Cutthroat Carmine (Book 1)(COMPLETE) (Wattpad Featured Novel)

15: [thuh/huhnt]

The hunt for a full-time job is no easy feat, as Carmine quickly discovers.

She had begun her morning with a fistful of resumes and a heart full of hope but halfway through the afternoon, she was quickly losing steam.

So far, she had been rejected by Primula's Modelling Agency (for having no modelling portfolio, but had they even noticed how photogenic she was?), Gina's Art Studio (for not having a university art degree, which, who needs that to teach seven year olds how to paint?), Maxwell's Construction (for being a petite woman, without even asking her to lift anything) and Smithson & West Law Firm (for having a disappointing high school transcript filled with C+s and no extracurriculars, without even asking her to recite the Criminal Code of Justice, which she knew by heart).

With an achy back and a tired sigh, Carmine enters the Weston Graye Building for her final interview of the day for the position of an administrative assistant. A.k.a The Office Bitch.

She looks down at the note she wrote earlier and presses the up arrow at the elevators. Third floor. Suite 301. Carmine instinctively smooths her black blazer and matching dress pants.

One last interview. Make it count.

Carmine exits the elevator and quickly finds Suite 301 to the right. With a deep breath, she knocks on the door.

"Come in," a husky voice booms, "And close the door behind you."

Carmine does as instructed. Then she scans the sparsely decorated office. It is extremely cramped with only two long tables, an old couch, a cheap mahogany colored desk and three metal fold-up chairs. Sunlight filtering through the gray blinds highlight the swirls of dust dancing in the air.

An old, clunky laptop sits in the middle of one of the desks. Behind it, a scruffy old man peers up at Carmine. "You must be...er- Carmin."

"Yes, umm, it's pronounced 'Car-MINE' actually," Carmine forces a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you sir." She extends her hand and the man grips it with surprising force.

"Have a seat over there. I'll be over in a moment."

Carmine nods and migrates to the lonely table by the window. She sets down her purse and opens up her plastic folio. Gingerly, she removes a pristine copy of her rather lacklustre resume and places it on the other side of the table. What a shitty place to work. Must be a startup, she thinks, eyeing the peeling paint and scratched up wooden furniture. Oh well, at this point, it doesn't look like I have better options. Carmine winces from the sting of this morning's rejections. Maybe I've been thinking too highly of myself. Putting myself up on a pedestal when in reality, I'm just a nobody. A nobody qualified for absolutely nothing.

"Ok. Carmine. Hi. My name is Robert. You can call me Rob." Rob sits down opposite Carmine and whips out a hand rolled cigar. "I hope you don't mind if I smoke."

Carmine shakes her head weakly.

Robert flicks his lighter and presses the tip of his cigar to the flame. A wisp of blue smoke twists into the air. He throws the lighter onto the desk with a clack. Robert crushes Carmine's resume between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes form slits as he scans the page. "So, Carmine. Just graduated from high school huh?"

Carmine sits up a little straighter, trying to make a good impression. "Yes. And I'm very eager to come work for you. I know my resume doesn't look the best but I believe I bring a lot to the table if you just give me a chance to prove it."

Rob's eyes narrow as he murmurs, "You certainly do bring a lot to the table." He clears his throat and then in a louder voice asks, "Have you ever done any administrative work before?"