Losing Cinderella (Completed but on hold)

CHAPTER 3

"Woah! I don't think I'll be needing my hearing after that!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, Ashtyn! This meeting will be the bomb!" Megan swooned. "Rhys McLaughlin will be there!"

A frown of confusion formed on her face. "Rhys who?"

Ken wrapped his arm around Ashtyn's shoulder. "Rhys McLaughlin," he repeated. "He's the Madam's super yummo son!" He put a hand over his chest. "When I say yummo, as in he's delicious, baby! I could eat him in so many ways!"

"I could do and eat him in so many ways!" Megan swooned.

Ashtyn grimaced. "Oh-kay! That's giving me disturbing images!" Forcing a smile, "I'm heading off to work now." She picked up her mug and was about to walk away.

Megan and Ken stood in front her of, stopping her in mid-stride. "I don't think you understand," Megan pointed. "Rhys McLaughlin is the heart of Hart Enterprises."

"He's a genius! If you walk into the boardroom, you can feel the powerful aura and the intense sex appeal!" Ken seemed as if he was already devouring the man.

Disturbing images! "I get it," she reassured them. "Really, I do! He's a powerful businessman who's oozing with yumminess," she stated with a blatant hint of disinterest. "I get it." 

They both sighed at the same time. "Oh you poor girl.  You haven't seen him, have you?"

"I haven't even heard of him," she told Megan. "Okay, I'm going to work now. Excuse me!" She walked through them and managed to reach the door without being blocked. She was relieved to finally be out of the staff room until she heard the staff room door squeak open and shut. She could almost feel the cadence of their stride vibrate against her feet as they followed behind her.

"How could you not have heard of him?" Ken asked in disbelief. "He's Madam's son!"

Ashtyn froze for a moment. "With all due respect to Madam, I don't know who he is." She didn't look as impressed as they were hoping her to be. She shrugged, "Maybe because I spend most of the day in an office, doing edit logs," she reminded them. She definitely knew Geena Hart, the company's Chief Executive Officer and owner—the woman who everyone refers to as Madam. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't have a job with the company in the first place.

When she set foot in the enormous lobby of Hart Enterprises for the first time, armed with a simple resume and a copy of her diploma, her heart was beating as if she has just ran a marathon. She approached the receptionist desk to ask if she could be directed to the Human Resources department.

The lady behind the desk didn't even look up at her. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked as her wrinkled fingers busily tapped across her keyboard. She was probably in her fifties.

"Yes, I have an interview at eleven a.m., " she answered confidently.

The lady finally lifted her head up and studied her. "The Human Resources Department is on the fifth floor." He handed a clipboard for her to sign in. "I'll need to see some identification before I hand you your pass."

A pass? She looked around her. She noticed that any one who walked passed the security team that guarded the elevator doors had to show them a card before swiping it through a scanner. What is in this building? Gold bullion?

She lowered her eyeglasses and looked at Ashtyn's overwhelmed face. As if she could read her mind. "I know, love, but we're very strict with who comes in and out of this building."

She nodded. "Of course! Understandable!" She dug through her wallet and presented her driver's license.

"So you applied for the Events Assistant job they advertised, I take it."