Dark Layers Volume 1: Volume 1

by Gray, A L

  See, not everyone here wears white, Gooden!

  “You’re holding everyone up, can you move along please?” Another clinical brunette asks startling me.

  “Yes, sorry.” I say shrugging my shoulders.

  I walk over to a table in a daze, storing my mental inventory of that visually possessing man. I notice it’s nearly time for my interview.

  "Crap."

  I abandon my coffee and almost have to run to grab the lift. Once I'm in the cold stainless steel lift, I try to reassure myself while catching my breath.

  "You are a strong independent woman who can smash this interview and leave here today with a kick arse job. Stay focused and do not let anyone take the lead." I fail at my praise. That man's lingering in my mind, taking over all other thoughts. I think I can still smell him on me. I slowly lean down and lift my left arm to my nose, stupidly trying to smell it. I laugh to myself thinking I'm a flipping idiot as all I'm hit with is a rush of Chanel No. 5.

  The lift pings open on level twenty and thank God Ms. Prynne gave me directions. Literally everything is white; every wall, floor, ceiling - you can barely see the connection between the walls and floors - it's ridiculous! I would definitely have gotten lost. I walk fast through the vast lobby - jumping at my clicking heels as they echo throughout the hall. The translucent interior feels frosty cold. My hands almost feel numb.

  Thankfully, after two minutes of searching, I arrive at the reception desk clearly labelled, ‘Darks Internship Interviews’. I can see it from at least twenty feet away! Jeez, they like to make a statement in all departments!

  Only a huge company like this would have a dedicated department for internship interviews - more money than sense if you ask me! No one asked you!

  I try to collect myself by getting into character, but before I even have the chance, I’m called in.

  “Are you Miss Gooden?” Another clinical brunette asks.

  I eye her and her appearance and I’m on the brink of offering her a trip to the hairdressers on me if she just changes her damn hair colour! Honestly, the brunettes mixed with the contrast of white are just too much.

  “Yes, that’s me.” I answer small while I shakily walk towards her.

  I hold my hand out to greet her, and she takes it with a feather light grip. She's pretty and around thirty, maybe thirty-five with bright red lips. I bet men fall at her feet, especially when they are met with her angel like smile - I absolutely adore her laugh wrinkles.

  “You are just in time; the board are ready for your interview. Please come with me.”

  I nod in approval and try to come across phlegmatic. I don't think it's working, I appear to be slowly shrinking into myself.

  “Please be relaxed Miss Gooden. This is just an internship interview, they will be easy on you.” She assures me with a warm smile. It calms me a little. I hope they are all as nice as her.

  She opens one of the many doors in the huge white lobby and gestures for me to go first. I walk into the meeting room torn by how I feel; nervous or sanguine? I shake my head and try to take my mind off of my impossible erratic emotions by visually registering the surroundings. The appearance of the meeting room is not so shocking; it's the identical twin to the rest of the building - even the damn blinds are white! Apart from the shiny mahogany meeting table that has glimmers of wood grain, it shows no personality. But one thing stands out, catching my attention and immediately brings my breathing to a halt. Mr. Blue Eyes is sitting at the head of the meeting table!

  I freeze at the door. Holy shit!

  “Miss Gooden, you can go in.” The brunette whispers into my ear from behind me.

  No please, I don’t want the interview!

  I turn to face her, completely crapping myself as I realize, "Ms. Prynne, I've forgotten my Curriculum Vitae!"

  "Don't worry Love, I am sure they have a copy." She says with affection.

  I feel my face drop - it's as though I'm struck with a stroke. I try to look at the other people who are interviewing me, hoping this will make me feel... somewhat better. I walk over the threshold perturbed. There are three men, including Mr. Blue Eyes, and a woman seated - all looking powerful in their crisp white suits that they probably paid too much money for. Everyone to my horror rises to their feet to greet me. This only intimidates me further. Shit! I flush puce and take a huge gulp, which I'm sure everyone heard.

  Get it together Gooden!

  Once I'm ready, I walk into the lion’s den and solemnly introduce myself.

  “Hello, I'm Anile Goo.”

  “They know who you are Anile.” Mr. Blue Eyes cuts me off with raised eyebrows.

  Shit!

