the receptionist, the other on the far right. There were about a dozen people in front of the right one. I decided to take the one which was clear.

As l passed behind the receptionist, she swivelled around in her chair.

"Miss you can't use that elevator, please use the other one."

I ignored her and went on my way. Why wait when the other elevator was clear. I pressed number 29 and waited, then l heard,"I'm sorry sir, l tried to stop her, she ignored me."

Quick footsteps fast approached me. l watched the elevator intently as it came down. The elevator door opened. As i stepped forward, a hand roughly pulled me back. My water bottle flew over my shoulder and hit something or someone.

I was shoved towards the adjacent wall. My back hit the wall, the pain paralyzed my legs.They slid out from under me. My butt hit the ground with a thud.

My tailbone screamed in pain, red shoes appeared in my sight. My eyes followed the long legs, a black tight skirt met my eyes. l tilted my head, angry brown eyes looked down at me.

" Miss, do you want me to lose my job? Didn't l tell you not to use that elevator? Now you have poured water all over the CEO. That's the CEO'S private elevator!."

" Sorry." I mumbled and peered between her long legs, a black suit clad man was trying to dab at the chest of a tall man who swatted his hand away. The tall man 's face was familiar. What did l do to myself? This was Maxwell Ratliff, Bluewaters's bachelor billionaire. He was rumoured to be short tempered. In short he was rude.

" Frank, bring that wretched girl here."

My lips trembled, my heart rate speeded up. The man called Frank trotted over to us, the receptionist moved out of his way. He hefted me off my feet. My spine screamed in protest. Maxwell Ratliff's bad reputation made me plant my feet stubbornly. Frank dragged me, my shoes scuffed the floor, crrrrr. Frank deposited me in front of the angry man.

I raised my eyes, my gaze met the blackest, maddest eyes l had ever seen.

" Who gave you permission to use my elevator?."

A deep voice demanded. "I didn't know it was for the privileged." I

mumbled under my breath. He obviously heard me because the next thing my head exploded in pain.

Whack! My head snapped to the side as a hot slap landed on my cheek. Tears of rage filled my eyes. My granny, even my dead beat mother, never beat me. Humiliation and anger gripped my gut. I glared at him though a river of tears, his image wavered behind the tears. He glared back, furious.

He moved his hand, shooed me off like l was a chicken," take her away before i kill her."

Frank dragged me again, this time towards the door. We stepped outside," miss, these people are not like us, they value their property, you can't just pitch up and use the boss's elevator."

I sniffed and used the back of my hand to wipe my tears, Frank gave me his handkerchief to wipe my face. I wiped my face, blew my nose and clutched the handkerchief in my hand.

"I didn't know, but did he have to slap me? It's not like l committed a federal offence."

Frank sighed," Miss, where were you going?."

" These people called me for an interview only to treat me like a dog."

Frank extended his hand," give me the letter, let me see if l can direct you to the correct department."

I patted my pocket. " Oh my phone."

" Forget the phone miss, l will get it, just hand over the interview letter."

I fished the letter from my pocket and handed it over.

Frank studied it and handed it back, " you mixed the buildings, you are supposed to go next door through that gate."

Frank pointed to a small gate on the left side. I felt stupid, l would run if l could but l needed this job.

" Wait here, l will bring your phone." He brought it back a few minutes later, " it's screen is broken, but it still working."

" Thank you." My phone was my life

l did everything on it, from my assignments to job hunting. I cursed that cruel man for almost ruining it.

I trudged towards the small gate, my hand on my aching back. I pushed the gate, a huge one structure building came into sight.

The signage of Ratliff Restaurants was boldly written in black, against the white backdrop. Oh my god, but I forgave myself. This was my first time in this part of town.

The double wooden doors were ajar, l stepped in. The cool air from the fan caressed my face. Waitresses and waiters bustled about, in black and white uniforms.

I approached the one who looked less busy," hello, can you direct me to the manager's office please?."

The waiter jerked his thumb over his shoulder, l followed his thumb.

I knocked on the expensive wooden black door.

" Come in."

A singsong voice intoned. A kind, beautiful face with a wide smile, greeted me as i came through the door.

" Welcome, you must be the interviewee, Nora Reidy. Right? I'm Marylin Ratliff."

Well, this was promising, a kind boss. " Yes mum, l am."

She pointed to the chair," sit down and tell me about yourself."

Damnit, the part l hated with everything in me. Nobody wanted to narrate their poverty stricken life.

What was there to be proud of?

I stared into her kind eyes. I spilled everything, from my childhood to date. She listened with rapt attention, her chin in her hand. It took a long time to get to the end of my wretched life.

" You got the job."

What! No questions about if l had experience or not? A knock landed on the door and before Mrs Ratliff answered my nightmare walked through the door.