The lights blinked to life with a click, illuminating the inside of the grand luxurious condo unit that she got for herself. Eagerly, the brunette pushed the door to a shut, locking it securely before entering the depths of her spacious well-furnished condo.
She heads towards the living room table and placed both her purse and the folder on it, afterwards stretching both her arms. It was already late, just by a quick glance through her window, Jade knew that she shouldn't venture outside of the safety of her unit anymore. Besides that, she did have to read through the information in the files that her father gave her since she knew nothing of what job and the company that her father wants her to try.
Could she really do it though? This is a first for her. She never had to work, all of her needs were taken care of by her father. She also had her brothers to fill in the important positions in the family,and she is pretty much used to not doing anything related to work.
Now its different, she had expectations to fulfill.
Of course her father didn't specifically tried to pressure her, but being a Tanchingco and being brought up in a family that's keen on success and good reputation, it made her feel dreadful for what was to come.
If she were to fail this job interview, what would that mean?
Surely it would just tell of how short she is of talent and skills, and Jade can only blame herself for her unproductivity and not being able to hone her skills after graduating from her course—even if let's say, the job she's pursuing isn't really in synch with her degree.
"Who am I fooling? I'm seriously dead." Jade groans, slumping on the couch, arms crossed and placed over her eyes to cover the blinding light from the fluorescent lights.
There were already a few scenarios playing in her mind and not one of them were any positive. They all range from her getting scolded to being mocked. It was all the worst scenarios she could ever think about.
"I really need to stop thinking badly." The brunette grumbles, pushing herself off from slouching to sit up straight. Her eyes immediately focuses on the folder on her table and Jade immediately reached for it, flipping it open to see the company's logo and profile in the first page.
Jade took out the papers and immediately set to read and study the company she's applying for. The more she knows, the higher her chance she'll get an idea of what she's up against. Maybe.
It was, after all, time to get past being known as the precious spoiled jewel, the unproductive Tanchingco heiress.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The very next morning, Jade woke up exactly at 7AM, the tell-tale blinking of the digital alarm clock on her small table giving her the inevitable proof of her own nervous and restless state.
She should still be sleeping, or so she wished. She was after all tired from reading and studying the company profile and their previous events and activities that they held.
The company that her father wants her to apply wasn't just a small company, this company was too prestigious as an events handler and caterer. She should've known her father wasn't going to ask for a place anything short from his expectations.
Eyes wide awake and a frown on her face, the brunette sits up, pushing off the comforter from her body as she slowly slid herself out of the comforts of her warm queen-size bed.
With both feet planted firmly on the soft carpet, the brunette stands up and heads straight for the her walk-in closet to prepare for the day. Better she start her early morning routines now than be stuck pondering and worrying on her bed. She still has to go through a few more paragraphs and information that she has yet to study thoroughly.
Wordlessly, Jade sets on her task and browses through her many selection of clothes, all ranging from foreign to local brands, when suddenly without warning, her phone rang.
Startled, the brunette let out a small squeak at the loud ringtone blasting from her phone. She knew what this ringtone meant—it's a call. Possibly her big brother, Gabriel. She did received a text message from him last night that he would get back to her with a call if once he was finished talking to the HR of the company that she's going to apply for.
Without a second thought, Jade briskly walked near her bed and snatched the phone from the small desk and with shaking hands, the young brunette stared at the screen to indeed confirm her suspicions that it is her big brother that was calling her this early in the morning.
"Hello..." Jade timidly answers the phone, as if still unsure if she wanted to just hang up or continue on.
"Hello Jade, I'm sorry did I woke you up?"
"No, Ahya Gab, I just woke up a few minutes ago. Why'd you call though?" Jade adjusts her phone in her hand as she took a sit on her bed.
"I'm glad. Anyhow, I called because I wanted to tell you that I luckily got a hold of the boss last night, I just couldn't tell you because you might've already been bed."
