Fight by P.A. Jones Read Free Book Online

muttered to myself three times before I locked my door. The distance was a forty-five minute drive on a busy day, so I started at 3:15. Half empty, my gas sign flashed when I started my car. I will have to fill it on the way. I didn't want to be late for the interview.
    I took a deep breath when I stood in front of the Business Center. The opportunity came at the right time, and it was a life-saver for me. Getting that opportunity meant a lot for me. I hoped to grab it and salvage some of my financial condition. I wished for the best and stepped inside the center.
    "Fifth floor." The person sitting in the elevator nodded and took me to the fifth floor. The company had booked an interview room there. A few candidates were already present. A pretty girl was sitting at the reception desk. She took my name and asked me to wait for a bit. While waiting for her to get back to me, I looked around at the people who were already there. Mr. Mike Wilson was there; he was a big player in my industry. What was he doing there? He used to outsource large groups of people to big companies. He had a team of ten people working permanently for him and many others on contract. Why does he want this contract?
    I picked up a magazine to pass some time. In a few minutes, the interviews started and I was number four.
    The first person went inside. I looked at the clock and marked the time. I wanted to see how much time each person was spending inside. The first person came in less than five minutes.
    The second one stood up; he was in his forties, much older than me. He held a thick file, and by the looks of it, I could see many certificates and contract papers inside. My stomach felt heavy. I had only few years under my belt. Fear raised up my spine. I thought of getting out of there. I stood up and walked to the door slowly.
    "Mr. Brown. You are next," the receptionist called to me. I decided to turn back and face my fear. I gathered all my courage. "I have to face this," I muttered under my breath.
    "Pardon?" Mr. Wilson asked.
    "Nothing, sir. How are you?"  He was a big name in the business.
    "Fine, thank you," he replied and turned his attention back to his file. His file looked bigger than mine, way bigger.
    "Mr. Brown, you can go inside," the receptionist called out to me.
    I walked slowly to the interview door. "Where is the number three?" I asked with hesitation.
    "He was rejected."
    "Was he?" I pointed to the door. " I mean, he was sitting with me."
    "His profile didn't match," she replied in a chilling voice.
    I pushed the handle, and it opened with a squeaky sound that seemed like a blast in that quiet area.
    "Welcome, Mr. Brown," a female voice said from behind the chair. A lady sat looking outside the window.
    "Hello, ma'am."
    "Call me Martha." She turned her chair to face me. She was in her fifties, but she tried to hide her age with heavy makeup. "I hope you didn't have to wait for long. I was doubtful that you would make it."
    "Pardon, Martha." She confused me.
    "Let's get to your profile." She picked up a large file in front of her. What did she have in that file? "Engineering from a good college, Manhattan University. Won the college kick-boxing tournament. Interesting."
    She had all my information. But what the hell? How had she gathered that info on me? Show was confusing me more and more.
    "Bad reputation, too much alcohol, married but living away from wife. You sound like a player to me. My heart skipped few beats. She flipped through a few more pages. “Wife cheated and moved to another city," she said in deep, eerie voice.
    "What the hell, ma'am." I tried to control my anger."Where did you gather that information?" I bumped my fist on the table. I couldn't believe she had so much personal information on me.
    "Okay, calm down. We will talk about your professional career now." She looked for a specific tab in her binder. "Okay, here it is. Ten projects so far. Good rating on them, but you missed a big opportunity with Mr. Shui