An Unexpected Advocate

After letting her mind wander for a few minutes, Adelina finally pulled herself back together.

She needed to focus. She had one goal today and that was to find a replacement job.

She continued her trek down the street. Stopping in businesses that were accepting applications. After a long while she decided to sit down at a small cafe to take a short break. She could feel her heels begin to blister.

She ordered the cheapest drink she could find on the menu and sat down at the metal table, taking slow sips of her ice cold drink.

Adelina finished her drink and slowly moved her ankle. She hissed as the flame reverberated in her left heel. She had walked too much today.

She sighed. It was time to call it quits for today and try again tomorrow she told herself. She had her part time job this evening and still needed to get back in time to make dinner.

She had just thrown away her drink when she heard a loud voice screech at a nearby table.

"No way! They're really hiring someone at that rate!"

Adelina's ears perked up as she zeroed in on the conversation.

"Yes and it has a full benefits package too!" Another female exclaimed.

Full benefits. Adelina almost screamed out loud at the idea.

"It's not even a hard job either, it's a secretary position or something. I could do that in my sleep." One girl boasted.

Adelina felt a surge of excitement. She needed to know what business it was though. She glanced over at the table hesitantly.

She can't just ask them where though or else they would know I've been eavesdropping, Adelina thought in dismay at the situation.

"Oh please. This is Night Corp we're talking about. No one gets in easily. Their requirements are always crazy."

Adelina thanked her lucky stars as she received the information she needed. It seemed someone was watching over her.

Adelina quickly rushed off towards the Night Corp building.

She stood outside the massive building in anticipation. She had made it here, but now she was having second thoughts. The women before were right, Night Corp was extremely picky about who they hired.

They wouldn't hire her, not with the lack of experience and her reputation. Adelina thought desperately for a solution. An idea sparked in her mind.

I could lie, she thought hesitantly.

She had never lied on an application before. She had always been an honest person, even if it meant being exposed to ridicule or malicious comments.

No.

She quickly shook her head as if erasing the thought from her mind. Honesty was the best policy, always and forever. If they didn't accept her, that just meant that she would have to find a different option.

She took a deep breath as she gathered her confidence and entered the building.

The lobby was extravagant. Marble sprawled across the floor, sparkling as though it had yet to be walked on. Famous artwork lined the walls, making it seem more like an art exhibit than a lobby.

Adelina gawked at the interior. She could feel the intimidation of the powerful company just from being in the lobby. A large part of her wanted to turn and exit, but she soon found her heels clicking across the floor towards the front desk.

An old woman walked towards the front desk. Her arms lined with papers. She stumbled a bit and a packet of papers fell to the ground and she let out a groan as she started to bend down to pick them up.

Adelina rushed over and bent to quickly pick up the papers. She returned them to the woman.

"Here you are Ma'am." Adelina smiled at the older woman.

The old woman let out a sigh of relief. "Why thank you dearie. These old bones aren't what they used to be." Her eyes crinkled in a smile.

The woman continued towards the front desk. She set down her papers and took a seat. Smile lines adorned her face. Her white hair spoke of the years and wisdom she had under her belt. The old woman smiled at her again.

"So dearie, how may I help you today?" The woman asked with a warm smile.

Adelina felt her fear dissipate at the warm welcome. "I am here to inquire about the open position." Adelina informed.

The old woman nodded and brought out a small packet. "Of course dearie. Here is an application, please let me know if you have any questions. Just go ahead and let me know once you've finished." The older woman handed the packet over with a warm smile.

"Thank you." Adelina beamed. She went to one of the many sitting areas spread throughout the lobby. She looked at the application and noticed if was a basic form and didn't have the job title or description. She shrugged. If she remembered right it was for the secretary position and she could easily do that. She quickly began to fill out her application.

True to herself, she was honest about her past experience.

She could tell the company cared about a person's character as it contained a lot of questions pertaining to one's morals and ideals.

One of the questions caught her eye as it was not a common question on any of the other applications she had filled out today.

Why do you want this position?

Such a simple question, yet none of the other applications had asked her that yet today. She thought for a moment before she smiled as she wrote down her response.

She finished and quickly returned to the front desk.

"All finished." She told the woman.

The woman smiled and took her application, quickly putting it in a large Manila folder. "All right all good to go." The elder woman nodded. "Now you should receive a phone call within the week advising you of the next steps." The woman informed Adelina.

Adelina smiled nervously "Thank you, I look forward to it. And also thank you for your assistance today." Adelina gave her sincere appreciation. This was the first kind receptionist she had met all day.

The old woman looked thoughtfully at the young girl. Adelina was so polite and kind towards her without even knowing her position and it warmed her heart for some reason. The old woman had taken a liking towards Adelina. The woman thought she would like her grandson to have someone like that near him.

"Of course dearie." The woman beamed. "I'm rooting for you!" The old woman said cheerily.

Adelina beamed at the encouragement. "Thank you so much Ma'am. That means the world to me." Adelina responded with a dazzling smile that rivaled the sun. Adelina waved goodbye and exited the building.

The old woman waited for Adelina to exit before she quickly picked up the manila folder and skimmed through the application.

She frowned as she recognized her last name. She was the daughter of the Hart family. She grumbled, as she remembered the hardships the family had gone through. Her late husband had been close to Edward Hart. Her husband had taken Edward under his wing and taught him everything he needed to know about the business world..

Her husband would have been so upset to find that the poor man went down due to a fishy embezzlement scandal.

She knew Edward would never have done he had been accused of.

