Dangerous Numbers

Chapter 2

I take my attention from the door behind me and look into the room. There must be around a hundred people in here, each one sitting in front of a desk with a laptop on it. A piece of paper is placed in front of the keyboard and a pen is on the side. I spot a woman coming toward me. She is wearing a brand-name black dress and nude heels. She is holding in her right arm some papers that seemed like a list.

"Good morning, I'm Sophie the company's head of the legal department and I will be your supervisor for today." She says with a big smile on her face. "Can I have your name please?"

"Of course. Alexandra Ravenwood." I reply with a steady tone trying not to reveal my stress.

She writes my name down on the list and then she handles the pen and paper.

"Please write your telephone and a signature."

I write my details and she gets back the papers putting them along with the others in her hands. She gives me a warm smile and motions me to follow her. As we keep walking further into the room, I see the other candidates already sitting at their desks. Some are sweating already; others are tapping their feet rapidly while others are clicking their pens. We reach the far end of the room, and she shows me a desk in the far-left corner. I felt so relieved when I saw my desk, I didn't want to be in the middle or somewhere that I'm totally exposed to the others.

I sit on the chair and try to fix everything on my desk to the best position for my convenience. I check the laptop, there was nothing on it rather than a white screen with the company's logo on it. I concentrate on my breathing. I need this job but it's not the end of the world if I don't take it. However, some here act like it actually is the end of their world. A part of me instinctively wants to scream in panic as I realise how many people are in here, but I quickly gain control and shove that feeling deep down. It will end soon.

It seems that some have already met, and they try small talk with the others around them in a last attempt to calm their nerves. However, I'm not in the mood for talking. I want to end with it and be out of here the soonest as possible.

The lady with the list takes a microphone and walks towards a podium that is placed on the front side of the room so everyone can watch her. Immediately, silence falls all around.

"Good morning to all, the test will begin in five minutes. I expect that none of you will attempt to unlawfully gain any advantage against the other candidates, but you will be monitored either way."

At that moment, the door opens and six men in black suits enter. They spread throughout the room and turn to the lady on the podium.

"Good luck." She says and steps down to join the suited men.

Automatically, the screen in front of me changes. I see information about a company and its operations, along with a series of other information, which contain various analyses, tables, articles and charts. So far so good. The requirements, though look quite complicated. I wondered for a second why to ask something like this, but the whole thing was not normal procedure, so I concentrate back on the case.

I could hear the constant tapping on the keyboard. Apart from that, I could not hear anything else. The men in suits are walking up and down between the desks, checking for anyone that might attempt to cheat. Soon, the examination is approaching an end. I take those last minutes to check my reports and my spreadsheets that are in a presentable form and correctly calculated. I was adding the finishing touches when we hear the lady announcing the end of the examination. All the information that was on our desktop suddenly vanishes and the logo of the company appears again. I remain seated until most of them get out of the room and then I follow.