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"No. My decision is made. If you want the job, it's yours."
I gape at him. "I…I don't know what to say," I stammer as my head spins from the complete one-eighty life has just thrown me.
He winks at me. "Say you accept."
I expel a breathy laugh as a grateful smile overtakes my face. "Yes! Of course! Thank you so much!"
He smiles at me kindly before he stands to take his leave.
I'm still sitting there reeling from shock when I realize I don't know who I'm working for or where to go for this job. "Wait!" I call after him. "What's your name—?"
He waves his hand in the air dismissively. "We'll be in touch, Elena."
I stare after him, wondering how he's going to be in touch when I didn't provide him with any way to contact me—and I don't even know who he is.
Five
Elena
By the next morning,I'm convinced that I made the whole thing up. The silver-haired man is just a figment of my imagination. My desperate mind has conjured up this insane job offer, maybe to keep me from having a total mental breakdown. Yes, that must be it. Maybe I'm so close to finally losing it that my brain is using this fantasy as a coping mechanism to protect myself because, I mean, who really offers a girl right off the street a job, especially without telling her their name or getting a way to keep in contact with her?
Hell, even if the guy is real, he's probably just as nutty as I am or was just trying to cheer me up and give me a bit of hope. I don't really have another job lined up after losing mine yesterday. If I look at everything rationally, it's totally improbable.
I take a deep breath and survey my reflection as I finish twisting my hair up into what I hope is a professional-looking bun. I put on a bit of makeup today too. Not too much, just enough to highlight my features. I usually don't wear it, but I know I look even younger than my nineteen years when I don't, and I don't want potential employers questioning whether I'm even old enough to be working yet or not.
I frown. I guess that's one of the pitfalls of being so petite. I'm tiny, and that doesn't help my cause for looking more grown-up. I try to reassure myself that looking younger than my years won't always be a bad thing. When I get to be older, I'll be glad for my youthful-looking genes.
I run my hands over my shirt, smoothing it down before I tuck it into my pants and shrug on a light sweater. I'm wearing navy slacks and a sky blue button-up blouse. I'm going to be hitting the streets today and putting in applications anywhere I can, so I want to look halfway professional as I do so.
And I'm sure I'm going to apply to some restaurants since that's the industry I'm familiar with, but I'm also going to apply to every office I can find within the vicinity. I desperately want to get out of the food service business. It would be great to have a desk to sit at when I work instead of having to stand on my feet all day and run myself ragged.
Well, here goes nothing. With one last pat to my hair, I grab my purse and make my way out the door.
I stumble and nearly trip over my own two feet when I walk out of the apartment building and see the silver-haired man leaning casually against a fancy car. I'm not one for keeping up with makes and models, so I'm not sure exactly what kind of car the black vehicle is—just that I'm pretty sure a car of its caliber has never graced this parking lot before.
He nods when he sees me. "Good to see you're all ready to go, Miss Martin."
I can't do anything but stand there and blink at him for a minute.
"You're real," I breathe, hardly able to believe my eyes.
He gives me a quizzical look before the corner of his lips tip up into a slight smile. The lines around his eyes crinkle. "You're a very curious creature, Miss Martin," he comments with a little tilt of his head.
I just continue to stare up at him, a bit confused by his odd phrasing. A curious creature? Who talks like that?
"If you're ready," he stands back to motion me toward the vehicle.
I walk toward the vehicle robotically as if I'm in a dream I'm expecting to wake up from any minute.
He opens the back door, and I slip inside. He closes it behind me, and I watch in a sort of stupefaction as he walks around and gets behind the wheel.
I run my palms over the softness of the plush leather seat. I've never been in a vehicle so fine or expensive. There's no telling how much this thing cost.
I give my arm a little pinch and wince at the pain.
Yep, I'm awake. Fully awake.
And this is really happening.
