The two chatted merrily, each taking turns in the conversation. Aurora found Eric to be incredibly knowledgeable. It seemed that there was no field he hadn’t explored, and his glasses weren’t just for show; this man was truly impressive. Moreover, his manner of speaking was completely different from Paul’s; he was a man full of ideas.
She had held some prejudices against him initially, but over the course of the lunch, all her reservations had dissipated. “I happen to have a collector’s edition of ‘Dark Store Street’. If you like, I could bring it for you sometime,” Eric offered.
“Thank you, that would be lovely. It’s getting late, we should head back to the office,” she responded.
“Alright.”
After settling the bill, they left together. Just then, Hayden and Susan were coming upstairs. “Aurora, what a coincidence to see you here,” Susan said, clinging to Hayden’s arm and deliberately showing off her slightly oversized diamond ring.
Aurora saw through it but didn’t comment. It seemed Hayden was using her to secure his inheritance. If a man truly loved you, how could he get the size of your ring wrong? Not every woman loved roses, for instance, Susan was allergic to them, and her assistant had already taken away the bouquet of roses.
However, Susan was clearly delighted by Hayden’s efforts, eager for the whole world to witness her happiness. “We’ve just finished eating, so we’ll be heading off,” Aurora said, unaffected by the sight, having long moved past any feelings for Hayden.
“Okay then, we’re getting married at the end of this month. You should come,” Susan said cheerfully.
“I’ll just congratulate you in advance then. See you later,” Aurora replied, leaving with Eric.
As they crossed the street, Eric instinctively walked on her left side, a small gesture that revealed his gentlemanly nature.
Susan scoffed, “Hayden, that’s not the Aurora we knew anymore. Now, she’s just a slut, quickly hooking up with another man.”
Hayden, who usually ignored such remarks, couldn’t stand Susan’s insinuations. “That’s her cousin, Eric,” he corrected her.
Susan, embarrassed by the truth, forced a laugh, “Oh, I thought…”
“Just because she’s seen with a man doesn’t mean they’re involved. What about you? You act with so many men every day, by that logic, you must be…”
“Hayden, you know I’ve never been involved with any of those men. I only love you,” Susan tried to appease him, though his mood scarcely improved.
“Let’s go.”
Eric drove Aurora back to the office. “You go handle the interviews. I’ll contact you if there’s news from Mr. Gilpin,” he said.
“Okay.” Aurora headed towards the interview hall, where, after a morning’s rigorous selection, only the more capable candidates remained. The interviewees looked somewhat worn out, except for Gemma, who kept touching up her makeup.
“Penelope, look how far we’ve come. If we can outdo the others, we can stay and work here,” Gemma said, holding Penelope’s hand.
“Gemma, the afternoon won’t be so simple. I heard we’re meeting the main interviewer next, and our fate is in her hands. Less than half of us made it through the morning,” Penelope replied, feeling a bit nervous.
“It’s not necessarily so, don’t undermine your own prestige,” Gemma said, discussing Zachary and Ivy who were at an interview. “I thought with their status they could just walk into the company, but it turns out they have to go through the same process as us, even though they were boasting in front of us before.” Gemma only dared to talk about Ivy behind her back.
“Keep your voice down, what if she hears you? We are in their company after all.”
“They won’t hear us from this far away. By the way, do you know who the main interviewer will be? A man or a woman?” Gemma began to speculate.
“I guess it’s a man, probably in his forties, with a big belly,” Penelope said, resting her chin in her hand.
Ivy and Zachary were also growing impatient. “This is so annoying. Do we really have to come for an interview? Are we the same as commoners?”
“Just calm down. I’ve been feeling something off at home these past few days; mom and dad have been sleeping in separate rooms for several nights,” Zachary added.
“Have they been arguing? They used to at least talk at home, and I’ve seen mom try to speak to dad several times, but he ignores her.”
“They’ve been married for so many years, why would they suddenly have such a big fight? Dad has never been so assertive.”
“Who knows, but we need to behave ourselves for now, otherwise it’ll be unbearable at home.”
“Mom said she’s already smoothed things over for us; we’ll definitely get in,” Ivy confidently stated.
“The manager is here,” someone shouted, interrupting everyone’s daydreaming about the afternoon’s interviews.
Everyone instinctively stood up straight and started adjusting their clothes, looking towards the source of the voice.
Leading the way was a woman who looked clean and efficient, about the same age as those coming for the interview, but her presence was intimidating.
“Gemma, look at that manager! It’s… Aurora!” Penelope exclaimed in disbelief.
Gemma quickly tossed her lipstick back into her bag, her face falling as she saw Aurora leading the way.
Following Aurora were four older individuals, all looking admiringly at the leader.
She was so young to be a manager, and here they were, needing to interview; life seemed so unfair.
The men were admiring her graceful figure. “Wow, the manager is so beautiful!”
As they walked in, Aurora took her seat in the middle, and while waiting for the interviewees, those next to her began greeting her.
“Mr. Montgomery, being new here, you might not be familiar with the rules here. Some people have been pre-approved for positions; they are just going through the motions,” someone explained, handing him a list.
Aurora saw Ivy and Zachary’s names on the list; it was all set up in advance.
Well, if they were to come in, they would, but they wouldn’t last long.
Aurora nodded, “Alright, I know. Let’s begin.”
“Emily Dupont.”
Ivy and Zachary’s faces changed; they knew Aurora was the manager, but they didn’t realize she would be managing their interview!