𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙼𝚈 𝙻𝙰𝚆𝚈𝙴𝚁

Chapter 19

"Mr. L/n?"

M/n, who had been busy at work, looked over at the phone on the right side of his desk. He grabbed it and put it against his ear. "Speaking."

"About that new applicant..."

M/n's gaze flew over to the clock. It seemed that the new applicant had arrived early. "Already here, huh?"

"Yes, sir. Shall I send her up to your office or...?"

"No, it's alright. Let her know I'm on my way," he said before hanging up.

Down in the lobby, the ladies at the front desk were huddled together, their gazes on the new applicant. They were left in awe of her beauty.

"She looks vaguely familiar," one of them said. "I wonder if she used to work as a model..."

"Well, she looks relatively young, so maybe she's fresh out of college."

Their murmurings soon went silent when they heard the elevator ding. They looked over to see M/n stepping out with what looked to be a folder in his hand.

"Good morning, Mr. L/n," they greeted.

M/n returned their greeting before making his way toward the new applicant. The girl stood up from her seat when he reached her. "Good morning," he said. "I'm--"

"L/n M/n," she finished for him, making the (h/c)-ette arch an eyebrow. "I know. I believe we went to school together, Mr. L/n."

After those words left her mouth, M/n took a close look, searching through his brain for any memory of her. "What was your name again?"

"Hasegawa Eszter."

Hasegawa... Eszter...?

"M/n, this is my good friend, Eszter. We've been friends since middle school. I thought it'd be nice if you met each other."

"Hey! Nice to meet ya, M/n."

M/n's eyes widen in realization. "You're--"

"That's right," she answered, already knowing what he was going to say.

M/n was beginning to feel like rejecting her application. But before he could open his mouth to say anything else, she stopped him. "But, I just want you to know... We're not friends anymore."

A look of surprise grew on the (h/c)-ette's face. He was about to say something until he realized they were still in the lobby. So, he lowered his voice so that he wouldn't be heard so easily.

"I thought you two were close friends."

"We were. But, then I heard what happened... It was a shitty thing to do. I'm sorry it happened, by the way... I might not have known you for as long as I'd known her, but... You didn't deserve what she put you through."

M/n shook his head. "It's in the past."

"Still... I'm glad to see where you're at in life right now," Eszter said, trying to change the mood of the conversation. "You're really making it big time."

"Thank you," he replied. "Anyway, you're here to be a new addition to the team, isn't that right?"

Eszter could see M/n returning to his more professional persona and nodded. "Yes."

"Then, I'll show you around and give you a short explanation of everything that goes on here."

M/n then motioned Eszter to follow him. He first introduced her to the ladies at the front desk. "It's nice to meet you," she said. "My name is Hasegawa Eszter. I look forward to working with you."