Chapter 2—Leah Morris

Yesterday, I went for a really long test with Estelle. I was wondering if all the employees went through all of this because it was a really long and exhausting one. I would get the job if I passed the test, and I was pretty nervous. I bet they had really high standards when hiring someone, and I was not blaming them for that.

Now, I was here again at the Estelle office building. waiting for the results patiently. I prayed that I would get this job and be the happiest person alive. I would be able to send my parents lots of money too from this job.

"Ms. Morris,” Mitchell called, and he gestured to me to go in. I knocked the door before walking in, and today, there was only the woman interviewer. I smiled, greeting her, and she gestured for me to sit down.

"We got your results, and we can finally announce that you got the job," she said, and immediately, tears filled my eyes. I couldn't believe that I got the job—my dream job for the past 4 years.

"But…" she said, and I wiped my tears quickly. She pushed the contract to me and gestured to me to read it. "Read it, and if you agree to all the rules, the job is yours," she said, and I looked down to the contract. I started to read it slowly, one by one. Apparently, I couldn't say anything to anyone about my job. I couldn't even say what I was working with. I couldn't even say a word about what I was doing, what I was seeing, and what I heard in the ILLICIT HEADQUARTERS.

I froze when I saw those two words. I looked up to my interviewer, and she gave me a nod.

"Since you're from America, you might not know the ILLICIT that well, but let me explain to you shortly. The ILLICIT is the most famous company throughout Europe—without anyone knowing who runs it. It contains security systems, technology related products, weapons, airlines, textile, and many more. This company is owned by some people, and the public doesn't know who they are." Honestly, I'd heard about the ILLICIT before. Just like the Gold Lifes in America, but they were from Europe, and no one really knew who they were. People tried to guess, but mostly, they were wrong.

"This is a very rare case, but after we saw your resumé, we wanted someone like you to be involved in the software engineering team. So…if you're done reading the contract, you can decide if you want to get in or not."

"But I haven't read it all," I said, and she nodded.

"I'll give you one hour to think, and then we will proceed to talk about what's next." She got up from her seat and walked out, leaving me in the small meeting room alone. I read the contract again, and it was basically a strict rule that I couldn't say anything about my work.

After reading the contract again and again about 4 times, I called Mitchell, and he called my interviewer to see me. I sat down, and she walked in with a pen.

"So…what's your decision, Ms. Morris?" she asked as she put the pen in front of me. I grabbed it and signed it as my answer. I pushed the contract slowly to her, and she checked my signature before proceeding to take her phone out.

"Christy, I want you to assist her there," she said, and she got up from her seat. "I'll be seeing you more often, Ms. Morris." She smiled widely, and I shook her hand before she walked out from the room. "Take care of her," she said to a woman who I assumed to be Christy.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Morris. I'll be the one who drives you to the ILLICIT HEADQUARTERS." My eyes widened when she said that, and I followed her to the lobby. She told me to get into her car, and I got in. I put my seatbelt on and put my bag under my feet.

"I know you have a lot of questions about the situation, Ms. Morris. You can ask me as we're going towards the place. It will take about 45 minutes of driving," she said, and where should I begin?

"ILLICIT…how many people are there?" I asked curiously, and she chuckled.

"I might be working with them, but I never know how many they are or who they are," she answered in a playful tone.

"So does it mean that Mr. Nielsen is a part of ILLICIT?" I asked curiously.

"Some people assume he is a part of ILLICIT, but some people assume that he owns the shares to the company. Only a few people know who they are, and we won't be one of those people. We will be working with them, but I don't think you will know exactly who the members are."

"That's crazy. How can they keep it so private?"

"No one knows why, and a lot of businessmen are really going out there telling people that they're a part of the ILLICIT." She laughed.

"They might be telling the truth," I said.

"They won't reveal themselves, Ms. Morris. They will always hide in the dark, and you will know why. You'll work with them anyway. You'll understand," she said, and I was starting to get nervous.

"You should prepare yourself."

"Prepare for what?"

"You'll be amazed to see the headquarters. They’re beautiful and really luxurious," she said, and I started to imagine what the headquarters would look like.

"So…what's the purpose of the headquarters if they never show themselves? Are they just for showing off?" I asked curiously as I thought about how they never revealed themselves.

"If you think they only have one, you're wrong. These people are loaded. They have 5 other buildings in France, Italy, Greece, Denmark, and Switzerland. I personally love the France one. It's crazily cool." Who were these people? This made me wonder what it looked like.

"And…if you end up meeting with Mr. Nielsen, you better not drooling over him. He's really…charming." Everyone knew that he was charming. It was not a secret anymore that the whole of Europe wanted him. We heard about him in America a few times since he came here a lot. Princess Aria actually stayed in America for quite some time.

"I'll try."