  I smile, insuring it reaches my eyes - I don't react to his valour greeting. My stare turns into an intoxicating gaze - I cannot take my eyes off of his beautiful appearance! I’m drawn to him like Aphrodite drawn to Hephaestus.

  He comes from around the table and holds his hand out to me. I take his grip. When our palms touch, I feel a weird pull, beckoning me to surrender myself to him - what is this? I feel off balance, maybe I should have taken some Valume today before I left home - I should have known this interview would make me this nervous.

  “I am Mr. Elijah Darks. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Gooden.”

  Holy shit! He's checkmated me in the middle of my interview - I’m stupefied as I'm sure everyone has noticed! Mr. Flipping Blue Eyes, is Mr. flipping Darks! Ugh! And I practically called him a Bastard!

  "This cannot be happening." I whisper to myself.

  Strangely, he doesn’t introduce anyone else, he just motions for me to take a seat next to him. I try to move a seat down from him to create some distance because his closeness is overwhelming, but he forces.

  “Sit here Miss Gooden.”

  He holds his hand out firmly, pointing to the mahogany seat right next to him, urging my position. I sit down in his desired seat holding his gaze. I notice a smile dancing around his pouted lips. Who's he laughing at? You, stupid!

  The woman seated at the meeting table opposite us grabs my attention.

  "Miss Gooden," she says polite.

  I thrash my head in her direction too hard, almost giving myself more of a headache. Thank God! She has my Curriculum Vitae. She kindly passes me a copy and a set of minutes with a warm pitiful smile. I have never had minutes for an interview before but I just go with it and appreciate that she has taken pity on me.

  Scarily, Mr. Darks leads the interview. He turns to face me fully. He gracefully slides his chair around. Shit, I feel like I'm on trial!

  “Miss Gooden, why do you want to become a lawyer?”

  Okay, don't fold Gooden - you've got this!

  “I enjoy the challenge that is set upon lawyers on a daily basis. I like to test myself and encourage myself, but most of all, I like winning, Mr. Darks.” I reply quickly.

  He raises his eyebrows and exudes a cook-a-hoop expression. I think I've impressed him.

  “What was your chosen law subject in your first year of university?” He encourages sarcastically, smiling directly at me.

  What does that have to do with my internship?

  “Would you prefer to know my speciality throughout my degree, Sir?”

  His lips press into a grim hard line - shit, he doesn't like me addressing him as Sir!

  “No. I will not repeat myself Anile.” He snaps, narrowing his eyes at me.

  Oh no - I’ve pissed him off! You can say that again!

  He's not once looked at anyone else, his eyes are locked on me. I feel as though he's trying to challenge me.

  “Marital rape.” I say, almost forgetting that we are not the only people in the room. How does he do this, how can he mentally make everyone else disappear?

  He doesn't answer me, but I hold his gaze. I suddenly hear a sloppy Essex accent pinch at my ear.

  "So have you actually ever worked a real case?"

  I turn to quickly look at the other men.

  Which one spoke? Crap!

&nb
sp; "Um, no, Sir." I reply staring between them.

  "And yet, you expect us to hire you? Please, I think you are wasting our time, we are not for child's play."

  Holy shit! I literally have ice hanging from my fucking ears as the temperature in the room drops to below freezing.

  Mr. Darks turns away from me and leans his elbows firmly on the meeting table. He eyes the man who was rude to me, he looks ablaze with anger.

  "Speak to her like that again and you will find yourself unemployed!"

  I stare between the men for a few seconds, blinking rapidly, questioning their body language, and I start to worry I have caused a problem. Jesus Christ, this has to be my worst interview to date!

  "Please accept my apology, Mr. Darks." The man mutters.

  "Thank you for taking the time out of your day to attend this interview Miss Gooden, I understand it was short notice. Ms. Prynne will see you out.” Mr. Darks says without looking my way.

  I try to reply but my vocal cords are shattered. I’m wide-eyed and astonished. Is the interview over - already? Everyone packs up their papers unaffected, never looking my way. What the hell is going on?

  “Miss Gooden, this way please.” Ms. Prynne asks.

