"Hey, you," Scarlett ordered and threw her handbag at the administrative assistant, Gillian. "Hold my bag and be careful with it. It's very expensive. I'll pick it up after my meeting and I'll hold you responsible if anything is missing or damaged."
"Uhm, have we met?" Gillian asked.
"You'd better get used to seeing my face," Scarlett said in a condescending tone. "I'll be working here soon."
"Oh, uh, are you starting today?" Gillian continued.
"Not yet, but I have an unimportant interview here," Scarlett replied. She then folded her arms and continued, "But I'm not worried. I know I'm getting the job."
"Well, you seem very confident," Gillian remarked.
"I know. Can you call someone named Frederic for the interview, now?" Scarlett asked impatiently.
"Okay, I'll call. Please give me a moment," Gillian said as she reached for the phone.
"And there had better be someone coming. Don't waste my time," Scarlett said condescendingly. Gillian discreetly shook her head as she called Frederic.
About 10 minutes passed and Scarlett was seated at an empty desk, scrolling through her phone. When she saw Gillian, she barked, "Hey, I have a nail appointment in like an hour. What's going on? Are you seriously going to waste my time? This interview needs to happen now. I'm not going to sit around. I have better things to do."
"I'm...I'm so sorry. I really am. I have no idea why it's taking so long," Gillian said apologetically. Just then, a man entered the office and introduced himself as Kyle.
"What? You're not Frederic? I was told Frederic would be interviewing me, not some random guy," Scarlett raised an eyebrow and said.
"Well, I'm sorry about the confusion, but I'm Kyle, a branch manager at another place, so uh, I'm just filling in for Frederic today. He urgently had to take leave," Kyle repeated.
"I don't care who you are. I wanted Frederic. I need to be interviewed today," Scarlett said rudely.
"You didn't mention to me that there was someone waiting for an interview, Gillian," Kyle said.
"I'm so sorry, Kyle. I didn't know either. Frederic was supposed to tell me, but I think he forgot because he was on urgent leave. And I didn't mean to cause any trouble," Gillian replied.
"This place seems a little disorganised, uh the receptionist has no idea what is going on, managers keep stepping in and out without communication. And people aaiting for interviews without even anyone knowing," Kyle said nervously.
"Please, please don't report me. I didn't mean to mess up, I swear," Gilliam stammered.
"It's okay, it's okay. Just relax, Gillian," Kyle replied. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm just pointing out some of the things that are going on, so no, don't worry about it."
"Alright, enough already. If Frederic is not here, can you interview me? I don't have all day," Scarlett said impatiently.
"Okay, fine. Let's get this over with," Kyle said and turned to Gillian. "Gillian, can you make sure that everything's okay and set up for the day? I'll be in the interview room if you need me." He then turned to Scarlett. "Come, right this way."
At the interview room, Scarlett wasted no time in raising her concern about Kyle. "So, do you even know how to interview someone like me?" she asked condescendingly.
"Yes, I do. I've conducted interviews for years," Kyle replied professionally.
"Well, that's relief," Scarlett replied, folding her arms. "I wouldn't want to waste my time on someone who doesn't know what they're doing. So, let's cut to the chase. I'm here for the creative director position, obviously."
"Alright, um, can you tell me about your...a bit about your experience? You know, why do you think you're a good fit for this role?" Kyle began. Hearing this, Scarlett let out a condescending retort.
"I've already sent my resume to the company email. It's not my fault you don't know how to check your inbox," she replied. "I shouldn't have to explain myself again, should I?"
"No, that's...that's all right. I don't need to see it, just...why don't you just tell me about your experience from memory?" Kyle replied. Scarlett gave vague and irrelevant answers about having worked in social media and creative ideas she had.
"Okay, that's all good. But this position isn't just about creativity or knowing what's trending. It's about managing people, handling multiple projects at once, you know, keeping everything running smoothly," Kyle elaborated. "Do you have experience in any of those areas?" Hearing this, Scarlett became angry.
"Are you seriously accusing me of not being able to manage people?" she asked. "In fact, do you even know who I am?" She then went on to give vague answers about her experience.
"I'm not accusing you of anything, Scarlett," Kyle replied. "But leading a team isn't just about telling people what to do. It's about patience, it's about being understanding and also making tough decisions when it's necessary. And right now, honestly, you're not showing any of those qualities..."
"Who do you think you are?" Scarlett interrupted rudely. "Do you even know who I am? You're just some guy sitting here, pretending to be in charge. I should be the one in that chair. You're going to regret saying that."
