Chapter 6 Are You the Maid?
She had mentally prepared herself to be rejected for being from a less competitive market, but she couldn’t accept being turned down for such stupid reasons.
All the relevant information was clearly listed on her resume. If they minded, why did they even bother scheduling an interview?
“The company has its hiring rules. You’re married and haven’t given birth to any kids. What if you get pregnant right after joining us? Maternity leave, pregnancy leave… We’re not here to pay idle employees.”
The interviewer stood up and motioned for the assistant to see Cecilia out.
Cecilia chalked it up to bad luck. Maybe they just needed some people to fill the interview quota. She picked up her stuff and left.
But she didn’t have any luck in the following companies, either. Each time the conversation barely started before she was turned down.
The fourth and fifth were even worse. The receptionist directly refused her at the front desk. “Sorry, all positions have been filled.” She didn’t even have a chance to participate in the interview.
She was no longer that confident and determined.
That evening, Cecilia returned to Veronica’s place.
As soon as she opened the door, she could smell the aroma of food. Veronica, holding a tiny chocolate cake, danced her way over.
“To our gorgeous Cecilia. May you land the job and become a famous designer so that Kolton can eat his heart out!”
Cecilia froze as she took off her shoes. Her expression dimmed, and an awkward silence filled the room.
Veronica noticed something was wrong.
by the door and walked over to her. ” he set the cake on the cabinet
happened?”
Cecilia forced a smile and shook her head. “That cake was for nothing. I didn’t get a job.
“What? That’s impossible!” Veronica was shocked. “If you made it to the interview, that’s at least a 50% chance. You graduated from a top university and you’ve even won awards. Sure, you don’t have work experience, but you’ve got the talent. Those companies must be blind if they passed you over.”
Cecilia changed into slippers and led Veronica to the dining table. “Maybe I was just unlucky. I still have two interviews next Monday. No point rushing the job hunt.”
She said that, but she felt extremely upset when she thought of Iris. She was around her age, yet she had already become the VP at NimbusCore Group, Yet Cecilia? She couldn’t even land an interview.
“Next Monday? Which companies?” Veronica’s eyes sparkled as she got up to retrieve the little cake.
“Lumineer Studio and Azureon Group,” Cecilia replied. Both were prestigious names in Sevarin.
The companies she visited today were decent, but nowhere near the level of those two.
After being rejected again and again today, she no longer held high hopes.
But she couldn’t just lose faith.
Cousha
In her gloom, she failed to notice Veronica’s odd behavior.
Veronica brought the cake over and tried to lighten the mood, chatting and joking as if nothing had happened.
Cecilia played along, pretending to be fine.
That night, once they returned to their rooms, Veronica quickly pulled out her phone and made a call.
“Jerome, do you know the owners of Lumineer or Azureon?”
These two companies were too big for her to reach herself. She had no choice but to call her brother.
Jerome’s gentle voice came from the other end, laced with sleepiness. “Veronica, it’s 3 a.m. here.”
She pouted. “You ran off abroad two years ago and have stayed there ever since! That’s why we’re in different time zones. Please, my dear brother, help me out. Cecilia has interviews at those two companies next Monday. Can you pull some strings?”
“Who?” Jerome suddenly sounded more awake. “Cecilia? She’s job hunting? Would Kolton even allow that?”
“Don’t bring up that jerk!” Veronica huffed. “She’s divorcing him and trying to find work.”
“Divorcing?”
“Don’t ask so many questions! Just tell me. Can you do it or not?”
Got it.” Jerome paused for a moment, his tone serious, and then hung up.
“Got what?” Veronica stared at the darkened screen, puzzled.
…It probably meant he said yes, right?
***
On Saturday morning, Cecilia was still asleep when her phone rang.
Without even looking at the screen, she fumbled for the phone under her pillow and answered, “Who is it?”
A warm voice came through the receiver. “Cecilia, I’m at your front door. I made some soup for you and Kolton. Come down and get it.”
The familiar voice made Cecilia wake up immediately. Her eyes flew open in shock.
It was Braden Thompson, Kolton’s father.
“Dad, you didn’t have to bring it yourself. We can just have it tonight when we come over.”
She jumped out of bed, confused.
Saturdays were always family dinner nights. She and Kolton would return to the Thompson family’s old estate.
Braden smiled kindly. “Your mom and I have a cocktail party to attend tonight, and your grandmother’s not around either. So no need to come back. The soup’s already done. I made it myself and wanted to drop it off.”
Cecilia dashed into the walk–in closet and told him a lie, “I actually headed out early. Maybe you could just leave the soup by the door?”
Unlike his son, Braden was gentle and refined. He was approachable and always cooked for the family gatherings himself.
In contrast, Kolton’s mother was stern and cold.
“That works too. There’s also a document. Could you drop it off at
NimbusCore Group? Remind Kolton to take care of his health, no matter how busy he gets. And thank you for taking care of him all this time…”
Braden tended to every little detail, mothering everyone in the family. He constantly worried about Kolton’s health.
He treated Cecilia with genuine kindness.
Truth be told, everyone in the Thompson family had been good to her.
That made the divorce more painful for Cecilia. She didn’t know how to break the news to them.
When Braden mentioned the company, she didn’t immediately respond.
The intimate scene of Kolton and Iris was still fresh in her mind.
She couldn’t bear to witness something like that again.
But if she wanted to keep the Thompsons from noticing anything wrong between her and Kolton, she had no choice but to agree.
“Cecilia, are you listening?” Braden called gently, noticing her silence.
“I’m here, Braden. I see. I’ll head back now and deliver the document.”
After a brief pause, Braden added, “What were you doing out so early? Is something going on? Kolton didn’t go with you?”
“My friend needed help with something. He’s been really busy with work, so I didn’t want to trouble him.”
Cecilia hadn’t expected Braden to be so perceptive. His questions caught her off guard.
But what really floored her was his next one. “Your car’s still at home. How did you get out?”
She swallowed. “My friend picked me up.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
Bend
After a while, Braden said, “That’s fine. No need to be nervous. I’m just asking. I was just worried you might be going through something and didn’t want to say.”
“There’s nothing,” Cecilia replied, relieved, and ended the call.
After getting dressed and washing up, she rushed to the place she shared with Kolton, grabbed the soup container and documents at the door, and headed straight to NimbusCore Group.
She had taken a cab over. The driver was waiting at the front gate of the villa and drove her to the company.
J
Seeing her juggling the soup container and the folder, the cab driver asked, “Miss, are you the maid for this household?”
“Something like that,” Cecilia replied with a touch of sarcasm.
Just earlier, she had seen her usual car in the yard, already covered in dust after just a few days.
The car would soon be nothing more than worthless scrap metal. Kolton would rather let it rust than hand it over to her.
Maybe she really was beneath even the maid.”
Before she knew it, they had arrived at the NimbusCore Group.
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