She recalled how upset she was when she first heard about the scandal. Unfortunately, she had only discovered it after the court had come to a decision. At that point it was too late to interfere.

Her family also had many things on their plate at the time. Her face turned somber as she recalled arranging her love's final farewell.

She was still melancholy as she continued looking over the application. This girl had been honest, even citing her work experience at her father's company. The old woman nodded in approval at the ethics Adelina had at such a young age.

Most young ones would have lied on their application in order to avoid such situations. Such as one vile young woman the old woman knew.

Her lips turned at the corners, revealing a wide grimace at the thought of the seductress who had taken control of her grandson. Her eyes dripped acid as she thought of how she desperately wished to be rid of that evil wench who got through life by manipulating others.

Her mind revolved back to the kind and sweet girl who had come in earlier. The venom that leaked from the woman slowly subsided, as a new feeling filled the anger's absence. She realized she really pitied the kind girl.

The woman's blue eyes sunk as she thought of what Adelina must have gone through after her family's reputation had been destroyed. The poor girl kept holding true to being a good person even though life surely had not been so kind to her.

Adelina was a true diamond in the rough. She could sparkle so brilliantly and dazzle the world,, if only she wasn't trapped within dirty stone walls in a deep mine. Never seeing the daylight that brought out her true worth.

She continued to flip through the application until her eyes landed on one question.

"Oh hoh, how intriguing." She mused.

Why do you want this position?

Most people went on to list their skills, or how they wanted more money. But this girl answered with a simple but powerful sentence.

I just want the chance to redeem myself.

The old woman beamed. Yes, she knew she liked this girl. It was because she had reminded the old woman of herself in many ways. This girl was resilient and determined, just like the old woman had been back in the day.

She chuckled. She would do more than just root for the young girl as she fondly placed the application back in the manila folder. She couldn't help her father during the trial but the next best thing she could do was support his daughter.

A younger woman came out of the lobby bathroom clutching her stomach.

"Ah I knew I shouldn't have eaten that sushi." She groaned in pain. She was walking back attempting to ease the pain that radiated from her midsection.

When she looked at the front desk she noticed the old woman sitting there.

Oh no. The young woman quickly straightened up, her stomach pain forgotten as she rushed towards the old woman and quickly bowed in apology.

"Madam Night, what brings you here?" The young woman rushed.

The old woman stood. Icy eyes glanced down at the nervous girl. The young receptionist felt like she had been thrown overboard in the Arctic Sea, the coldness that dwelled in the air stabbing like knives into her body.

"Well our receptionist was no where to be found, so I decided to take up the mantle for awhile." Madam Night answered, frost lacing her voice to match her glacier cold eyes.

The woman paled. "I apologize I only left for a moment to use the facilities. Please forgive me Madam." The woman pleaded bowing her head lower.

Madam Night looked down at the girl. She could give her a hard time. However, thanks to the missing receptionist she was able to meet someone interesting.

Madam Night sighed. "Sara please keep in mind that next time you want to leave, you must inform someone to watch your position. Or next time you won't have a position to return to." Madam Night vaguely threatened.

Sara quickly nodded understanding the warning that came from the elder. However, while she feared consequences, she was also thrilled that the Madam knew her name.

Madam Night headed back towards the elevators, the manila folder held by her side.

Madam Night made her way up to the CEO's office.

She slammed open the doors shocking Harrison, who had been delivering important documents to the CEO'S office.

"Greetings Madam Night, what brings you here?" Harrison bowed.

The woman glanced around the office. "I'm looking for my grandson. Is he not here?" Madam Night told Harrison.

Harrison felt sweat drip from his head. His boss was out with Vivian at the moment. He knew Madam Night hated the girl even more than he did. He wasn't going to be the messenger, people usually took a shot at them, instead of their true target. He shifted his eyes nervously as he came up with a vague response.

"Ah, he left a bit ago to have lunch. He should be arriving back soon if you'd like to wait." Harrison avoided the woman's eyes, afraid she would be able to tell the situation if she looked deep enough into his soul.

"No that's quite alright. I have some other business I need to take care of. I'll leave my message with you Harrison." Madam Night brought out the light yellow folder and handed it over.

"You have an opening for the secretary to the CEO and I believe this candidate will be the best choice. I would like to ask that she be considered regardless of the contents of the application." The Madam instructed.

Harrison nodded and took the envelope from her.

"Yes Madam. I will inform him of your request." Harrison responded.

"Thank you, I'll take my leave now." Madam Night said as she exited the office.

Harrison slumped over. He couldn't fathom why the Madam still liked to attend the office even at her age. If he had the wealth she had, he would have retired to a beautiful beach for the rest of his days without a worry.

However, workaholics ran in the family.

He grimly began organizing the documents. He put a small note onto the manila folder as he day dreamed about his retirement.

"This might be the best candidate." Read the small note.

He set it next to the documents he had prepared. They consisted of mock marriage contracts he had gathered that included possible contents and clauses for the marriage contract.

He looked at the note on the manila folder. It wasn't entirely clear and Madam Night would pester him and his boss if they didn't grant her request. He decided to also write that Madam Night had made the request for the job approval.

He picked up the pen and was about about begin when he heard the doors to the office burst open once again.

The head of finance knocked and entered the room with a ghostly pale face.

"Harrison help me. There's been an error in the budget allocations. It's pure chaos down there." The man pleaded.

Harrison quickly dropped the pen and followed the head of finance.

Leaving the manila folder on top of the the mock marriage contracts on the large dark cherry desk.