So... Do I get a second chance?

Chapter I: The Resume

"Wallet?"

"Check."

"Expensive fountain pen?"

"Ah... Here. Not sure if I'll be using it during lunch, but check."

"Remembering that you have appointed three job interviews for the new designer in less than an hour?"

"... ..." A brokh. He knew he was forgetting something. "Miss Winslow, why did you wait for me to reach the exit before reminding me?"

"Because, even if it is awfully un-professional of me, it is terribly funny to watch your face when you finally realize what you forgot, Mr. Adelson."

"Oh... And how is my regret face?"

"As I said before, terribly funny."

"Your smirk matches your words, Miss Winslow."

"I know, it would be unfortunate if it didn't. Now..." Begins the blonde and elegant secretary, adjusting her glasses before reading from her tablet. "Knowing that you wouldn't be able to eat outside today, I ordered your lunch. It should be arriving in ten minutes: Chicken marsala with potatoes and steamed vegetables on the side. You then will have twenty minutes to eat and clean yourself before receiving the first applicant."

"Ok. And, what should I do during these ten...?"

"The curriculae from the applicants is already on your desk, Mr. Adelson. Why not go back to your office and take a look at them?" The woman suggested, opening the door to the back of the jewelry store with a soft movement so he could do as instructed. "I'll bring you your lunch as soon as it arrives."

"Where would I be without you, miss Winslow?" He asked with an audible sigh, walking through the door being held open for him.

"Not in charge of your father's jewelry emporium, sir." Alice answered with another smirk, though this one the owner of the store wasn't able to see, being on his way while she closed the door behind him.

To go from the front of the store to his office, Harry Adelson had to go through a corridor that also led to the jewelers' workshop, right across from the door to his personal space. He currently had three bench jewelers working for him, all of them good in terms of speed and quality, but he'd started to notice the need for a fourth one when the sales started to increase, and with them the resize and polishing orders as well. (At first Harry thought that it was thanks to the spring and summer weddings and anniversaries season, but seeing that it was already fall and the number of work kept steadily growing, he instead decided to thank himself and his management for it and just hire a new pair of hands).

Closing the door after stepping into his office he went straight to his desk, removing his light brown jacket and hanging it in the back of his chair before sitting down. He'd always known that he was the kind of person who couldn't work on an empty stomach, but at least he'd try, knowing that what Alice had suggested was for the best. She had even arranged the three resumes according to the order of the interviews.

The first and the second set of papers were pretty similar; no more than three pages long, both with good enough studies and abilities and bit of laboral experience, so he decided that it would come down to the interview to make his decision if it became between these two applicants... Or at least he considered so until he opened the third folder. Simple yet elegant and full of papers that easily quadrupled the first ones, it had stunned him, especially when he read the applicant's name.

"M-Miss Winslow....!" Harry called, standing up from the surprise and the excitement.

"Yes, Mr. Adelson?" She answered calmly after opening the door just a second after, walking in with a tray of food on her hands and her tablet under her arm. "I take it you saw the Bonneville curriculum?" She said before he could explain himself, already knowing what his exclamation had been about.

"Yes!" He answered, ignoring the food being placed in front of him to keep reading. "It is everything you would expect from a Bonneville... The skills, the experience... He even sent some designs! Gosh, they are beautiful! I wish we'd have printed this on a HD printer or something."

"Mr. Adelson..."

"You know what? Buy one! If I'm having a Bonneville working for me, he'll definitely need a quality printer, and...! Oh... My stars..."

"Mr. Adelson..."

"Alice! I'm going to have a Bonneville working for me! I-I gotta call my father!" He announced, practically beaming with excitement while reaching for the phone before dialing, managing to press the first numbers before his secretary softly pressed the 'end call' button on the console, finally getting his attention and a confused gaze as an extra.

"Mr. Adelson... I've been doing some research, but beside that... Why do you think a Bonneville would want to come and work here, which, in comparison to Manhattan, must be the middle of pseudo-nowhere, Vermont, for a fraction of what he'd earn if he only stayed working with the rest of his family in New York or even Paris or London if he'd like? It would make as much sense as having Harry Winston, rest his soul, doing the same."

"... Ok... I hadn't thought about that..." He admitted, sitting down slowly on his chair once more, a contemplating look on his face and one of his hands now stroking his brown soft curls. He also seemed a little heartbroken, especially when he glanced at the papers in his hand once more, those belonging to M. H. Bonneville . "But... These are definitely the credentials of a Bonneville... Do you think we're being lied at?"

"Well, retaking what I was saying about my research..." Alice answered, tapping her tablet's screen a few times after adjusting her glasses to read from it. "This is definitely a Bonneville we are talking about, and his credentials are without a doubt legitimate. I've confirmed so with the institutions listed in his resume, some of which even praised this man's work without me asking. That being said, this is also one of the most mysterious persons I've ever had to research, sir." Alice glanced back at her boss after saying that, noticing the confusion and the intrigue in his gray-green eyes. "We are talking about one of the heirs of one of the most recognized jewel companies in the world, and yet, M. H. Bonneville has a total lack of public image, sir... No press appearances, no social networks, no attendance to any social event, not even a picture of himself in his resume. I think we are dealing with some sort of hermit, Mr. Adelson, and who knows for what reason. We might need to be careful."

"...It would be very careless of me not to heed your words, right, Miss Winslow?" Harry finally said, smiling with a somewhat tired expression on his face.

"Yes, yes it would, Mr. Adelson." She answered with a small but proud smile, putting her tablet away while her boss tucked his burgundy tie inside his white shirt. "But it would also be extremely stupid, and even unfair for this person to deny him a chance over suspicion only."

"You are working your way to a raise, Miss Winslow." Harry said, finally taking the knife and fork placed in front of him, smiling with a small frown.

"Thank you, sir. My goal is a two week paid vacation." Alice proudly announced, bowing slightly as a way of saying 'thank you', straightening her emerald-green tailor suit with one hand right after.

"Am I allowed to be excited about this again? You know, the Bonneville house is one of the three jewelries that my grandfather didn't forbid my family to buy from. I even got my daughters' first birthdays gifts from there." He asked almost jokingly, moving his silverware to cut a slice of the chicken.

"Yes, Mr. Adelson, you are allowed to be a bit excited." She answered, turning on her heels to leave her boss alone to his lunch. "Enjoy your meal, you have fifteen minutes before the first interview is due."