"How did you know? I did sleep early last night." Jade giggles, amused at her big brother's never disappearing gentlemanly gesture, he's perfect that way, just like a prince. Although maybe it was because she isn't as close to him as she was with Paul.
"What can I say? Big brother's intuition kicked in." Her brother lets out a charming chuckle and Jade relaxes, laughing along with him. The nervousness and tension slowly washing away from her system as she listened to her big brother's calming voice.
"Haha, anyhow, since I was able to talk to the president instead of the HR, I was able to fully inquire about the position. They are still open and the president told me that they could schedule you for a job interview. Isn't that great, Shobe?"
"It...is. Thanks, Ahya." Jade smiled, or rather, she forced herself to sound happy, when the topic about the job interview surfaces again.
She's already feeling the dread that the additional pressure she got from just hearing that her brother was able to talk to the big boss. Where will this take her exactly? It was either success or misery, and there was never a middle ground for that.
"Um, so...when am I scheduled to go there?"
"Hmm... You're scheduled to have a job interview at 1PM sharp, Shobe. Don't forget to dress presentable, maybe try to divert from pink too? I know you like pink, but try not to achieve wearing 50 shades of pink in a month." He teasingly suggested, making Jade scrunch her nose.
Seriously?
He was going to talk about now? Jade just shakes her head as she chuckled silently to herself.
It wasn't as if it was her fault that her mother loved to shop dresses and clothes with her and that their journey to the mall would often end up with dresses that varies from the shades of red and pink.
"Fine, fine! I won't wear anything pink later," Jade half-shouts, half-giggles in response, "Do I still have to print another resume though? Dada did give me a copy here..."
"Oh, no need. You don't have to worry about bringing a resume, I already mailed your resume. Just be there as yourself and you'll be fine, Shobe." Gabriel said it encouragingly, making Jade nod to no one in particular and smiled.
"Okay. Thanks, Ahya Gab." The young Tanchingco heiress bows her head, looking down at the soft beige carpet.
Jade clutches her phone a little too tight for comfort. If she were having a conversation with her brother in front of her, she would've given him a hug instead. But for now, this is the only substitute she could do. It was silly, but it helped ease a bit of that worry that had been rising slowly back to her consciousness.
"No problem, Jade. Good luck later on? Ahya will cheer you on."
With eyes closed, Jade imagines the telltale charming smile of the big brother she admires since childhood and smiles because she could totally imagine him smiling right now. Her brother is after all prone to show his love and care around them siblings, but become awfully stoic to other people.
"Mhmm, I'll definitely nail it, so greet everyone for me at breakfast?"
"Sure, I'll tell them." Gabriel chuckles.
After a few more minutes of pleasantries, the phone call ended at around 7:31AM.
Jade set her phone aside to charge and stretched her whole body again after she rose from her bed. Now she feels a bit more ready to face today, unlike earlier.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
After making her bed, followed by a small meal and a long relaxing shower then narrowing down her best dresses, Jade finally came out from her walk-in closet wearing a casual gray mini dress with a black tank top underneath that showed wonderfully when she left the last two buttons of her dress open.
The dress definitely accentuated the curves of her body perfectly. The black belt also added a very clean and professional look to her outfit. To finish it off, Jade wore a pair of 6-inch black pumps, which even made the brunette taller.
Another important factor that was frankly noticeable was that her outfit was void of any shades of pink or red, just like what her brother, Gabriel, suggested.
Still, her outfit was very monochromatic. It is kind of her fashion style and all.
"I wonder if Ahya Gab would scold me if he saw that I'm just wearing shades of black instead." Jade momentarily thought in amusement as she finished twirling around her full-length mirror to give herself an overall visual check.
"This should look good enough." Jade nods to herself before leaving her room, picking up her small Emporio Armani black bag and checking for all of the sufficient things she needed before heading out.
When the brunette was finished packing her necessities, Jade quickly left her room, snatching the car keys from her desk along the way upon seeing the time on her digital clock.
