Repetition Compulsion

14.

Sera:

The elevator door opened a couple more times, but the guy conducting the interviews did not show up until the very last minute.  So, when the elevator door opened, signaling his arrival, Sera didn't bother to lift her head up to see who would walk out this time around. She found that the whole process only aided in wrecking her nerves, and she did not need anymore of that. So instead, she allowed herself to be dragged into the world of Ms Destiny Wyatt.

After a while, however, Sera started to sense everyone around her shifting. She tried desperately to ignore it, but it was clear that the atmosphere had changed. So, finally, she dared herself to tear her eyes away from her book, and look up to see what was going on. 

As she did, she noticed that someone wearing a pair of really shiny and expensive looking dress shoes was now standing in front of her. The longer she kept her head down, the more she became aware that whoever this person was, was staring at her...well the back of her head anyway. 

So, she closed her book, and slowly looked all the way up.

The man was dressed in an expensive looking black suit, that was ironed to perfection with four iron creases on each side of the pants' legs. As Sera continued scanning the man from the bottom all the way up, her eyes were met with the most beautiful pair of brown eyes that she had ever laid eyes upon. It took a while to register, but then she finally realized who the eyes belonged to:

Abimbola.

She gulped down, then got up, trying really hard to keep her composure, though she had a sinking feeling that her limbs were about to let her down. 

How is this happening? Is this failed hook up bound to keep haunting me for the rest of my life?

"Serendipity", Abimbola said, ever so casually, and Sera couldn't help but notice how smoothly and effortlessly her name rolled off of his lips.

"A-Abimbola", Sera replied, trying to match his cool tone. Needless to say, she failed miserably.

Abimbola continued hovering over Sera with an unreadable expression on his face. So Sera wasn't sure how the interaction was about to go down. 

Is he mad I left without saying goodbye? Is he happy to see me? Or is he unbothered?

There was a heavy silence in the air, and during this time, all Sera and Abimbola did was stare at each other. Sera was quite aware that everyone else was looking at them, but try as she did, she found she could not stop looking at Abimbola, nor could she break the intense eye contact. 

"Mr Blake...Ms Green would like to know if you are still presenting at the staff meeting today?", the receptionist lady asked.

Abimbola turned around, finally breaking eye contact, and Sera took the time to take a deep breath in and compose herself.

"Noted, Tinashe.", Abimbola replied, facing the receptionist. "Please let her know I'm available."

When he turned back around, he still had the same blank, and expressionless look on his face that he had on before he addressed Tinashe. "So...are you ready for your interview?"

Sera opened her mouth to answer. But somewhere in the middle of thinking of a reply, and then trying to execute the reply, it all finally hit her.  His name was Abimbola...and the receptionist lady had referred to him as 'Mr Blake', that meant he was Abimbola Blake...the CEO of the firm Sera was hoping to score an internship at.

"Oh my gawsh...you're Abimbola Blake of Blake and Gray Publications, aren't you?", Sera whispered underneath her breath. Though the whisper wasn't much of a whisper because when she finally managed to lift her head up, she found Abimbola had an amused look on his face.

"Damn...I can't remember the last time anyone called me by my full government name and title like that." Abimbola replied amusedly.

Sera was pretty sure her mouth was now wide open, mostly because she was taken aback by her inability to keep her own thoughts to herself. But somehow that seemed to amuse him even further.

He took a few steps closer, and this time he was so close that Sera could feel his warm breath against her cheeks. So close that for a minute Sera really believed he was going to kiss her. But then he didn't. Instead, he moved a loose strand of wet hair from her face and casually said. "I like this new look. Are you redefining fashion standards?"

Sera panicked. 

Great, now he's teasing me. 

She looked back down, convinced he was about to send her away for looking unpresentable. As she did, however,  Abimbola stepped closer to her, leaving no space between them whatsoever. Then he leaned in so only she could hear. "Relax. I'm only just teasing."

Sera knew Abimbola was doing all of this because he was enjoying seeing her nervous and uncertain, but that didn't stop her knees from weakening. "Th-thank you?" she whispered in reply because at that point in time, Abimbola was so close to her that there was no need for her to use her normal speaking voice.

He turned back around to talk to the reception lady and Sera took that time to sit back down and hold her composure. She didn't quite understand what it was about his presence that was making her so nervous. Granted, the odds were not in her favour: she looked like a hot mess, and she had just found out that the stranger she had hooked up with on Friday night was the CEO of a company she wanted to work at, but she still thought her body was overreacting and needed to calm down a little.

"So, do you guys like know each other or something?", the pink haired boy who had ignored Sera earlier on whispered in her ear. On a normal day, Sera would have ignored him, because she did not like rude people. However, this was not a normal day and Sera was hardly thinking straight.

"Uhm...something. Definitely something", she replied.

When Abimbola finished talking to Tinashe the receptionist, he turned back to Sera.

"Come with me", he said.

"B-but I'm not first in lin-."

"Never mind that", he replied. "I'm in charge. You do what I say. "

Sera could feel the eyes of the other potential interns on her as she slowly got up and followed closely behind Abimbola Blake.