  I start to get up from my seat. I glance over at Mr. Darks, still seated next to me, but he no longer acknowledges my presence. Bastard! I snap in my mind as I get to my feet. Why is he ignoring me? I hold my gaze for more than a few seconds, but he still refuses to look my way. I storm out of the meeting room absolutely reeling. Ms. Prynne tries to usher me out of the door with her hand at the low of my back, but I walk fast ahead of her.

  The quiet walk through the white washed lobby is purblind to me; all I can see are mental gray clouds emerging, trying to force me into punishing darkness for my failed attempt. God I'm so pissed off! That arrogant arsewhole! Ms. Prynne to my surprise enters the lift after me. She escorts me down to the ground level. I can’t bear to talk, that interview was too little, but also too much at the same time. I wish she didn't follow me. I'm no longer Aphrodite, I'm now Hephaestus, damned to silence, and I have to stay this way until I exit this building before I burst into tears at my failure. We mirror one another as we walk sombrely out of the lift. Once we reach the revolving doors, Ms. Prynne try’s to comfort me.

  “I am very sorry about that interview, Miss Gooden. I have no idea what happened. Mr. Darks never usually conducts interviews and it was very unlucky that you had to endure that. Please accept my apology on behalf of him.”

  She's trying to assure me that I was not the problem. I'm not buying her motive but I appreciate her uplifting spirit nonetheless. She smiles at me also, revealing a perfect set of white teeth.

  “Why did he conduct this interview?” I ask bewildered.

  “I honestly have no answer for you. All I can do is wish you good luck on your job hunt.”

  “Thank you for your kindness.” I reply polite as I exit the building.

  I walk out trying to hold my head high. This is embarrassing, hurtful and deflating for my ego. While I childishly storm towards the underground, I call my best friend Derek, who I met in university - he will cheer me up, I know it. He studied Psychology while I studied Law but we made sure our chosen subjects didn't get in the way of our friendship. He's the picture of gorgeousness; he's tall, he towers over almost everyone. His face is soft and welcoming. His eyes are watery and sympathetic - his appearance is perfect for his job.

  “Derek?” I say when he answers the phone.

  “Hey Anile, are you okay Darling?”

  “No, no, no. I have just had the most scariest and embarrassing interview of my entire life!”

  “Oh God, what happened?”

  His voice always brings me down to earth; he's caring, loving, and most of all, supportive in all the right ways.

  “I met a guy that I mentally named Mr. Blue Eyes while having coffee in Darks Lawyers cafeteria. While ordering a coffee, Mr. Blue Eyes and I started talking, and as a joke, I shamefully labelled Mr. Darks - the owner of Darks Lawyers - a Bastard. Noted this is what all the papers are writing about Mr. Darks. I then walked into my interview, only to be greeted by Mr. Blue Eyes – aka – Mr. Darks himself! He completely played me on the river and then he pulled out a royal flush just to top things off nicely; it was humiliating!”

  “Darling, calm down. Don’t worry about it. There will be other interviews.”

  “I know, but you don’t understand this man! He was cryptic with his questions; he asked the usual last interview question first, then he asked what my first year subject in university was, and the worst bit, he only asked me two questions! Just two, and then he asked me to leave!”

  “Wow, I have to meet this guy, he sounds smart as hell.”

  “You sound impressed?” I snap.

  “I am, Darling. He's genius. I bet he offers you the job.”

  “Are you trying to comfort me or are you being serious? Because I can’t tell.”

  For the first time ever, Derek is almost annoying me!

  “Anile, if I know you, I bet you had some pretty smart arse answers that completely blew him away. I know you get nervous at times, but you always pull through. And anyway, don’t worry, like I said, there will be other interviews. How about a few drinks tonight? On me.”

  I think about his offer and wonder if a drink is a smart idea for someone feeling vulnerable?

  “Yeah, that really does sound good. I'm on my way home now, so I’ll get ready as soon as I get in. I’ll call you later and tell you where to come and meet me.”

  Okay, I gave in too easily, but I need something or someone to rub my bruised ego.

  “Okay Sweetie. See you soon.”

  I hang up feeling a little better; Derek really is such a Sweetie and Mr. Darks really is such a Bastard!

