Lend me your life

A dark room, Dan can barely see anything. He tries to move and realizes being bound to a chair and gagged. He struggles to free himself to the point where the metal wires are cutting into the flesh. Dan looks around. He is bound to metal chair, this looks like an unused room, cobwebs everywhere. The windows are shaded, broken furniture scattered. The floor is dirty, and rug has more holes than you can count. There is an overhead bulb, but not bright enough for him to clearly make out things.

He seems to be at one end of the a very large room since he could not see much beyond and there was no sign of a door. As he struggles to move, he hears a metal door opening and footsteps approaching. Suddenly the lights go out and in the darkness he realizes a dark figure is walking up to him. It stops in front of him, and he sees a large bloodied hand extending towards him.

Dan suddenly tries to grab something in the air, as he woken up from his dream, sweating profusely. He is sitting on his bed and his breathing is rushed, took him couple of minutes to calm down. A girl was sleeping soundly next to him, with her back exposed. He could see the hickeys he left on her, proof of the wild night. He gets down from the bed, wears his boxers and walks to kitchen to get a glass of water. He grabs a bottle from the fridge and sits down on the sofa. The same nightmare again. It's been a while since it last happened. Why now?

Dan checks the time, its 5am. He couldn't believe that he had slept for just a couple of hours. The nightmare seemed to last an eternity. Last night was crazy, it was his friend's bachelor party. He reached home just after midnight, early by his standards, but what followed kept him awake till early hours. Doesn't matter. He would not be able to sleep anymore. He goes to his gym in the basement to start with his morning routine. After an hour, he comes up to the guestroom to find the girl still sleeping. He doesn't bother waking her up and goes to his bedroom, washes up and leaves for office. His maid should be in soon, and knows how to do with his one night stands.

It doesn't take him long to reach office, since it is still early. There are very few people in the office.

"Good morning, Mr. Anderson" he is greeted by his chief of security, Eric Summers as he enters into the building.

"Good morning, Eric. Everything good? How is Irene?" Dan nodes at him.

"Yes, Mr. Anderson. Irene started college last week. She is enjoying it." Eric softens up at the mention of his daughter.

"Good, take care" Dan says before entering into the elevator.

Eric and Ryan, Dan's secretary, are probably the only people to whom Dan would talk informally. To others, he is the arrogant, cold and ruthless CEO, Daniel Anderson. Eric has known Dan since he was boy. Dan used to play in Eric's cabin sometimes, when he visited his father. Not to mention, he is one of the youngest recipients for the Businessman of the year award at 26, and the most richest in the country.

At 6'3, his handsome chiseled face exudes a devilish charm.

Daniel Anderson is the young CEO for the Andersons and Sons Ltd. The youngest and only son, he took over the business from his father at 22, when it one of the top five companies in the country. Within four years, he has made Andersons is number one company, with branches all over the world.

Mia is really nervous. This is her first interview ever. Even though she has spent days preparing for it, she is not confident enough.

"Amelia Oblisky" Her name was called out.

"Here" Mia stood up to acknowledge and entered into the interview room. There were four people in the interview panel. She handed her qualifications to the board. Even though she is not studying in an elite college, she was a topper in her college. And this is just for an internship, hopefully they would not be too judging.

"Please introduce yourself" One of the interviewers demanded.

As Mia was speaking she could see that the interview panel was not really interested in her reply and flipping through her resume. Just as she finished

"Your college is a B grade college, you know that right? Why do you think we should hire you , when we have students from the elite colleges?"

Mia was expecting this question. She had read online, as well as heard from her classmates, this was a usual question asked to the students from her college. She explained her good grades and part time experience can make up for the elite colleges. The interview panel seems divided over her reply. They asked a few more questions before letting her go.

"How was it?" Lisa asked as soon as she entered the dorm. Lisa Becker was her roommate and best friend in college.

