The Road to Price (2 page)

“Oh.” It was all I
could say. Jessica was very thorough with her job.

I started to nervously
bounce my leg up and down on the bed. The jobs I have landed through the agency
so far have not required me to interview for them. This would be my first
interview in awhile.

“Yes, oh…” Jessica
said. “No excuses Mia. Be there at eight am sharp and call me right after your
done.”

“Okay.”   

“Now get a pen and
paper and write this down.”

I stayed on the
phone with Jessica for another two minutes before ending the call. I got the
address and directions.  The Price estate was about fifteen minutes from
here. I didn’t want to risk hitting any traffic in the morning so I needed to
leave early enough to give me extra time to get there.

I walked into the
kitchen to make myself something to eat. My cabinets and refrigerator had very
little to choose from so I grabbed one of my lean frozen dinners and stuck it
in the microwave.

As I was waiting
for my dinner to cook my towel started to slip from my head.

Oh shit!

I completely
forgot about my hair. It probably looked like a birds nest right now. I would
need to rewash my hair before the interview so that I at least looked
presentable.

The microwave
beeped and I pulled out my meal. I brought it over to the bed and waited a few
minutes for my food to cool off. I was starving so when I finally started
eating it only took a few minutes to finish.

I went back into
the bathroom to rewash my hair. Once it was washed and blow-dried, I picked out
my outfit for the interview. This was a rather easy task because I only had two
nice outfits to choose from.

My eyes started to
feel heavy. It was only nine at night but I couldn’t stay up any longer. I
checked to make sure the front door was locked and then I put my phone on the
charger next to my bed. My hand reached to turn off the light and then I laid
my head on my pillow… and fell asleep instantly.

I walked down the
steps to exit my apartment building and head to my car. It was a beautiful
Tuesday morning. The sun was shining and the breeze in the air made the heat
bearable.

I was feeling
confident in my outfit choice. I was wearing a Navy blue pencil skirt and cream
blouse. The Navy pencil skirt along with my light brown hair made my blue eyes
pop. I never usually wore make-up but today was an exception. I had applied
some light concealer, mascara, and a nude lip-gloss.

I considered my
eyes my best feature so I could afford not going over board with make-up as
long as my eyes stood out. I had loosely curled my hair today to give it some
bounce. Navy heels finished my outfit off and added a good 3 inches to my five
ft. five inch frame.

I hopped into my
Corolla and put my keys in the ignition. I took a deep breath while pulling out
of my apartment complex at 7:15 am exactly.  I was right on
schedule.  I continued to take a few more deep breaths to calm the nerves
I suddenly had.

I was prepared to
hit some traffic on my way over to Mr. Price’s estate but surprisingly there
was none. I pulled up to the gates outside the home twenty minutes before the
interview was scheduled. There was a gentlemen sitting in a small brick
structure outside the gates and he waved me over. I drove up right next to him.

“Can I help you?”
The man said to me while giving my car a look over.

“My name is Mia
Dechino and I am here to interview with Mr. Price.” My nerves were back. This
place was huge.

The man started
hitting some buttons on the tablet in his hands. A few seconds later he looked
up at me and spoke.

“Nancy, Mr.
Price’s personal assistant, has you down here for an eight am interview. If you
just pull through these gates and continue down the road you will see an area
where the driveway splits three ways. You will continue straight away to the
front of the estate. Someone will be there to take your vehicle and Nancy will
walk you in.”

“Okay… Thank you
sir.” I rolled my window up and waited for the gates to open completely. I
followed the driveway all the way up to the front of the estate. Sure enough
there was an older gentleman waiting near the front of the house. He waved me
over and once I put my vehicle in park he was opening my driver’s side door.

“Hello Ms.
Dechino, I am Michael. I will take your vehicle while you go inside with Nancy.
I will have your car waiting for you once your interview with Mr. Price is
over,” he said as he stood at my door with his hand stretched out waiting for
me to hand him my keys.

“Thank you
Michael.” I kept my communication short. I was not use to having people do
things for me.

At that moment a
beautiful women who looked to be in her early thirties walked out the front
doors of the estate. She had blonde hair that could only come from a bottle.
Her brown eyes were washed out by the heavy make-up she applied to her face.
She was tall with a model’s body. Her breasts were on display in a tight
corset. She was wearing a pantsuit over the corset with the jacket open to
display her body. Her slim frame led me to believe her breasts were surgically
enhanced.

She was definitely
the type that stood out when she walked in the room.

She approached me
with a stern look on her face. You could tell she wasn’t someone you messed
around with.

“Hello Ms.
Dechino,” She reached out her hand to shake mine.

“My name is Nancy
and I am Mr. Price’s personal assistant. You are a little early for the
interview,” she said as she glanced at her watch. “I love someone who doesn’t
make me wait around and Mr. Price loves punctuality in his employees. If you
just follow me we will head over to his office.”

I wasn’t sure if I
should reply to her greeting but luckily Nancy didn’t wait for one. She
immediately walked into the estate with me following.

I was in awe the
moment I stepped into the home. It was gorgeous with a wide-open floor plan.
The main room was white with a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the
ceiling in the center of the room. The ceiling was two stories high and
displayed beautiful artwork you would expect to see in a gallery.

 We started
walking down a hallway to the left of the main room. Nancy referred to this as
the west wing of the home.

We walked past
several doors and past another hallway. We approached the end of the hallway in
the west wing where beautiful oak double doors stood. Nancy opened the double
doors and we walked into a room that looked like a typical lobby in an office
building.

There was a desk
that sat to the right of another set of oak double doors. An impressive phone
system was on the desk and file cabinets behind it. There were six chairs lined
along the wall to the left of me. A coffee table was placed in the center with
all the latest magazines and today’s newspaper.

