I pushed open the ornate double doors to reveal an oddly silent building. I swept my gaze across the entirety of the landscape but was only met with a few older gentlemen making their way toward an elevator. I stepped forward to a marble-topped desk that sat neatly in the center of the floor with an elegant woman scribbling in long cursive lines sitting behind it.

"Excuse me," I called out. She looked me up and down and rolled her eyes before going back to her writing. My eyebrows shot up at the blatant disrespect.

"Excuse me," I called out again. This time she didn't even bother to look at me and continued scrawling god knows what into a sleek black journal. Growing irritated with the situation I plucked the black pen from her dainty hands.

"Hey! Give that back!" She screamed.

"Hi, My name is Inara Kabir, and I have an appointment with Mr. Aman so I'd appreciate it if you'd actually do your job."

"He's busy right now," she scoffed.

"Look, I don't know what your issue is, but I really need to meet with him."

"Why? So he can blackmail him into buying your silence."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act so shocked. You're not the first one that's tried," she remarked.

"I-"

"Ms. Shultz, It would be in your best interest if you would stop disrespecting my clients," a stern baritone voice reverberated from behind me.

"I-I apologize, Mr.Aman," the now pale-looking woman responded.

I turned around and was met with a pair of ashen globes scattered with flecks of gold. My head inclined upwards as my eyes wandered across his bronzed skin and the crisp lines of his face. My gaze jumped to the mauve-tinted smear of his supple lips that rested in a perfect downward tilt. I couldn't help but think that his lips appeared to be out of place compared to his hardened exterior.

He extended his arms forward and said "You must be Ms. Kabir, Let's head to my office."

I shook his hand and quietly trekked behind him becoming completely entranced by his commanding behavior. We turned a corner into a dimly lit hallway and made our way into what I assumed was a private elevator. I entered quietly while he pushed a series of buttons on the elevator. His gaze then flicked back to me. I gave him a forced smile but his face remained unreadable. A sudden wave of nervousness erupted over my body while my exposed skin began to prickle. What the hell is his deal? First I get disrespected by some random lady and now I have to deal with Mr. Iceberg over here. The elevator dinged pulling me out of my thoughts and opened to a darkly decorated room with dashes of gold scattered across much like his eyes. He made his way behind his desk and beckoned for me to sit down. I slowly perched my body on the edge of the seat and elongated my posture in an attempt to feign confidence. He faced me and neatly folded his arms on top of his desk before opening his mouth.

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"Tell me about yourself, Ms. Kabir?"

"Well, I'm originally from Ontario-"

"No...tell me about yourself"

I was thrown off by his intrusion.

"Um...would you mind elaborating on your question?"

He took a deep sigh as if my question pained him. He pushed off of his chair and made his way over to a charcoal-colored sofa and gestured for me to follow him. Being slightly off put by the situation, I took a few cautious steps and settled into the farthest chair from him. He looked up and smiled ever so slightly as if my discomfort amused him. He leaned forward.

"I don't care where you're from or what degree you have. I want to know your story. I mean why the hell would a 21-year-old Ivy League graduate psychiatrist want to be a nanny? What's that about, hm?"

I stiffened. His condescending tone ignited a fire of irritation in me which caused my plastered smile to fall. I scoffed internally. Mr. Iceberg clearly had no idea who I was. He thinks he can walk into a room, flash his money and everybody would just deal with his pretentious ass. Screw the job. I'm going to put this dimwit in his place.

I gave him a smirk before I continued.

"Well, funny story actually. I'm not trying to gloat or anything but I'm actually exceptionally intelligent, so much so that I completed my schooling years...and I mean years before my peers and got thrown into the workforce. But you see being a young, colored, woman, the cards are stacked against you. Everybody thinks you're physically and mentally incapable of doing anything. No, seriously it's like people think it's a miracle I'm alive."

He gave no reaction but his eyes had turned bitter so I continued.

"You've seen my resume. It's nothing short of impressive but no matter how many interviews I go to the golden question always remains: 'You're so young. How are you going to handle things?'. And apparently, there's no good answer to this question because the only way you're of any value is if you're a bare minimum of 30 years old. So here we are Mr. Aman. I hope that's a sufficient answer to your question. Now if you'll excuse me I'm late for my shift."

I got up, gave him a downward glance, and marched out of that room. He remained silent and I took that as a victory but I couldn't celebrate because I was truly late for my shift at the cafe. Collin was going to kill me.

I rushed into the back room while my stupid heels clicked loudly against the floor. I opened my storage locker and pulled out my emergency uniform and a pair of black Crocs. Thank god for crocs. I pulled on my uniform and quietly snuck into my spot behind the counter. I was in the middle of whipping up an espresso when Collin nudged my ribcage.

"Ow. What the hell was that for."

"You're freaking late again," He whispered

"I know, I know I'm sorry I got caught up with an imbecile."

"What?" He questioned.

"I'll explain later but did Randel notice I was gone?

"Of course he did! This is Randel we're talking about. He probably keeps count of the number of cockroaches that roam this store."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Hopefully, I can just finish off my shift without him creating a scene."

"That's wishful thinking if I've ever seen some," He quipped

Collin turned back to assist an elderly couple while I handed my customers their coffee and donuts.

I fell into my comfortable routine until I felt a firm grip on my shoulder. I turned around and was met by Randell's musty face.

"Let's have a talk."

I nodded as he dragged me towards the side of the shop.

"You were late again Inara. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry I was just caught up with some things I didn't mean for this to happen."

"You say that every damned time but you do it again don't you,"

I stared at my feet knowing that if I dared defend myself he'd fire me on the spot.

"I'm just going to have to cut your pay."

"What? Again! You did that last time, too, saying everyone was getting a cut, but I was the only one who got a pay cut. This is illegal. You can't do this!"

"What are you going to do Pumpkin? It's not like you have the money to hire a legal team."

I was seething. He was right there wasn't much I could do and I needed this job. It's all I had