What Nobody Knew

Part 3

My eyes finally landed on the prestigious Mr Knight. And let me just start by saying that he was in no way an unattractive man and seemed to be only a few years older than myself. He sat behind a large oak desk, eyes trained on his computer and a slight crease forming between his eyebrows due to concentration. 

Up until this point he has not acknowledged my existence. Maybe he did not hear me come in. 

I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.

"Take a seat." His husky voice filled the air, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen.

I walked over to the leather chair in front of his desk, growing distinctly aware of the click-clack of my heels on his floor. I took a seat and tried to sit as upright as possible while still looking like a normal functioning human being. I read on the internet that sitting upright and looking someone in the eye is a great way to exude confidence and evidently land your dream job. The second is a little harder to do at this point due to the fact that Mr Knight has not graced me with any form of acknowledgement apart from his original instruction. 

It has been five minutes since he has commanded me to take a seat and he has yet to say anything else to me. I could feel my palms start to sweat excessively and it was becoming harder and harder to keep up this poised and confident body posture. The longer I sat in the silence, the louder my own heartbeat started drumming in my ears.

Maybe this is all part of his plan, he wants to frazzle the interviewees, to scare away the weaker candidates. Well, Mr Knight, Elizabeth Bennett does not scare away easily.

Seriously, how interesting could whatever is on that screen be? Does he not realise how extremely rude he was being? Sure, I'm not some big-time CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, but I was still a person and my time is still important nonetheless!

"Miss Bennett, why are you here today?"

I nearly fell off my chair when he spoke. His eyes still had not left his computer screen.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Is there something wrong with your hearing Miss Bennett?"

Was he seriously insulting me right now?

"No sir," I bit out, trying to keep my composure.

"I don't repeat myself, Miss Bennett."

 "I am here for the job interview sir," I answered his first question.

"Obviously, but why here Miss Bennett?" He finally raised his eyes, tilting his head slightly to the side.

His eyes were calculating my every move, searching for a fault. I now would've preferred he refrain from looking at me ever again, anything seemed better than the sensation from his eyes burning on my skin.

"Because this is one of the most prestigious companies in the country and working here would be such an amazing opportunity. I..."

"I see you have a masters degree in strategic marketing?" Mr Knight interjected.

This was my chance to show him what I was made of. I plastered what I hoped to be a professional smile on my face, hoping he couldn't see through my discomfort and how much his manner of conducting an interview bothered me.

"Yes sir, I finished..."

"That answer will suffice," he cut me off again.

His eyes lowered and he started scanning over an open folder in front of him. Up until this point, I had not realised he had my CV splayed out on his desk this whole time. The crease between his eyebrows became slightly more prominent all for a second and if I had not been paying attention, I would've missed it entirely.