Chapter 19: My Own Pride

TERESA.

My fingers’ knots had whitened from how tightly I held the phone in my hand. This man just made me lose absolutely everything, even control over my life. My job was all I had left in this world.

I had been walking alone since forever. I never knew my parents. My past was a mystery to me, and I had little knowledge of it. All I remembered was that I had a terrible water phobia.

And for this very reason, I could not say that I was not grateful to this man for saving me from certain death. Sebastian Gallagher, that was the name of the one who left me without a job, in the middle of a society where demand was greater than supply.

Not having a stable income, it could leave me without the small apartment I lived in. All I had left was probably my best friend Caroline, who still extended a helping hand to me many times. She even helped me find where this man who seemed to know them all worked.

Right now, she was standing right in front of me in my little apartment and gesturing to me not to lose my temper. Ugh, I could feel my blood rush to my head and his voice was so amazed, as if he was asking me what had happened to me. I couldn’t resist and I burst out.

“Teresa, yes, who did you think it was? You don’t deserve the slightest attention from me. It barely convinced me to call and not rush there to make you a scandal, as you deserved it.”

My voice had more and more decibels as his silence drove me crazy.

“Hey, slow down. Tell me, what happened? Can I help you with something?” the calm he showed brought me to the heights of despair. Well, of course, what worries such a rich man? He didn’t care about the day of tomorrow.

“Thanks to your exaggerated care, I got fired! You ask me what can you do for me? Okay, I’ll answer you. I need you to hire me. You can’t do this, can you?” and no, I didn’t think I was too bold, I was just realistic.

“If that’s what you want, I can arrange it. It will be absolutely no problem. Can you come to an interview tomorrow?” and with that, all my balance disappeared. If this man would make fun of me, I would swear that the worst revenge would fall on him without caring about the consequences. However, I did not hear any laughter, and I did not notice any mocking grin, but only an oppressive silence in which maybe I could hear my heavy breathing trying to understand exactly what this man’s game was.

“Teresa, are you still there? What do you say, do you accept?” instinctively and shocked, I said a more whispered yes, and I hung up. Caroline was in front of me, maybe even more shocked than me. The words didn’t come out in any form and I threw myself on the couch.

“What happened, Tessa? What did that man tell you?”

“He offered me a job ...” Coming from my mouth, it sounded even more unreal, almost impossible. And yet I seemed to have confirmed myself.

“What do you mean, he offered you a job? Under what pretext? For what reason?”

“Caroline, I called him to blame him for making me lose my job and he, with his fantastic audacity, offered me one in his company. I don’t even know what area of ​​activity he has ...”

I was just looking for some information to help me contact him. How could he offer me a job if I didn’t even know what he was doing? Was there something else in the middle?

“Yes, I know the reason for your call, but the situation has already become complicated. But if you look at the problem from another angle, it could mean saving you. Think Tessa, you’ve been looking for a job for more than a week and so far, you found nothing. What does it cost you to accept his offer?”

“My own pride?”

I’d rather die than accept any type of charity from him.

“Pride won’t feed you or keep you warm, Tessa. Put it aside, try to stifle your anger, and tomorrow you will present yourself in an office costume at GenetiX. Formal dress code is definitely required. "

Caroline was right. I couldn’t let pride get in my way, especially when I had bills to pay and food to buy. He will definitely not give me an important position where I will have to see him all day.

I don’t know how time passed because I was already in the kitchen enjoying my morning coffee. Caroline had been away from work for some time. As a makeup artist, she had an early appointment, as we usually stayed together and we planned our day. Now it was just me and my thoughts. The sinful ones. My reaction was incredible knowing that I would be alone with him in the same office for a few tens of minutes for the interview.

His mesmerizing nature has not given me peace since the morning I woke up in his house. I was grateful to him, but from there to losing my job was a long way and I really wasn’t willing to leave things like that.

I preferred to take a taxi to get there faster. I paid little attention to makeup, but only recommended office clothes. The building, of imposing and intimidating grandeur, left an even bigger imprint on my already troubled mind. This man really didn’t care about tomorrow. I had learned that he was the CEO of the company and even an investor.

The electric doors opened, showing me a man-only universe. The immense hall, however, revealed the good taste he had in opposition to his arrogance. Opulence and luxury were common to him, it seemed. What did an extra job matter? I had moments when I really wondered what I was looking for here, but at the same time, only I knew how much I was looking to get a job.

It’s as if my previous boss made sure I couldn’t be active in this field anymore. He didn’t even give me the opportunity to justify myself, to tell him the reason I missed that event. It didn’t matter now. I had already come face to face with the receptionist.

“Good morning, am I Teresa Bradley and I was called by Mr. Sebastian Gallagher?” I still didn’t know why my voice was shaking and why, when I said his name, Sebastian sounded so good on my lips. I had to admit, I liked his name. Agh, pathetic, Teresa! Snap out of it!

“Yes, Miss Bradley, right away!” and in two elegant movements, she probably called an internal number. His voice echoed through that tiny receiver. He had a serious tone, almost sexy, I could say.

“Mr. Gallagher is waiting for you in his office. Oh, Mr. Liam, good to see you. Can you take Miss Bradley to the director’s office? Mr. Gallagher wants to see her.”

And as soon as I returned, a tall, elegant man in his sea-colored suit, his perfectly arranged blond hair, smiled benevolently at me. I could feel something familiar in his eyes, as if he knew me somehow. God, were all the men around Sebastian so weird?

“Of course, Doris, I’m making sure she will arrive at the CEO’s office safely. Miss ... Bradley, right? Please follow me!”

I never thought an elevator could be so small. Nor will I have serious breathing problems knowing where I was going. And it seemed that I also drew my friend’s attention here. It could not be any other way if I had already started coughing.

“Miss Bradley, are you all, right?”

“Oh, yes, don’t worry ... my allergies ...” Wonderful. Couldn’t I find something more believable? Allergies to what? Strange handsome men? My luck was that we immediately reached the 3rd floor. Good taste continued here. Another secretary smiled at this man, Liam. She had a reason, all right. This guy was pretty attractive. As I walked into the office, my gaze fell upon him; there he was, none other than Sebastian Gallagher. I could feel the earth slipping from under my feet. I hated how vulnerable I became around him. He poured himself a cup of coffee with an attractive nonchalance.

The way he did it caused my eyes to follow every one of his hand movements. He was that kind of handsome that drew attention, getting right into my bones, into my entire being.

I felt literally intoxicated by this forbidden beauty of his. His perfect chiseled face was so visible that I had to lay my face on the ground. By now, my blushing might have come like something very natural, but I just could not help it. I didn’t want to open my heart to him as I could not even understand what the hell was happening to me.

My heartbeat felt like it was on fire, struggling to match the rhythm of my desperate and helpless soul. I didn’t want him to hear it, to figure out my thoughts, but at the same time, I wanted to expose myself to him, let no secret or resentment remain, just the two of us, two perfect creatures into an imperfect world.