"I know exactly who you are," Kyle replied firmly. "You are a spoiled girl who thinks the whole world owes her something. But that's not how it works. This company doesn't run on entitlement. It runs on experience."
"You're unbelievable," Scarlett remarked. "I don't have to take this from you. You're the one who's going to regret this."
"Yeah," Kyle replied sarcastically. "I'm sure I will. Come on, let's head to the office." Once at the office, Scarlett pointed at Gillian, who was cleaning the table.
"You, call Todd," she ordered.
"Todd, uh, he's probably in a meeting right now," Gillian tried to speak, but Scarlett raised her hand to cut her off.
"It doesn't matter," she snapped. "If you say my name, he'll come. He always comes when I call."
"Todd? How do you know him?" Kyle asked.
"Oh, you'll see. Just call him," Scarlett replied abruptly. Kyle told Gillian to make the call. Minutes after the call was made, Todd arrived. "Dad," Scarlett called out.
"Sweetheart, what's going on?" Todd asked. "I was expecting to see you at home after the interview. Not here causing a scene."
"It's this interview. I did everything you told me. Scheduled with Frederic, the one who was supposed to hire me without any hassle. And then Frederic wasn't even here. Said I had to be interviewed by him. He's the one who ruined everything."
"Frederic, this imbecile," Todd muttered under his breath. "Must have forgotten again. Don't worry. I'll deal with that later."
"Honestly, it doesn't even matter anymore," Scarlett said. "You can just give me the job, right, Dad?"
"You're right, darling," Todd replied. "I wanted someone else to do the hiring. I didn't want someone else accusing me of making things too easy for you. But now that I'm here, I can make this happen."
"My father's an important businessman in this company," Scarlett added condescendingly. "He's the one who runs things, so you'll just have to deal with that."
"Well uh, I can't do that," Kyle replied.
"And who on earth do you think you are?" Todd asked condescendingly. "You don't have the power to do that. Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Yeah, who do you think you're talking to? This is my father. You think you can just make decisions like that? You don't even belong here."
"I don't need to explain myself to you," Kyle replied. "But I'll tell you this. The way you two are behaving, it's childish. It's immature. This company deserves better than the likes of you two."
"What?" Scarlett snapped. "You're calling us immature? Do you think we're just going to let you talk to us like that?"
"You'll regret this, dude," Todd said in a threatening tone. "I don't know who you think you are, but you don't talk to me or my daughter like that. You don't have a clue who you're messing with."
"Actually, Kyle has been nothing but nice to all of us," Gillian broke the silence. "He came in from another branch to fill in for Frederic. He didn't have to do any of this, but he's been professional and patient. He doesn't deserve the way you're treating him."
"You should listen to her," Kyle said. "Okay, it's time to stop playing games. I'm not here to babysit anyone. Not you, and certainly not your daughter. Not only will Scarlett never be hired here, but you, Todd, you're fired." Hearing this, Todd simply laughed, as if it was just a joke.
"What?" he said. "You're firing me?"
"You can't do that," Scarlett added. "You don't have the authority."
"Well yes, I can," Kyle replied. "I'm actually the CEO. I just came here today to oversee the operation of this branch. But this, all this little drama that you got going on, a father trying to cheat his daughter's interview and a daughter who quite frankly is the most spoiled person that I have ever met. This really takes the cake. This is something I wasn't expecting."
"What?" Todd replied in disbelief. "The CEO? You?"
"You're lying," Scarlett added. "No one said anything about the CEO being here."
"Well, I don't need to announce my presence every time I step into an office. Oh, I'm here. I'm the CEO. Look at me. My job is to observe, not to just come in and announce myself," Kyle said. "But I think it's very clear. It's very clear that this situation here, it needs to be addressed."
"This is ridiculous," Scarlett snorted. "You can't just come in here and fire my dad."
"She's right," Todd added. "What are you thinking?"
"Actually yes, I can," Kyle replied. "The behaviour of you two, it's unacceptable. I'm asking you to leave."
"You know what, I don't have to take this. Let's go, sweetie," Todd said, and left in a huff along with Scarlett. Once the father and daughter pair left, Kyle turned to Gillian.
"Thank you, Gillian, for standing up for me," he said. "I know that you didn't have to do that, but you did. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Gillian replied. "I...I just didn't like the way they were treating you."
"You've got integrity, Gillian, and that's something that's rare around here," Kyle said. "How would you like to move to another branch with me? I could use someone like you on my team. You'd be promoted."
"I'd like that," Gillian replied excitedly. "I think I'd like that very much."
"Welcome on board, Gillian," Kyle announced. And that was the start of a new beginning.
