Aya’s POV

“Aya, are you sure you’re heading to the right address?” Addie asked me.

“Rose Hills, right?” I gritted my teeth. I was glad we were only talking over the phone; if not, I would have strangled my cousin. “And guess what? I was literally walking on a hill!” I growled, hating that I rode the bus instead of a taxi.

I had to use GPS to help me find the address she gave, and before I knew it, I was already walking through a long winding road because the Carlington Residence was sitting beautifully on the hill.

“Ah!” Addie chuckled, not expecting this would happen to me. “Tell me, where are you now?”

“I’m now in front of Buckingham Palace,” I answered, squinting at the luxury villa behind the majestic and elegant metal railing of the gate and checking my cell phone, telling me I had reached my destination.

After an hour of walking, I finally reached the end of my journey, only to be stopped by the guard as he asked for my purpose.

“Interview,” I mouthed.

“ID and letter,” he muttered in an unfriendly tone.

I almost rolled my eyes at him but raised my hand, gesturing for him to wait. Wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder, I took what he asked for from my bag and handed him the letter from the agency. After giving it to him, he gave me a pen to sign on the tablet’s screen.

“You don’t have a car?” he asked as he took the tablet and pen from me, not minding I was on the phone.

My brows raised at the young guard. “You think if I had a car, I would be walking in going up here?”

He was probably not expecting me to vent my annoyance to him. He pressed his lips tight and blinked at me, not saying anything. However, I was not ready to let it go. My soles were aching, and my legs were cramping from walking the upward slope of Rose Hills with my high-heeled shoes.

“Should I have a car? It wasn’t in the qualifications.” I put my phone on his table and showed him the letter again.

“I was just asking, Miss Rodrigo,” he raised his hands and then pressed a button, opening the gate. “Good luck with your interview.”

“Thank you!” I scoffed, taking my phone again and pressing it to my ear. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah! Easy on the guard. He’s only doing his job,” she reminded me.

Sighing, I advanced toward the gate, but when I got inside, my eyes squinted at the palace-like luxury villa. My shoulders shook, crying and laughing at the same time as I guessed the number of steps I had to make to reach the front door without fainting.

“Still alive, cous?” Addie laughed, amused at me. “Did you bring everything you needed?” When I didn’t answer, she asked again, “Aya?”

“Yeah, still alive. What were you asking?” A line was etched between my brows as I stopped to massage my legs.

This was supposed to be an opportunity to get a stable job, not my funeral after leaving this place. I lowered my gaze to what Leslie, Addie’s girlfriend, said as her killer shoes. I did not know it would truly kill me.

“I was asking you if you brought everything you needed?”

“Yep!” I tried to sound cheerful as I glanced at the legal brown document envelope. “I made sure to bring my optimism, good vibe, and perspective. I guess I lost my patience on my way up here.”

“Aya, focus.” Addie was probably rolling her eyes.

“Ah, thanks for reminding me. Optimism, a good vibe, perspective, and focus,” I joked, stopping to catch my breath.

“Are you there already?” she asked again.

“Almost,” I was breathless as I answered.

“Aya, I have to go. Katie’s crying. Just think all your problems will be solved if you get this job, okay? I love you.”

“Kiss Katie for me,” I said, ending the call. Breathing hard, I uttered my favorite words for today. “Optimism. Good vibe. Perspective… Oh, Focus!”

There was a lot at stake in this opportunity, and if I got this job, my priority would be to save my salary to replace the expensive parure my overconfident boyfriend gave me. He would return the next year, giving me enough time to replace it as if the jewelry pieces were not gone. I closed my eyes, forgetting the long story behind how I lost it and focusing on the now. Before I lost the parure, I had problems, but after that, I felt like I was six feet below the ground with a mountain of problems above me.

