Hazel POV
I woke up the next day and found Chloe sleeping on the couch. I tried not to make noise, but unfortunately, I woke her up.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you," I said.
"It's ok Hayz. How did it go at the hospital yesterday?" She asked.
I made a face. "Oh no. Tell me everything," she said, and I sat down and told her everything.
"Why am I only hearing about this now?!" she said.
"I mean, you know now," I said.
"Hayz!!!!! First of all, yes girl!! I'm so glad some of me is rubbing off on you. I would have included a hell of a lot more swearing and maybe a few punches, but I'm proud of you. And I can't believe you finally have a date on your own!" She exclaimed.
"Chlo, this is not a date. Doctor Anderson needs to work on his people skills, and he asked me to help him," I said.
"No, no, no. This is a date!" she said. "I'm so excited! Wait till I fix you up. He's going to be drooling over you!"
"No, you're not. I'm meeting him after work on Tuesday," I said.
"What, no!!!! Please!" she exclaimed.
"No, Chloe, I'm meeting him after work with the clothes I have on, and that's that," I said.
Chloe frowned. "OK fine," she said with an exaggerated sigh. "At least you're finally going on a date. Hey, maybe he can finally be your first boyfriend," she said.
I sighed. I've gone on dates before, but they were all set up by Chloe, so things never worked out.
"Or maybe I can introduce him to you, and he can be your first boyfriend," I said. Chloe liked to sleep with guys and then never talk to them again. I knew why she did it, so I never judged her.
"Pass. Not my thing," she said.
"Well, I'm going to work now," I said.
"Where are you going to work today?" Chloe asked.
"I was supposed to work at a doctor's office, but Kevin called me and said he really needed to talk to me and said to come into the office," I told Chloe. Kevin was my boss at the temp agency I worked at.
"Hmm, I wonder why. Do you think he finally found a full-time position for you?" she asked me.
"Who knows. I mean, I hope so. I've been looking for a stable job, but you know how hard it is without…" I didn't finish the sentence, but Chloe knew what I meant.
"You know you really should think about going to school. My parents are dying to pay for someone's college tuition, you know," she said. Chloe got into modeling as soon as we graduated from high school, so she never went to college. "You always did so well in school."
"Then you should go to college," I replied.
"You know that's not what I meant," she sighed.
"I know, but no Chloe," I simply said.
"Fine, I won't press you on the matter. Anyway, who knows if you find a steady, well-paying job, you could save back and finally go to college and become a child psychologist just like you've always wanted," she said, smiling at me.
I smiled back at her. I gave up on that dream a long time ago. "Yeah, maybe," I said. I walked to the door. "Well, I'll see you later Chlo."
"Bye," I heard her say as I closed the door.
I made it to the temp agency headed straight to Kevin’s office. I knocked, and I heard a come in.
I opened the door and saw Kevin sitting at his desk. “Hazel. I’m glad you could make it on short notice.” He said. “Please have a seat.” He said as he pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
“Thanks Kevin. Why did you call me into the office? I was supposed to work at a doctor’s office this week” I said.
“Oh don’t worry about that. I sent Ashley to cover that shift. Anyway, I have some exciting news.” He said.
“Really? What news?” I asked him.
“Well recently a new job opportunity has opened. It’s full-time at a law firm. It pays well, has a great vacation period, and they are willing to hire immediately.” He said, smiling at me.
“Really? Kevin, that sounds too good to be true.” I said. It really is too good to be true. “There has to be a catch. What firm is it?” I asked.
“I personally can’t disclose the details. However, they did send someone from HR who can explain and answer your questions” He said.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess that works, but Kevin, why me?” I asked.
“Hazel you are the best employ this company has. There is no one better for this job than you.” He said.
“Well thank you, Kevin.” I said.
“If you’re ready, the representative from HR is in the meeting room” He said.
“I am.” I said as I stood up and walked to the door.
“Good luck” He said as I walked out.
“Thank you” I replied and made my way to the meeting room. The door was open, and I saw a man in a suit sitting inside.
He saw me at the door and stood up. “Hi you must be Hazel” he said.
I walked over to him and shook his hand. “I am, and you are?” I asked.
“I’m Eric Salazar. I’m the director of HR of the firm that wants to hire you” he said.
“Right and what firm is that?” I asked him.
“Please sit down” He said. We both sat down. “You see Hazel. The firm I work for has to remain confidential. You see it’s a clause we have whenever we hire someone. People try to get into our firm for malicious reasons and to prevent that the only way people actually find out about it is when they sign a 6 month contract with the firm and of course after they sign a confidentiality contract.” He said.
“Mr. Salazar. I’m going to be honest with you. This all seems a little sketchy to me. I don’t know if I could sign something like this.” I said.
“Hazel I assure you this is all legitimate. Your Temp Company would not offer this to you if it was legitimate.” he said. He did have a point there. “Please let me explain your job position, your pay rate, and your benefits, and then you can make a decision. Does that sound ok?” he asked me.
“Yes. It does” I said. Mr. Salazar went over everything with me, and it all seems extraordinary. The job seems like something I am able to do. The only thing is I’m supposed to accompany my boss on business trips. Besides that, everything else I’m supposed to do doesn’t seem hard at all. I’m basically someone’s personal secretary. The pay is more than I could have ever imagined, and the benefits I receive are better than any place I’ve ever heard of. The only thing I wasn’t able to find out was the firm’s name until I signed to contract.
“So what do you think?” Mr. Salazar asked me.
“It all seems too good to be true, Mr. Salazar. I don’t know if I can sign that without knowing who I’m going to work for. I completely understand what you said earlier, but I just can’t bring myself to sign that contract.”
“I understand your position, Hazel. I understand it completely. However, I do need an answer immediately. This contract has to be signed by 10 am today or unfortunately we have to go to the next candidate.” He looked at his clock. “Its 9:30 right now. How about this, you can think about it over the next 20 min. I’ll come back and you can give me your answer” He said.
“OK.” I said.
Mr. Salazar stood up. “I’ll be back in 20 min” He said as he walked towards the door.
Oh dear, what am I supposed to do. This seems like those once in a lifetime kind of opportunities. If I take this job I could pay for college. I could finally accomplish my dream. I could actually be able to afford to be financially independent. I know Chloe loves that we live together, but I wouldn’t feel like I was a burden anymore. I tried calling Chloe to see what she thing but the calls when straight to voicemail. She must be in a photo shoot. Dang it. I had no one else to call. I had to make this decision quickly. There was, however, something strange about this whole ordeal.
I heard a knock on the door, and Mr. Salazar entered the room. “So have you made a decision?” He asked.
“I have. I decided to sign the contract” I said.
“Very well. Let’s get to it.” Mr. Salazar said.