It was already 9:50AM. Her job interview's still around 1PM and there was still some time to spare because the building's near her place, but honestly?
She'd rather be there early than be late. It is her first job interview and she'd rather make a good impression by being punctual. It would also do her good to be able to study a bit more and prepare herself before the interview happens.
It's like killing two birds with one stone, or at least Jade hopes that would be the case.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
...Or maybe not.
It was a palm-meets-forehead moment when Jade thought she'd get there early. But inevitably, fate happened to be a bit cruel to her today.
No one had reminded her that INC was having its charity event today, which if you aren't aware of, has woefully caused traffic in Manila yet again.
Thankfully enough, she was able to arrive at around 11:50AM. At least she is still early for her job interview, although there isn't enough time for her to actually go through her presentation and review her answers for possible questions during the interview, she still has to take her lunch too. It would be bad to go through the job interview with an empty stomach.
"Seriously, sometimes I wish they keep events like this to a minimum. The usual traffic in Manila is already bad enough, special occasions just makes it even worse." Jade mutters under her breath, a bit weary and tired from sitting in her car due to traffic.
The young brunette quickly went to look around for a parking slot just near the company building, hoping to get a quick lunch and one last review before her job interview.
Thankfully, a kind security guard pointed her to a public parking lot which were guarded by security guards that the city hired.
It didn't take Jade long to park her white Subaru BRZ and she was out of her car, stretching her tired limbs.
Driving shouldn't be tiring, but it just was. Being stuck in her seat for two hours straight was enough of a statement to begin with.
After quickly securing her valuables in her person, Jade checks her car's lock before leaving the public parking lot and looking for a place near enough to take her lunch, much to Jade's joy, there was a nearby Starbucks shop. It was perfect enough, considering that she needed to buy something to cool her off from the heat.
Striding with purpose, Jade walked as fast as her black pumps could allow her as she set her priorities to getting to Starbucks, which upon her entry, was a thankfully less crowded today considering the time and all. It saved her more time considering that she didn't have to wait for too long just to get her order.
No sooner than later after she was called for her turn, Jade was able to get her order for a chicken artichoke panini on ancient grain flatbread and a cold bottle of Tazo organic iced green tea before the brunette immediately looked around for an empty seat and started working on her lunch, folder already opened as she reread again the papers for the nth time.
Jade was already near half of the third page when a short-haired boyish raven passed by, curiously looking over the Tanchingco heiress' shoulder to look at the papers that Jade was currently rereading.
"Wow, I didn't know there were still people left out there who's interested in reading my best friend's long ass profile." The shorter woman said, just right beside Jade.
"Oh my god!" Jade screamed and turned sharply towards the direction of the woman's voice. Almost falling off her seat in the process when she came face-to-face with a charming handsome woman with short-hair, dressed in boyish clothes, laughing silently at her with a hand covering her mouth.
There were several eyes turned to their direction at this point and Jade could not help but to redden and feel small and embarrassed at the curious and inquiring gazes of the other customers and staff inside Starbucks.
Averting her eyes away to hide her shame from her action earlier, Jade apologized and bowed before turning away from them, the obvious reddening of her ears clearly showing the brunette's discomfort and embarrassment.
'Why did that have to happen to me...?' Jade sighed, brows furrowed, it was because of that woman, handsome yes, but troublesome woman, 'I did kind of overacted there though.'
"Hey, are you angry?" Jade's new intruding companion asked, the smile on her face immediately disappearing to be replaced with a small frown, or at least that was what it looked like when Jade took a quick glance at the other woman while she reached for her bottled green tea.
The short-haired raven took a sit next to Jade and stared at Jade for a few seconds, as if contemplating something before opening her mouth, "Hey... I'm sorry about surprising you and also for snooping on you. Just got curious since I saw the logo on your files."
"I just never really knew someone would even bother reading that person's long ass writing."