"I do not think I made it. By their tone, I think they prefer somebody from the elites." Mia let out a sigh as she laid on her back and her past came rushing in her mind. It was not an easy journey to get where she is today. She was only 10 when her parents passed away in a car accident. Since both her parents were the only child, and no grandparents, she did not have any immediate family to go to. After being placed in an orphanage, she was fostered by a family. Unfortunately for her, they were doing it only to get the child maintenance. She was made to do all the house chores, and was barely fed. But since she was good in her studies, her perseverance paid off. She got admitted to the current college on scholarship. It's been three years since she ran away from home. They never looked for her. Guess they did not really care, since the maintenance pay would stop on her 18th birthday.

On the positive side, she has two more interview lined up in the upcoming weeks. This was the last month of college. It is best to get a job before the college ends. The money saved through the part time jobs might be just enough to get a room to rent, but it might be difficult to survive on the part time jobs and to spend time searching jobs.

"Don't worry, you still have two more to go. If you do not make it this time, consider this as an experience. Prepare the answers for the questions that were asked today." Lisa squeezed Mia's hand and said.

"Hmm. When is yours by the way?" I asked absent mindedly.

"A week from today. If I do not make it, I might just go back and work with dad. He would also prefer that. Though I don't want to be stuck in that swamp". Lisa turned sour as she said the last sentence. Lisa is from a small town and her father has a restaurant there. Being the only child, her father expects her to take over the business and run it. But Lisa has always dreamed of living in a city, enjoy the fast life.

"When is Nathan joining?" She continued.

The mention of Nathan made Mia smile and come out of lingering thoughts. Nathan Lane, Mia's boyfriend was planning to join for higher studies in the same college.

"It doesn't start till September. He is planning to go home for couple of months before coming back to join. I am not sure if he is decided when to go yet." Mia was happy that Nathan got the scholarship to stay and continue.

"Good that you would be in the same city" Lisa said, but turned away her face quickly. Mia did not notice the change in Lisa's mood.

Another day, another interview. But Mia still feels the same, nervous and maybe a bit disheartened. She did not pass the previous interview. That was for a smaller company as compared to today's. If she did not pass that, can she get this at all? She sighed again. The girl sitting next to Mia got irritated, got up and went and sat on a different seat. Mia has been sighing time and again as she waited.

"Amelia Oblisky"

"Yes" she got up and went in for the interview.

They asked similar questions, but she was more confident answering them. Once the interview was over, she went to lunch. She has her third interview in the afternoon. The interview did not go as planned and they postponed it to another time. This was good news. She could spend the time with Nathan. She rang him, only to get his answering machine. Maybe he is out with his friends. She decided to go shopping for a graduation gift for Nathan. She has been thinking of buying something for a while now, but with her part time jobs and studies, she hardly had any time. This was good, so she called up Lisa.

"Hey Mia!"

"Hi Lisa, are you free? I plan to do some shopping."

"Eh..? Should you not be giving your interview?"

"They cancelled. You joining?"

"Let me know where you are going. I'll join you in a bit. I am in the middle of something "

"Oh ok. See you then"

She messaged her the adress and left.

The mall was relatively empty. It is a midweek afternoon. Probably why. Mia browsed through the different shops undecided on what to buy. A tie would be the best choice, but Nathan is joining college, there is hardly a need for ties. After a few rounds she finalised on laptop. It would be good choice and she can buy one on installments. She went into an electronics shop, when she recieved a call.

"Ms. Oblisky?"

"Yes"

"Hi, My name is Katie, I am calling on behalf of Andersons Ltd. This is to inform you, you have passed the first round of interview and we would like to invite you in for a chat to discuss roles and responsibilties. We could also talk about expected salary."

What? I atually got it. That was quick.

"Sure. Thanks"

"Could you come in same time tomorrow?"

"Yes"

"Great. See you tomorrow then."

'Wow. I actually got it. I am so glad. No more interviews.' This would mean she can start looking at houses to rent. Just when she picked up the phone to give Lisa a call, Lisa messaged her saying she cannot come to the mall. She is caught up with some work. Since Mia was already decided on the gift, she did not insist.

Just as she entered the shop, someone suddenly grabbed her waist and held her in an tight embrace.