  Chapter Two

  I GET HOME AND rush to shower and change - I want to go out and forget today has ever happened. Hopefully a few alcoholic drinks will give me amnesia, please! I try to dress in my bedroom - hoping the serine aroma from my flowers that Derek brought me last week will calm me down somewhat, but I'm mentally elsewhere. I'm completely hung on that interview and it's not shifting from my mind. Why do people have to play on an alternative level all the time? Although Mr. Darks came across somewhat arrogant, he really looked intriguing and is absolutely gorgeous. I just wish I knew of a way to disarm him. Once dressed in my over worn jeans, and my cream blazer that annoyingly has too many pockets - I still wonder why I brought it - I get seated at my opulence vanity dresser and try to apply my makeup but find myself in a daze every other few seconds. Maybe I should go back to Darks Lawyers and try to work my magic on Mr. Darks? No, that wouldn’t work. Maybe I could send him an e-mail? Hmmm, I cannot do that either, I don’t have his e-mail address. Ugh, I need to get over this and move on, another job will come up soon I'm sure, and I will forget about that enigmatic Bastard in no time.

  I grab my phone off my bed side cabinet - noting the coffee cup ring that's burnt into the wood. I need to buy some new bedroom furniture, this set really is looking tatty, apart from my vanity unit. I smile fondly remembering my mother buying it for me.

  I try to call Derek so we can arrange tonight. Just as I'm about to press call, my phone rings with an incoming call. It's CB’s Law Firm, I had an interview with them last week. I'm not so nervous about speaking to them, they are not the best law firm, I found them rather amateurish, and I owned that interview.

  “Hello, Miss Gooden speaking.”

  “Hello Miss Gooden, this is Mr. Townsend’s PA from CB’s Law Firm, calling regarding your previous interview.”

  “Thank you for taking the time to call me back. How can I help you?”

  “I am calling to offer you the job for the internship you applied for. If you are still seeking the position, you can start Monday.”

  “Wow! Thank you so much. I’d love to take the job, thank you.”

  “You are very welcome Miss Gooden. I will e-mail you the offer
letter and your work schedule. You will start at nine a.m.”

  “Excellent, thank you again and see you Monday.”

  “See you Monday Miss Gooden.”

  I hang up and I'm on cloud nine. Finally!

  “Yes.” I shout out triumphant as I spin like a ballerina, endlessly twirling. I quit dancing and try to quickly call Derek with shaky fingers and a dizzy head - I'm desperate to tell him the good news. My phone rings again stopping me, and stupidly, I answer it without looking at the caller ID.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Miss Gooden. This is Ms. Prynne calling from Darks Lawyers. I have some rather extraordinary news. Mr. Darks is offering you the intern and he wants you to start on Monday.”

  I don't immediately answer her, the line stays dead while I mentally become Athena. Holy shit! I'm so glad I had this opportunity and I smile with glee.

  “Thank you but I already have a job. I was offered to work with CB’s Law Firm just minutes ago.”

  “I see. Well, thank you for your time Miss Gooden.” She finishes and hangs up rather quickly.

  I stare at my phone with wide eyes, completely confused. That was strange. The interview with Darks Lawyers couldn't have gone any worse in my opinion; I was too nervous, and yet, he's offering me the job? I strangely feel glad that I somehow smashed the interview without even realising, but something feels off.

  I finally manage to call Derek and we agree where we should meet; The Princess of Prussia Bar – I have no idea why we even had to arrange to go there, we normally spend most of our nights there.

  Once I feel ready, I finish over-spraying my perfume – Chanel No 5 - grab my bag, and head out in a daze, trying to understand what's going on. Today has been a whirl wind of events. I need a drink to steady myself.

  The bus stop is just a two minute walk from my apartment, but I still walk quickly, I'm desperate to see Derek, he will know what to make of today. Walking through Waterloo, South of the River, I thrive on how busy it is. It's the middle of the day, completely rammed with working class citizens, amongst students, and although the fumes are intoxicating - they make my skin crawl - I overcome this annoying trait every City suffers with as I watch people like me so vividly in love with the city. Once at the bus station, I am again struck with luck as the bus is here waiting. Why can't every day be like this? Minus the blood-curdling interview! I hop on and seat myself next to a lovely lady with her new born child. Smiling to myself between glances of the baby and the streets, I think things suddenly start to sink in - I have been offered two jobs, holy shit, I have been offered two jobs!