Begin Again novel Chapter 24

"Ms McBride," A low, raspy voice jolted Eden out of her daze. She turned to see a tall woman with a greying afro staring at her with curiosity.

She looked familiar, but Eden couldn't remember where she'd seen her.

"I'm Yvonne Gibson, but everyone calls me Gibby," she smiled and held out her wrinkly hand.

When Eden took it, she expected it to be as frail as it looked, but she was amazed by the strength in the older woman's handshake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Eden said effusively, stopping short of bowing.

"Please follow me," Gibby said as she turned on her heel.

She was surprisingly agile for someone elderly, and Eden had to keep up with her quick steps and her life story in the five minutes it took to get to the interview room on the same floor.

Eden only managed to grasp that Gibby's in charge of the administration office. All the secretaries, personal assistants and office support personnel reported to her. She made the 'hiring and firing' decisions.

Best be on her good side, Eden thought as she took the egg office chair the older woman offered her—despite the very long glass table, there were only two chairs in the room, hers and Gibby's and they sat across from each other.

"Would you like something to drink, hot or cold? We've got everything," Gibby offered.

Of course, they have everything, Eden smiled. If they had enough room to fit a plane in here, tons of orange juice and gallons of hot chocolate were nothing.

"So?" Gibby asked, and Eden shook her head, she didn't want to inconvenience her future boss; this was an interview, not a social call.

"Very well then let's begin." The head honcho of all personal assistants nodded and opened the personnel file in front of her. "Why do you want to work for Anderson Logistics? You don't have much experience in office support."

Eden was frank in her response. Yes, she was inexperienced, but she was a quick learner and would work twice as hard as her peers because this job was her lifeline.

And she also wants to meet her baby's father. But she kept this part to herself.

"How so?" Gibby asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"Well," Eden began as she pushed up her glasses, a clear sign she's nervous as fuck. "I'm a single parent and recently bought a house. I need a permanent job to support my son and keep a roof over our heads."

"How old is your little one?"

"Eighteen months," Eden replied.

Gibby nodded thoughtfully and leaned back in her seat, "I'll be honest with you, you don't have a lot of experience, and the role is extremely demanding."

"I'm not afraid of hard work," Eden said quickly.

"It's not entirely the work I'm worried about," Gibby said. "It's the executive you'll be working closely with. He's demanding, sometimes unreasonable, your life has to revolve around him. When he calls you don't question, you show up. No more brunch with your friends, or Sunday afternoon weddings or spa days. You have to eat, sleep and breathe the job."

Eden gulped. He didn't sound like a very nice person, whoever this executive is.

"He has a fiery temper; as a result staff call him the 'Dragon' because when he's unhappy, he breathes fire," Gibby smiled.

"He sounds terrifying," Eden said in a small voice.

"He is," Gibby nodded. "But he's also a generous man."

She pulled out a sheet of paper from the file and slid it across the table.

"That's how much he's offering for the role."

As she stared at the figure scribbled on the page, Eden's eyes were so big she thought they were going to pop out of their sockets.

Sure she wouldn't get it all in one go. But R650K over twelve months, minus the pension fund, etc., was still a lot of money in her bank account. It was more than she could ever hope to make with her illustrations.

She'd be able to pay off her mortgage and car in no time, get cracking on her major renovations much sooner than she'd anticipated, and also start a modest trust fund for Aiden.

"I don't know what to say," Eden said at last.

"Don't thank me yet," Gibby carried on. "Because you are inexperienced, and you have so much to learn still—"