 There was
also a 40-inch flat screen TV on the wall that had on one of the local news
stations. The TV was to the left of the double doors. I assumed Mr. Price’s
office was behind those doors.

Nancy walked
behind the desk and picked up the phone. She hit a few buttons and put the
phone to her ear. I continued to look around the room while I awaited further
instruction from her.

“Mr. Price, I am
standing here with your eight o’clock appointment for the house keeping
position. Should I let her in?” Nancy spoke into the phone.

She waited a few
seconds listening intently to whatever Mr. Price was saying on the other line.
“Okay sir. We will wait until you come get us… Thank you sir.”

Nancy hung up the
phone and looked towards me.

“Mr. Price is just
finishing up an important business call. He should be out here shortly to get
us.”

“Okay. Thank you
Nancy.”

We waited for a
good fifteen minutes in awkward silence. I tried to say something but changed
my mind the minute I lifted my head. Nancy stared at me the entire fifteen
minutes with a look of confusion on her face. She finally broke the silence and
directed an odd question at me.

“Ms. Dechino?”

“Yes,” I was
hesitant with my reply to her.

“From what I
understand you were sent over from the temp agency. Was it Jessica who sent you
over?”

What an odd
question. I got the impression that Jessica was the one who handled Mr. Price’s
business through the agency. Who else would have sent me?

“Yes it was
Jessica.” I replied with a confident look on my face.

“Are you sure it
was Jessica? I know there are a couple other women who work in that office… so
maybe there was a little confusion on who actually set you up with this
interview.”

Now I was a little
annoyed and I snapped back a quick reply.

“I am actually
positive it was Jessica. I have worked with her the past four months and I
spoke with her in great detail yesterday evening. She thought I would be a
perfect fit for this position.”

Nancy looked at me
for a good twenty seconds before she seemed satisfied with my answer. She
started typing away at the tablet she was holding in her hands. She remained
this way the rest of the time while we waited for Mr. Price.

I was starting to
second-guess my decision on coming in for this interview.

Suddenly I heard
movement and looked up. Nancy was walking towards me with a tight smile on her
face.

“Mr. Price just
messaged me and we are free to go in now.”

I followed her
through the second set of double doors and into a beautiful office. The
furnishings were all in a dark wood or black leather. The walls were painted
taupe, which complemented the furniture well. There were paintings on the
walls. The office had a simple beauty to it. The desk in front of me was huge
and demanded attention in the room.

I looked behind
the desk in front of me and I stopped breathing.

Oh. My. God.

Mr. Price stood up
and I couldn’t believe how handsome he was. He was impeccably dressed with a
lean muscular build. His face confirmed to me that he had to be the most
gorgeous man on the planet and his hair was a sexy kind of mess. He must have
had a stressful morning because you could tell his hand had been in his hair… a
lot.

Nancy stepped up
to the desk and looked my way as she spoke.

“Mr. Price, this
is Mia Dechino. She is interviewing for the housekeeper position,” Nancy stated
from next to me.

I had completely
forgotten she was here. I was too distracted by the beautiful man in front of
me. I have never seen a man like him before. I have never had this kind of
reaction to a man’s appearance before.

I wanted to eat
him for dessert.

Mr. Price walked
over to me and extended his hand for a handshake. I couldn’t react at first.
Him standing so close to me made my body forget to react to the simple gesture.

I composed myself
and lifted my hand to meet his. Once our hands touched I felt tingles go up my
arm and through my body. It was an electric shock to my system. I had never
felt anything like this before. It felt amazing and scared the shit out of me.

Sebastian was
silent as he stared at our hands that were still connected. I had a feeling he
felt it too.

“It is nice to
meet you Mia. My name is Sebastian Price but you may call me Mr. Price.”

How odd that he
would give me his name informally but then tell me to address him so formally.
I decided not to dwell on this.

“It is nice to
meet you too, Mr. Price. You have a beautiful home,” I confidently said. I was
a little surprised that I could form sentences at the moment

“Thank you,” he
said as he let go of my hand, dropping the only connection our body’s had with
each other. “If you have a seat we can get started with the interview.”

He walked back
around his desk as he addressed Nancy. ”You can leave now. I will expect you
back here in twenty minutes to escort Ms. Dechino out.”

The look of shock
on her face was priceless.

“Are you sure Mr.
Price? I usually stay with you during your interviews. I can take notes if you
would like?”

“That won’t be
necessary Nancy. Just be back her in twenty minutes.”

Nancy looked a
little stunned by Mr. Price’s dismissal. She shot me a dirty look that was so
quick, I’m sure Mr. Price missed it.

“Yes Sir.” Nancy
replied and then exited the office.

I was sitting in a
large chair facing Mr. Price’s desk, waiting for him to start the interview. I
was anxious to get the interview over with but I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to
speak.

I was enjoying the
view too much.

“Well Mia, I have
looked over your work history and the documentation the temp agency sent over.
You seem to be over qualified for this position. You have an associate’s degree
and it states on your paperwork that you worked in the banking industry for the
last two years. That is, until you abruptly quit five months ago.”

He didn’t continue
and I couldn’t find the words to speak. The silence lasted for what seemed like
forever.

“Well, is this
accurate?” Mr. Price asked me looking dumbfounded on why I haven’t spoken yet.
He was leaning forward in his chair while he awaited my answer.

My brain was
screaming for my mouth to speak…

Speak Mia!!!

I finally opened
my mouth, “Yes, Mr. Price that is accurate.”

He adjusted his
body back into his chair. He looked a little more relaxed now.

“Why have you
decided to waste a degree and slum it as a housekeeper?” he asked me. This
question caught me off guard.

“Well I do not see
it as wasting a degree. Cleaning a home is hard work and I have respect for
anyone who does it,” I didn’t like the fact that he implied the job was beneath
me.