Actually, it was Addie who got the lucky email, not me. It was a job offer as a private tutor with promising compensation and benefits. However, my cousin had just opened her own tutorial center, and instead of declining the interview, she called the agency and asked if it was okay to recommend someone else. So, here I was, with my tongue hanging out of my mouth because of the long walk, hoping for my one chance of a lifetime.

When I reached the porch, the maid opened the door before I could knock or press the doorbell. My lips curved into a friendly smile, tossing away my concerns about my feet and legs.

“Hi. I’m -”

“Miss Rodrigo,” she muttered, not smiling and opening the door wide for me.

“Yes.” I pressed my lips, unsure what to do with my smile.

“Wait here,” she said.

Just wait here? I looked around to ask if there was any place I could sit because I was dying already, but she turned her back on me and walked down the long hallway.

“Ha! Thanks!” I murmured, puffing out air, thinking of how to pamper my legs and toes tonight.  

While waiting, I took time to study the elegant design of the tapestry on the wall. I never had a talent involving drawing or painting, but I loved art. It was like looking into someone’s life, telling everyone a story through colors, lines, and shapes.

“Miss Rodrigo?” A woman asked in a warm and friendly tone.

“Yes,” I answered, turning around. My lips parted, seeing an attractive woman, maybe the same age as me, walking toward me.

“Oh, I’m happy you came. We’re doing the panel interview in the study room,” she said.

“P-Panel interview?” I stuttered, swallowing hard, not expecting more than one person to interview me.

“Didn’t they tell you?” She anchored her arms to mine as if we were close friends while we walked in the hallway. “I’m Ariana, by the way, and I really hope you get this job because this whole thing’s getting on my nerves already.”

I forced a smile, not understanding what she meant until she began blabbering about the other applicants.

“You see, my brother’s very picky, especially if it’s about the welfare of his children. I just don’t understand what he’s looking for. I like the last applicant. He graduated at the top of his class and held a black belt.”

What belt was she talking about?

“And then, I was also considering the other one because he worked as a teacher and has a master’s degree, also a black belter in Karate, but my brother told me he’d think about it,” she added.

I cleared my throat, and I faked another smile when she glanced at me. I wished to call Addie to tell her she sent me here by mistake because, first, I didn’t graduate at the top of my class. Not even the last on the list because I had not graduated yet. The truth was that I was in my last year now, hoping to step on the stage to get my diploma at the end of the school year, but I would need a lot of good luck on that because I was still struggling with problems at home.

After we turned left from their grand living room, Ariana stopped and opened the door. As we entered the study room, I realized she was not kidding when she said it was a panel interview. There was a long table with four chairs and another chair in the middle of the room. Looking at the chairs, I felt like auditioning for AGT.

“Ariana, where’s Red?” A good-looking guy, perhaps a celebrity, was eyeing me as he sat on the chair. “What’s a female doing here?”

Panic crept through me as I quickly scanned in my mind the qualifications and requirements of the applicant, but it did not say anything about their preferences. I swallowed hard, quickly opening the envelope to read the printed copy of the email they sent to Addie.  

“That’s my question, too. What’s a female applicant doing here, Ariana?” A deep voice asked.

My heart skipped a beat, raising my head to see the owner of the voice. My lips parted when I saw an Adonis, looking hot in his white polo shirt and jeans, entering the study room. Guessing his height, he could be six-foot tall, with brown hair cut short but styled perfectly. How could someone be so perfect, looking so divine and tasty that I wished to bite his sensual lips? When our eyes met, I swore to heaven my panty melted when he did nothing but narrow his eyes at me, but mine lustfully followed him until he reached his seat. 

“Ariana, I clearly told you no female applicants,” he muttered annoyingly but in a hushed tone.

No female applicant meant I had not qualified right away. I opened my mouth, hoping to ask for an explanation, but a cry escaped instead of my question.

“Oh, God, help me!” I wailed that I wished to run away from them to stop embarrassing myself more, but I could not move my legs. Leslie’s killer shoes, indeed, finished me off with discomfort, making my legs to toe stiff.