"It's okay, I guess? A head's up would be good though." Jade shrugs, not bothering to hold on a grudge on the other woman considering that she did apologize already.
"Next time I'll give you a warning." The raven smiled apologetically at Jade and turned back to her drink, after a few seconds, she clapped her hands together as if she remembered something important. Jade could already see a hint of a playful smile forming on the other woman's lips.
"Oh, right!"
"By the way... Nice flattery earlier, I'm no god though." The woman grinned childishly in amusement, winking cheekily at Jade. It was supposed to lighten a bit of the mood between them, but Jade could only gape at her because of what she said.
"Aw, don't be like that! I was just kidding you! Lighten up, you're too tense!" The raven laughed at Jade's expression and turned went back to making herself comfortable on the chair beside Jade.
'Did she just...flirt with me?'
Jade stared cautiously at the other woman. But Jade swiftly averts her gaze back to the papers in front of her and shook her head.
There were just some people who loves to poke on other's business, and this is probably one of those moments.
Setting back on her task, Jade continued her task and eating her half-eaten sandwich. Not bothering to associate with the handsome raven beside her. Besides, it wasn't like the other woman talked to her again because she quickly left after muttering, "Seriously, this woman..." and finishing her drink. This left Jade to continue on whatever she was up to—undisturbed like earlier.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Once Jade was able to finish her sandwich and bottled green tea, Jade exited Starbucks and walked straight to the building where her first ever job interview would be held.
To the young Filipino-Chinese woman's surprise, a homey feeling reception area greeted her as soon as the electronic sliding door opened.
"Is this really a company?" Jade mumbled in awestruck as she stepped inside, looking around in wonderment.
"It is. Although the whole building is kind of homey since my best friend wanted to make her employees feel comfortable to work in an environment which can help maximize their work output."
"That's kind of something she picked up from foreign companies outside of the Philippines. It does work, believe me or not." A woman's voice explains to Jade and to boot—it sounded very familiar, it sounds so much like that woman who startled her at the coffee shop.
Jade mums and nods for a bit, opening her mouth to respond, "Oh, thanks for explain—", it was however quickly cut short when she glanced at the speaker.
"—Y-you're the one at the coffee shop earlier!" Jade gasped, pointing an accusatory finger at the said woman.
"You got that right! The name's Batchi by the way. I work here. What about you? You seem like a new face here." The raven, who formally introduced herself as Batch, offered her hand and settled with a polite but charming toothy smile.
"Oh, um...I'm Jade. I'm a new applicant. I'm scheduled for a job interview today." Jade also smiles back and shook Batchi's hand, albeit a little bit hesitant.
Thankfully, Batchi quickly broke off their handshake, but this time instead she took the time to give Jade a full visual check before nodding thoughtfully to herself—as if she finally confirmed something, much to Jade's apparent confusion.
"So you're that person that people from the HR department were talking about. I have to say, you have just hit some big expectation, girl."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Jade tilts her head, sporting a confused innocent expression that further widens the smile on Batchi's lips.
"That's a surprise that you'll need to see for yourself, Jade."
"Can't you just tell me instead? You did embarrass me earlier, at least make it up to me." A pout replaces the confusion in the Tanchingco heiress' expression. Obviously there's something fishy about the smile on Batchi's face. Just what it was, she couldn't comprehend it.
"Sorry, can't do." Batchi shrugs her shoulders, scrunching her nose as she shook her head.
But Jade still continued to plead, for one last time, hoping she'd gather some information at least.
"Please? Batchi? I won't tell anyone that you told me anything."
"Sorry Jade. I really can't. Would ruin your job interview if I said so. I can escort you to where your interview's going to be held as a payback for what I did at Starbucks though. What do you say, fair enough?" The raven offered, gesturing at the elevator with her thumb.
Jade internally sighs.
It's no use.
She isn't getting any information from the other woman and Jade already feels that no matter how much she'd plead for it. Guess it was time to throw the towel, for now at least.
