Office Affairs

Chapter One

[This story will be removed from Wattpad on August 3, 2023]

P R O L O G U E

Alastair Montgomery leaned back in his leather chair and folded his arms—a pose which was probably supposed to appear relaxed but instead just intimidated me, drawing attention to the intense power difference between the two of us. He might be laid-back about this interview, but he already had a career and enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

"I can't be arsed with cliché interview questions, so let's just cut the bullshit and be honest with one another."

Out of all the questions I'd memorised and all the interview websites I'd scoured for tips, not one had prepared me for that sentence. The nervous knots in my stomach tightened.

"Anyone can sit in front of me having prepared thirty answers to the bog-standard interview. I couldn't care less what you think your weaknesses are—I can work that out for myself. I don't want to hear an example of a time you've solved a problem, or managed a conflict, or demonstrated lateral thinking. If you're gonna work for my company, I want to hear about you as a person. Not as a set of statistics."

He unfolded his arms and rested them on the table in front of him, loosely threading his fingers together and shifting his weight forwards as his eyes locked confidently onto mine, anticipating my response. Was this a test? Surely not. Despite his pristine suit and expensive watch, the guy sitting opposite me was only twenty-three. Too young for mind games. Maybe he wanted to do things differently. Earn his own reputation.

"I guess if you've never been through an interview yourself then you've no desire to inflict it upon other people," I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

It was a reference to him owning a family company. That came with its own set of challenges, I was sure, but at least he'd never had to submit a job application.

His lips twitched but he just raised a shoulder to shrug. "Like I said, anyone can prepare for an interview. I'd rather hire someone I get on with, and who has at least an ounce of personality, than someone with a good memory and the ability to recite rehearsed answers."

Mimicking him, I shrugged in response. Never before had I shrugged in an interview, but then again, never before had an interview taken such an unprofessional—and unexpected—turn. Besides, mirroring body language was apparently a way to build a bond, so if this guy wanted to hire someone he liked, I'd make it a little easier for him.

"Looks like I wasted my time preparing, then," I said.

"Yes, it does," he agreed. "I'm flattered, though. So, tell me about yourself. And not the boring stuff."

"So not the stuff I prepared." I forced a smile to disguise my inner frustration.

He smiled back, a cheeky twinkle lighting up his blue eyes. "Absolutely not."

Nibbling the inside of my lip, I mentally trawled through hours of research to find something I could use. As relaxed as Montgomery wanted this interview to be, the curveball had rattled me. I liked following rules and set patterns. Spontaneity was fine in the right situation, but when it came to getting a job, I didn't enjoy being expected to provide the right responses to unforeseen questions. That didn't relax me, and there was a certain arrogance on his part assuming it would.

Fuck it. If he wanted personality, I'd give him personality.

"Your family is one of the wealthiest in London, with shares in several successful companies. You didn't go to university but worked at one of your father's businesses before branching off and running your own. So far, you've seen excellent growth, but with a surge in competitors and an increasingly fickle market who'd rather use cheaper companies than those with the best reputation, your revenue is plateauing. Not to mention, you went through a messy breakup two years ago and found yourself thrust into the spotlight for personal reasons instead of business ones."