When Rain Falls

Chapter 6 | Belle and the Beast (Part 1)

     I passed. I passed the interview. Holy shit. I pressed my lips together to contain my excitement as my eyes stared at the stamped word in red bold letters: Passed.

It's clear as day. My eyes aren't blurry or anything. I passed the goddamn interview. Closing my eyes, I pressed the sheet of paper against my chest and exhaled out the breath that I was holding for far too long. That was close. Dear sweet baby Jesus. Thank you.

Rain coughed and my thought bubble popped. He was staring at me with concerned eyes. "Sorry about that," I straightened and handed the paper back to him. "You can tell I'm really happy to get this job."

"Your first day on the job will be tomorrow at 7:00 am," he started typing on his laptop. "You can go back home today, pack all your belongings, and Deidre will drive you all the way back here."

Poor Deidre. How many times does she have to drive back and forth? I'm guessing she's probably used to it by now, especially if she's making good money being his secretary.

"Congratulations, Ms. Hart," Rain stood up from his chair and extended his hand. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Mr. Sterling," I shook his hand. It was soft and warm. "I promise I'll do well. Trust me, you won't regret it."

"We'll see about that," he said as he opened the office door for me. There he goes again. He mentioned those words not too long ago as if he doesn't believe in any of my skills. But why hire me in the first place if he thinks I won't be able to do it? "I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Hart. Have a great evening."

"Yes, I'll see you." I almost bowed in front of him. Luckily, I caught myself in the nick of time.

As I made my way out the door, I couldn't help but think about this guy, my boss. Is he going to reprimand me every time I fail at my work? God, I hope not. It does sound like he has something against me, though. Whatever it was, I'll eventually find out. When we were talking in one of the rooms earlier, he seemed like a sweet guy. It was like when I met him the very first time at Vincent Sterling's wedding two years ago. Cute, gentleman, and has a sense of humor. But then after talking to him in his office, I don't know what to say anymore. Maybe I was just looking too much into it. Who cares about him anyway? I'll do my best while I'm here, and I'll resign as soon as I find what I'm looking for.

"Now that's a proper meet-cute." I heard Deidre say when I stepped into the kitchen.

"Pardon?" My eyebrows furrowed as I opened the refrigerator to grab a new bottle of water.

"When you guys reintroduced yourselves earlier upstairs," she explained. I still didn't get it. "You guys met two years ago at Vincent and Daphne's wedding, right?" Oh, that.

"It didn't mean anything," I shrugged, taking a swig out of the cold water. It immediately helped my body relax from the tension earlier. "I just happened to crash a wedding party and bump into him, that's all. We only exchanged each other's first names and that's about it."

"I don't care," she started fixing the contents of her backpack. "I still think it's cute. Maybe it's a sign."

"A sign?" I looked at her incredulously. "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know," she pursed her lips. "You're like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. You came back to the mansion and now you met the beast, or in this case, a handsome Prince, and then you're going to spend time here at the mansion with him, and seriously, what does that tell you?"

My jaw fell all the way to the floor. Well, at least that's how it felt. I laughed as I grabbed my bag, shaking my head. I heard Cosmo barking and sure enough I saw him zooming down the hallway toward me. He jumped up and started licking my hands. "Hey, boy! I'll be back tomorrow, don't worry!" I rubbed behind Cosmo's ears before stepping out of the door.

"See? Even Cosmo loves you," Deidre's smile went all the way up to her ears. "Animals are smart. They can sense these things."

"Deeds, come on," I groaned, linking my arm around hers. "Don't do this. Please?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting a positive feeling about this." Deidre winked at me before hopping inside the driver seat. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It's short, but I promise that in 2023 I'll be updating at least once a week in parts. It's easier for me to do it this way. I have found my writing mojo once again after months of suffering from imposter syndrome. If you're following this story, thank you so much and please share it with your friends. I'd appreciate it. <3 

Have a wonderful day!

XOXO Katie