Whispers in the Night: A Hotel of Unraveled Secrets

2 - Fate is an unpredictable thing (The Interview)

           "This place is not so bad as I thought" Veronica said as she gazed around. The place was indeed beautiful; the floor tiles were cream coloured and so clear that one could see one's reflection, the walls were painted scarlet which had some gold patterns on it. In front of her was a receptionist desk with an elevator on the right side and a staircase on the right.
          "May I help you ?"  A feminine voice was heard. This made Veronica to snap out of it, She turned to see a woman in her thirties, she wore a Japanese style kimono, her hair was of a fiery color, she had turquoise eyes and was slightly tan in complexion. Veronica instantly knew that the woman wasn't from around here. "Yes  I came to apply for the post of a receptionist, I saw the Job vacancy in a newspaper".  Veronica said trying to sound formal. ''Ah yes, follow me"  The woman said as she walked towards the elevator with Veronica tagging along. They both entered the elevator, the woman pushed a button to take them to the second floor. The atmosphere was dead calm as the elevator went up. "So what's your name ?" She asked "Veronica Makaya ma'am"  Veronica replied. "It's a lovely name"   the woman said  and the silence continued. Before Veronica could begin her train of thoughts, the elevator doors opened which lead to a hallway.
       
       The woman walked out and Veronica tagged along. As they walked, Veronica was in awe of the interior decor. She kept admiring the hall when something caught her eye. Something was staring at her and it didn't look human, it looked transparent which made her surprised. "A ghost?"  She thought to herself, When the creature saw that they made eye contact , it immediately disappeared. "Excuse me ma'am, but is this place haunted ? Cause I saw something which looked like a ghost" She said.
          The woman didn't look surprised and simply said that the guests here are unique. "In other words this hotel must be very unique to have unique guest" Veronica stated. The woman didn't respond to her remark; "no answer huh ? Well its  fine, it's not my first time dealing with the paranormal"  Veronica thought. "Back then, I dealt with situations similar to it, i really don't want to go back to that life; no stop it, i'm  no more in that place, not anymore". "We're here"  The woman said suddenly, her sudden statement made Veronica snap back to reality. They stood in front of a large black door.

         The door opened by itself which didn't surprise Veronica because it wasn't her first time seeing a door open by itself. Inside was a desk and two chairs on opposite sides of the desk. "This is the interview room"  The woman said "looks more of an interrogation room than an interview room"  Veronica thought They both took their seats. "I will be the one interviewing you today, actually the boss and two others were supposed to be here but they are busy, so its only me"  the woman said as she brought out some documents from a drawer. "My name is Miss Diana and I will be the one interviewing you today, let's Begin, so Miss Veronica, why do you want to work for our company ?  The question hit Veronica hard, she didn't know what to say. She knew that she only came here because someone recommended this place to her. "What should I say ? I can't just say I came here because some random stranger told me about this place, I should have sent a letter of application and waited for their reply rather than trying my shot  unprepared, should I make it up ? Oh wait I know"  with that she brought out the card from her pocket gave it to Diana along with the newspaper.
           "You see, someone actually told me about this place, she gave me this card which made me believe she works here". "I guess that woman is the boss"  She thought "she also told me about the vacant job post of a receptionist, I became more motivated when I saw the same advertisement of the job post under the name Atlas Haven, so I decided to go for it and that's why I'm here"  Veronica said feeling awkward. "I really didn't think this through, like who comes  to an interview unprepared, wearing a hoodie and a pair of trousers, which is very informal"  she thought. "I see"  Diana stated; "I knew it, I did a foolish thing after all, I didn't even say the right words, just forget about it Veronica"  she thought to herself as she began to lose hope. " Okay that is good, onto the next question"  Diana said as she flipped through the pages. Veronica was surprised by her reaction, she didn't expect her to just accept what she said as if its nothing "maybe she's just being nice" She thought.
          Diana kept on asking questions while Veronica tried to answer them to the best of her ability. An hour later, they concluded the interview. "Congratulations Miss Veronica  Makaya, you have been hired as our receptionist, I look forward to working with you"  Diana said with a very bright expression on her face. "Hold up, I'm hired ?"  Veronica asked with a puzzled expression, Diana nodded her head in affirmation. Veronica had to slap herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming which made took Diana by suprise. When she realized she wasn't dreaming, her eyes lit up. She was just about to thank her when she remembered something.
        "Wait didn't you say that your boss and two others were supposed to be here ? Are you sure it's okay to be hiring me without their knowledge, wouldn't it be best to, you know, discuss this with them before acknowledging me as one of your own ?"  Veronica asked feeling unsure, Diana smiled and told her that it is okay because she is actually the interviewer for this company and the boss won't mind if she hired someone cause he considers her trustworthy. "Wow she must be very trustworthy then if she can hire someone and no one would mind"  Veronica thought. She felt everything was too good to be true and slapped herself the second time to ensure she's not dreaming. Diana was shocked at her sudden action and advised her not to hit herself too much. Seeing that everything wasn't a dream, Veronica's eyes lit up again "oh my goodness, thank you very much, when do I start ?"  She asked with obvious excitement in her voice. Diana told her to start the next day and Veronica agreed immediately.

        As She walked through the hallways, she couldn't help but squeal and leap out of excitement, unknown to her that she was being watched by two figures.
      

           "Looks like she got the job"  The first person said "obviously she did, the person who recommended her is someone the boss consider trustworthy"  the second person said. "even though I wonder how she will cope"  the first person said with a smug smile "after all, most of the workers here, even the guests aren't human"