Eternal Flame

Chapter 13

Aria's POV
"Thank you so much, Mr. Fitz. I promise it won't happen again."

"It's ok as long as I have it by the end of the week, Jake." I hear Ezra say from the other side of the door before opening it.

"Hey." I say and get up to greet him.

"Hey." He replies and approaches me to give me a kiss, "What are you doing here?" He asks, clearly surprised to see me here.

"Something happened and I wanted to tell you in person but I didn't want to wait until you got home tonight."

"Is everything ok?"

"Everything is great." I reply.

"Then what is so important that it couldn't wait a few hours?" He asks, clearly curious and somewhat confused.

"Well," I start and a huge smile spreads across my face, "I got the job!" I announce.

"Are you serious? I mean of course you are. I knew you would get it the minute you told me what it was. You were made for that job." He says, "I'm so proud of you. Congratulations!" Ezra ads before engulfing me in a tight hug and kissing the top of my head, "You deserve this more than anyone and I couldn't be happier for you."

"Thank you." I reply, "Thank you for everything. If it weren't for you, I would have never talked to my dad and therefore wouldn't be here now. Thank for not letting me give up and for believing in me."

"All I did was tell you what you needed to hear. This is all on you."

"It isn't and you know it."

"Whatever." He says and puts his hands on my waist, "Now as much as I hate having to do this, I have class in 5 minutes and while I'd rather stay here with you, I need to leave. But we need to celebrate your new job so I'll pick you up at seven."

"Sounds great. Can't wait. " I reply and leave the room after giving him a kiss.

I decide to stop by my parent's house before going home to get ready so I can tell them the news and thank my dad for helping me. A few weeks ago, I had been looking for a job for weeks and was so frustrated because I hadn't found anything yet. No one seemed impressed by my curriculum and I lost count of the number of times I was told they'd already found someone. I was ready to give up and accept the first thing I found, no matter how bad it was but Ezra didn't let me.

"Ughh!" I say as I slam the apartment's door shut and take my coat off.

"Hey hey, what's going on?" Ezra asks after getting up and approaching me, "Are you ok?"

"No, I'm not ok!" I reply and sit down on the couch, running my hands through my hair, "I've gone to dozens of interviews during the past few weeks yet I haven't got one single call. I know my curriculum isn't the most impressing thing but or god's sake! It's not that bad. I'm not even being picky at this point. All I want is a job with a fair salary but all I've found so far is rude managers who think they're better than everyone else and refuse to even consider you for the job and who irrevocably tell you they'll call you in a few days but never do. I'm never going to find anything."

"Nonsense." He replies and makes me look at him, "You haven't found the right thing yet but you will soon. I'm sure of that. You're one of the most talented and hardworking people I know and I'm sure you'll find something great before you know it but until then, you have to believe in yourself and remain positive." He says and I smile softly at him, "Why don't you ask your dad if he knows something..?"

"We've talked about this, Ezra..." I sigh, "I don't want to be one of those people who only get certain opportunities because their parents have contacts."

"I get what you mean but asking your dad for help won't necessarily turn you into one of those people."

"How come?"

"Well, first of all, if he simply tells you about the employment opportunities it will be as if he was showing you the job ads sections of the newspaper but even if he got you an interview, you would be the one going there and fighting for the job. If you think about it he'd hardly have any influence in the process.

"I'd never thought about it that way..." I admit, "I'm going to talk to him the next time we are with them. With some luck, he knows something."

"I'm sure he will." He replies and kisses my head, "Now do you want some help looking for jobs online?"

"Don't you have essays and mark?"

"I do. In fact, I have tons of them. But you're more important and I'd rather help you now and worry about those later."

"Then I'd love some help." I reply and kiss his lips, "I love you." I whisper.

"I love you too."

Ezra made me see that there was nothing wrong with asking my dad for help and even got me a recommendation from Jillian in spite of me telling him countless times that she would never do it. He made sure I kept looking and it took me a while but I found an amazing job and no matter what he says, I know I have to thank him for that.

A/N
Hey guys,
I'm so sorry for not updating last week but it was impossible and I thought I wouldn't be able to update tonight either but even though it isn't as long as I'd like, here is the new chapter. I hope you liked it and that you understand why I haven't been updating as regularly as I used to but believe me when I tell you that I'm the one who hates it the most. I always try my best but sometimes it isn't enough and tbh, with everything going on right now I'm surprised I keep going with my writing. Anyway, I gotta go. Have tons of stuff to do and not enough time. I hope you have an amazing week and see you on Sunday! xx