*Tina's P.O.V*
That smell. I hated it. The smell of drugs and some strange chemicals. My eyes were shut but I could feel the softness beneath me. Which meant I wasn't lying on the floor. I was lying on a bed. My body seemed not to respond when I tried to. But I didn't feel any pain to begin with. In fact I felt alright. With full force, I opened my eyes. The scent I perceived earlier confirmed my suspicions.
I was in a hospital. Terrific.
Glancing to my right, I spotted a pretty nurse busying herself by the table with some files. I watched as she frowned in concentration for a moment. Her hands moved quickly as she wrote something down. I slowly sat up, startling her. Her brown eyes widened.
"Oh my goodness." She placed a hand over her heart, then composed herself seconds later. "Thank God you're awake."
"How did I get here?" I asked.
"It's better you rest back a bit." She didn't answer my question. "I'll get the doctor."
She dashed out and reappeared minutes later with the doctor. He had a look of someone in his late thirties. He wore a white lab coat and glasses that fitted his grey eyes.
"Miss Campbell." His smile was welcoming. "How are you feeling?"
"What happened,doctor?" I asked, sitting up properly by the bed.
"You narrowly escaped an accident." The doctor tilted his head slightly. He placed a hand over my forehead. "You don't remember?"
I shut my eyes and tried. And then the memories came back. The dissolution of the bank. The loss of my job. Brooding on the way home. And that car. The car that nearly hit me. My eyes fluttered open and I sighed.
"Do you remember now?" The doctor stared at me expectantly.
"Yes, doctor." I nodded my head.
"You slipped into a coma despite avoiding a collision. Thankfully someone brought you over here." He said.
He turned his attention to the nurse.
"You can call the gentleman." He said.
"Yes,doctor." She nodded.
She opened the door a bit and poked her head out. I heard her mumble some words and then she came back in. The door opened and I gasped at the people who made their entrance.
Standing in front of me was the unmistakable figure of the famous Armando Gonzalez, the chairman of Gonzalez Industries. My mouth dropped. I couldn't believe my eyes. The legendary billionaire chairman was here in the flesh. The man who rarely made an appearance and who was mostly seen in business magazines and once in the news was here with me. Was this a mirage? Beside him stood an old man dressed in a sharp suit. He looked like a chaffeur or a butler. I couldn't decide. Armando's eyes zoned in on mine and there was a relieved look on his face.
"My child." He sat on a chair at the edge of the bed. "I am so relieved to see you well."
I stared at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion on my face. My expression brought a gentle smile on his face.
"I was the one who brought you here, child." He explained. "It was my car that nearly hit you."
The doctor excused himself and left the room alongside the nurse. I shook my head and brought myself back to reality. Situation aside, I was in the presence of a famous billionaire. I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this a dream? I made to talk but I was interrupted by a ringtone. It was from Armando.
"Pardon me, my dear." He raised a hand towards me and fished out his phone. He answered it.
"Hello?" He said. "No...I'm at the hospital....No, not me.....Si..... Alright."
He ended the call and placed the phone back to his pocket with a sigh. There was a slight frown on his face. The other man stared at him with a look that conveyed some kind of message. Armando nodded.
"Is everything okay, sir?" I asked.
"Yes,Yes." He quickly forced a smile to his face.
"Oh, I almost forgot..." He gestured to the man beside him.
"This is Gustavo,my chaffeur." He introduced.
The man bowed formally, keeping his face straight. I wasn't sure if the introduction was necessary but I also felt like it seemed alright. Like it was going to set something up in future. One could never tell.
"Pleased to meet you." I replied to the chaffeur's gesture.
"So child, tell me what happened." Armando said. " Before that near accident, you were clearly absent minded. What was in your mind that made you wander into the road dangerously like that. If it wasn't for the expertise of Gustavo here, we would not be fortunate enough to have this conversation right now."
I clasped my hand together feeling stupid and guilty under the concerned gaze of the old man. The events of the day came back to my memory. The loss of my job and everything.
"I'm so sorry about that,sir." I felt my eyes water. "I lost my job and it was so overwhelming. I just couldn't handle it. I guess the toll took me over that I was distracted."
I saw the concern on his face shift to sympathy
"There, there, child." He said. "Do not despair. Sometimes, things don't always work out for us, but it shouldn't weigh into our mind so much that it could almost cost us our lives. No matter the grave situation we find ourselves, we must dust ourselves up and move on."
