Chapter 5 A Reunion

• I intended to go offer Julien my thanks after I ensured that Mom was comfortably settled in, but it seemed that somewhere in-between, the man had already left.
• It felt so much better to know that Mom would be able to stay and continue to work on her recovery, but I had to seek employment and secure a stable income at the soonest. I simply must.
• During the day, I received a text notification that promoted a large-scale job fair that would be held at People's Square tomorrow. My participation in this was beyond question. By hook or by crook, I had to nail a job there.
• I leaned my head close to my mother's bed and spent the night that way. The following morning, I helped Mom tidy up a bit and then made my way to People's Square.
• With many job hunters on the prowl, the place was jam-packed with bodies since early. So even after I caught up with queuing for forms and filling up my resume, I did not even manage to get a good look at the company's name before I plopped myself down into the hot seat.
• “You're Natalie Mackenzie, right? You used to work as an accountant, yes? Yeah, we have an opening here for a role like that. How long has it been since you have been in your previous position, and would you mind sharing with me your reasons for leaving?” the interviewer asked, peering scrupulously through thick lenses.
• “We can't use her, as she got fired for misappropriating company funds,” declared an awfully familiar voice away from me.
• To my horror, I realized that I did not notice the impeccably tailored imbecile Cary standing right at the side.
• “I'm sorry. Our manager Mr. Wieland has rejected your application. Please try your luck somewhere else,” the interviewer told me.
• Had I spotted this pile of turd in the shape of Cary Wieland earlier, there was no way in the world I would have sat for an interview here. What rotten luck. My tiny sliver of renewed hope, dashed by this piece of trash who once again just flat out refused to stop haunting me.
• My hot fury was that close to bursting through my blood vessels. Just the sight of Cary made me want to smite the smugness off his detestable little mug, over and over!
• “Retain her, and arrange for her to undergo a second round of interviews.” Just then, a magnetic and sonorous voice sounded off from behind me. Oddly, that inflection struck me as being kind of familiar.
• The interviewer jolted up as though assisted by a trampoline. “Mr. Starck!”
• When I turned around, I caught the sight of a handsome visage. With his sculpted nose and deep-set eyes, the features that manifested his aloofness were, nevertheless, strikingly refined. That face, belonged to Julien Starck.
• Next to him stood a lady in a chic flowing one-piece claret dress. She had a thick makeup on her face and was resplendent with the dazzling of her pieces of jewelry, but she was, otherwise, quite impressively unremarkable in the looks department.
• “You should have told me that you were coming, Sienna. I could have gone over to pick you up myself,” fawned the smarmy-faced Cary slavishly.
• “Uncle Julien and I are going over to celebrate Grandpa's birthday with him. We just decided to drop by for a bit to check in on the progress of your recruitment drive. Allow me to make an introduction. Uncle Julien, this is Cary Wieland, the pillar of our company, and also, the guy who so happens to be my boyfriend,” the lady in red enthused.
• Cary parroted her by hailing the other man an obsequious greeting, but the latter did not give him so much as a hoot.
• You got to give me a moment because this shenanigan right here just blew my mind.
• That lady in red called Sienna had to be Cary's Jezebel since she professed that he was her boyfriend. Furthermore, she also hailed Julien as her uncle, while the interviewer addressed him as Mr. Starck.
• It pointed to reason that this company had to surely belong to the Starcks, and Cary was trying to move up in the world by riding on the hems of Sienna's skirt. Not only was Julien a shareholder at the Sunshine Sanitarium, but it would seem that he was also in the upper management of this company that I was interviewing for as well.
• As it could be expected, being ahead in the pecking order naturally made his word the law. I thereby took it upon myself to step up and engage him first. “Hello, Mr. Starck. Thank you for your help last night.”
• Julien was completely indifferent to my expression of gratitude if he even heard me. All he did was extend a slender finger which he rapped upon that copy of my resume. “I shall be conducting the second round of interviews myself. Make sure to have this CV ready where I can see it.”
• “Understood, Mr. Starck,” the interviewer replied.
• Julien said no more and turned to leave without casting another look my way. He seemed to see right past me, and it was as though I did not exist.
• Post Julien's departure, I had few reasons to continue to stick around. Curiously though, Cary caught up with me. and he sure looked a little jittery. “How did you become acquainted with Sienna's uncle? What was it that happened last night that you needed to thank him for?”
• His perturbation ignited an idea in my mind. Since Julien was Sienna's uncle, coupling up with him would turn me into Sienna's aunt. That meant that even that cad Cary would have to accord me the same respect.
• That prompted me to want to become his aunt so that I could stomp him through the curb. It would be made known to the Starcks what a creep he was to woo Sienna while still married, and I shall see to it that he lost everything to his name.
• “Not only do I know him, but we are really tight as well. Surely Sienna doesn't know that you've yet to divorce, yes? If she were to find out that she had been duped by a married man, I'm sure that'll be the end of your aspirations for upward mobility, wouldn't you agree?” I scoffed.
• Cary's expression soured even more immensely. “If you dare run your mouth, watch out!”
• “Try me, you shameless bastard! Give me back my house, or I'll tell the whole world about how despicable you are,” I cussed.
• “Do that, and I'll let the loan sharks know where your mother is hiding. Frank's a real vicious son of a gun. Wouldn't you care to find out how he might go about sending you and your mother to an early grave?” Cary rejoined.
• That got me cowed, as my Mom was my absolute Achille's heel.
• Given the circumstances, it did not seem wise to butt heads with this piece of filth. Should I bide my time, however, I would sooner or later get a chance to get even. First things first, though. Julien had to be convinced at the interview tomorrow to allow me to join the Starcks' company.
• The days that that scumbag Cary got his comeuppance couldn't come soon enough, but I could wait. It was not simply revenge that I sought. Mark my words - I would make his life a living hell.