With one hand tightly clutching on the chain link strap of her purse, the other on the folder her father gave her, Jade accepts Batchi's offer.
"Alright Batchi. I'll take you up on that. Please, lead the way."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
When the elevator finally opened, Jade stumbled outside, clearly worn out from riding the elevator from the ground floor up to the 20th floor, not that she could blame herself for feeling that way.
They had to stop for more than ten times because other employees were rushing back to their workstations. Sometimes during the ride, they had to stop for the next few consecutive floors, which then became the start of Jade's headache.
"Not so used to the elevator?" Batchi glanced at her companion, already deciding to buy two bottles of water from the electronic vendo machine just near them.
"Yeah. I never really had to ride the elevator for that long, especially after lunch breaks." Jade groans, muttering a quick thank you to Batchi as she took the pre-offered bottle of cold water and took a sip to help somehow ease the small prickling pain in her head.
"You'll get used to it, more or less. You'll need to, if you're going to work here."
"Anyways, so far how are you feeling? Aside from the impending headache, are you feeling nervous?" The short-haired raven asks, taking a quick sip of her own bottled water.
The two of them immediately started to walking after picking up the pace, with Jade lagging a bit behind Batchi.
"Well—this is my first job interview and all, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous."
"That's good then, though you don't really need to worry too much," Batchi laughs, "My best friend won't eat you or anything during the interview."
Jade merely mums in response, not knowing whether to respond or laugh.
After a few minutes, the two of them immediately stopped walking when they came face-to-face with an imposing mahogany door, or at least as imposing as it looks to Jade, considering that whatever lies behind that door would be an equally important and imposing figure.
Sadly, before Jade could even take a deep breath to calm her already raging nerves, Batchi already had her hand on the doorknob and is already in the act of opening the door to the room, with shouting to boot with.
"Hey, Althea! I brought the new applicant!"
Batchi swung the door wide open and entered the room, leaving Jade to get a good glimpse of the interior of the room as she walked inside to follow her companion.
Just like what she saw earlier, it was equally as homey as the reception area, maybe even more so. It felt like home.
The plants and furniture made the whole interior stand out, yet feel modest and comfortable. It had a very welcoming atmosphere and Jade's sure enough would contribute greatly to showcase good accommodation and service.
What was even more interesting is that there were even frames hanging on the wall, even on the desks and shelves, and although Jade could not make out what or who were in those photos, it seemed that they were personal photos. But they were too far away for her to see clearly. Not that she's going to go up and look at them, she isn't about to go and snoop on other people's life anyways since she is here for a job interview and not about entertaining other people's lives.
Maybe on a different day, she'd probably ask, but not now.
Turning away from the photo frames, Jade went to look for Batchi's slim figure and immediately, the Tanchingco heiress saw her standing frozen like a statue in front of the entrance of another room.
Curious and puzzled at the shorter woman's sudden silence, Jade went over to her place.
"Hey, you okay?" Jade asks.
"You look like you just saw a white lady—" Jade jokingly says, eyes moving away from looking at Batchi's small back to the sight that Batchi herself was glued on.
And immediately, Jade regretted averting her eyes in that very instant.
The next few words that Jade was just about to say immediately disappeared from her mind, just as well as the jesting tone in her voice faded at seeing the shocking sight in front of her.
"Shit."
———
A/N: Thanks for the follows, votes and comments guys! I'm sorry about the awfully slow pacing. Also, if you're going to wonder if I'm not Filipino because I'm writing in pure English, you have it wrong. I'm Filipino, I just prefer to write in English. Although I have to admit, if the dialogues were in Filipino they would have been really funny because of the slangs. I can already imagine it. Its kind of hard in English though since some of the slangs in Filipino is hard to translate in English.
I hope you're not too bored with the way the pacing is. I'll post an update again when I finish Chapter 2. I just hope I don't get drowned in schoolwork this week.