I saw Gustavo nod curtly in agreement. A smile appeared on my face as I assimilated the words of the old billionaire. He wasn't just rich. He also had this air of wisdom around him.
There was a small knock on the door and someone entered. My mouth dropped again for the second time that evening. A face I thought I will never see in my life. Those familiar sharp green eyes that I saw in a magazine and in the news. He was here in the same room with me. The face Jenna had shown me that I rebuffed the day ealier.
Alejandro Gonzalez.
Poetic. Today was the most intriguing day of my life. Alejandro wore a dark grey T-shirt that hugged his defined form. His curly black hair was ruffled and wet. It was either it was gelled or he just came out of the shower. To my reluctant admission, his physical presence could send ladies swooning. I nearly shrunk as his jade eyes landed on me narrowing a bit before shifting to Armando.
"Padre' " He said. "What's going on?"
That accent. I nearly fell on my knees on hearing it. I was familiar with the Hispanic tone whenever he spoke on the news or during interviews. But hearing it directly was something. It was like like honey dripping onto the skin.
"I brought this young lady to the hospital." Armando replied from his position on his seat.
"Why?" Alejandro's eyes shifted to me for a second. This time I could see suspicion beneath them.
"Because the car nearly ran into her on the way home." Armando replied.
Alejandro's eyes widened a bit in surprise but he said nothing.
"Back to our discussion,child." Armando faced me. " I am truly sorry to hear about your fate. And to almost add to your misfortune would not have given me any peace."
Armando paused. He stared at the ceiling in a reflective mood.
"How about I give you a job in my company?" He faced me again.
I nearly fell off my seat.
"What." My voice was barely audible.
Alejandro raised an eyebrow.
"You heard me,child." Armando smiled gently. "If you want, the offer is on the table."
This was too good to be true. I was going to work for Gonzalez Industries. I internally pinched myself to be sure I wasn't dreaming. I opened my mouth to reply but Alejandro beat me to it.
"Absolutely not." He said, shocking everyone in the room. A deeper frown marred his features and it almost made him look unrecognisable.
"Excuse me?" Armando raised his eyebrows..
"Yes, Padre." Alejandro said. "You can't just offer anyone you see a job just like that. That is not how it works. Especially if she's just a woman with that just happened to encounter some misfortune. For all I know it could be a ruse."
I felt my blood boil. The sheer arrogance. Did this brat think I planned the whole thing? That son of a...
"I'll have you know that I didn't.." I began to protest.
"It's okay, child." Armando put a hand up.
""I hope that you haven't forgotten that I'm the owner of the company." He faced Alejandro with a stern glare. "I can decide what I want to do with it and who I want within."
Alejandro crossed his arms and frowned, looking away. A smile of triumph made it's way to my face.
"So will you accept the offer?" Armando faced me.
Was I an idiot? Of course not!
"Yes, sir." I said in as calm as I possibly could. But heaven knows I was jumping for joy within. I was estatic.
"Then it's settled then." Armando said in a note of finality.
I cheered inwardly again. Today was going perfectly
"I will not oppose your decision, Padre." Alejandro put his hands in his pocket. "At least not without being diplomatic."
He walked towards me and stared straight into my eyes.
"But you've halfway gotten the job." His words were menacing. I nearly fell back. But I glared back at him. This man was trying everything possible to rain on my parade.
"Padre." He said to Armando, still keeping his eyes on me. "She gets the job after I interview her... personally."
My heart lurched a bit. I gave Armando a pleading look. He returned my look with a calm one.
"Granted." He replied.
My hopes were dashed. Why would Armando allow this? Clearly his son was trying to sabotage my possible employment. This was a second shot I had after the disaster of earlier today.
"But you give her a fair interview." He added.
My hopes were returned and I felt smug on seeing Alejandro ground his jaw, obviously gritting his teeth. He stood straight and smoothened his hands over his shirt.
"Fine." He said.
"Be at the office by 8:00AM tomorrow." He stared intensely at me. "And not a moment later."
He walked out of the room.
"Pardon his manners, child." Armando said. "He sometimes can be very stringent."
I couldn't agree more as I stared out of the door where the C.E.O had just passed through seconds ago.
But there was something to look out for. Tomorrow would determine my fate. And it was very clear that there was a stumbling block to my path to potential success.
And his name was Alejandro.