Through Your Eyes — Chapter 43

RED'S POV

"Miss?" I called her attention again. "Are you the third applicant?"

She narrowed her eyes on me, and a frown spread across her face. She looked at me then back to Sean. I got embarrassed by her dumbness so I checked to see the profile of the third applicant. However, the applicant's profile displayed a chubby face, but this lady before me had a beautiful, heart-shaped one.

"You are in the wrong office," Sean spoke before I could send her out. "The HR's office is on the left-wing. And you are on the right."

"But I-" she started to protest, but Sean walked towards her and cut her off.

"I'll show you the way," he offered, but the lady did not nod or shook her head. She just stared at him with an upset expression.

Sean walked back to me and smacked a kiss on my lips. "See you at lunchtime, babe."

"Okay," I said, wrapping my hands around his neck. I did not know why but I felt threatened at the thought that he would be guiding the lady to the HR's office. Somehow, Sean placed both his hands on my shoulders, making me feel secured.

"You're breaking your rule," he whispered in my ear, "but I love it." He bent his head closer, staring at my lips.

I chuckled and raised a hand to cover his mouth. "Go now. The lady is waiting," I said as I peered on the lady standing still at the doorway, staring at us.

I watched Sean opened the door for her, and I saw the lady glanced up to him without that grateful look a common applicant would show. I didn't know why but the closing of the door brought a pang of pain to my heart.

To shake off this unwanted feeling, I called for the next applicant. A little chubby lady walked in with a smile but a hint of sadness showed in his eyes.

"Good morning, doc!" she greeted me with a forced smile, and I noticed how the edges of her lips trembled.

"Good morning, Miss Hazel Villanueva?" I gave her a genuine smile and a raised brow.

"Yes, doc."

"Please, sit down," I said after seeing her still standing across my desk.

"Thank you, doc."

I watched her sitting down slowly in a graceful poise until she looked up to me. "Miss Villanueva, may we proceed?"

"Yes, doc."

"Please tell me about yourself," I said without looking at her; my eyes were on her curriculum vitae submitted through the company's account.

"I graduated last year and had passed the board exam that same year, also. However, I have not worked in a hospital because there were good job offers in my hometown. I worked as a company nurse instead, for the Martela Group of Companies."

I shot her an abrupt look, and she got startled. "Where's your hometown, Miss Villanueva?"

"In Sama Island."

I held her gaze for a moment, twirling my pen with my fingers. "Do you know many people there?"

"Yes, doc. In provinces, people know each other, except for those transient tenants or staff of a business establishment."

"Are you still currently connected to the Martela Hotel and Beach Resort?" I asked, using the data she provided in her resume. I wondered then if she knew Eric's personal life.

"Not anymore, doc," she smiled sadly.

"Is the offer not good?"

"Very good, doc, but-" she stopped, and despite how she tried to hold back her emotion, she still burst out crying.

I just smiled and looked at her, waiting until she would stop her emotional outburst. After a few minutes, she calmed down a bit, and she tried to speak between her sniffling.

"I'm sorry, doc, but I need a greener pasture. I am the family's breadwinner, and my parents are sick."

Silence followed, and she could no longer bring herself to speak. I'd be wasting time, so I dismissed her. "See me when you're ready, Miss Villanueva."

She looked up to me and brushed her eyes before springing to her feet. "I'm sorry, doc. Please don't tell the Martela Group about this application."

My hands that I laid on the keyboard stiffened suddenly, and my mouth hung open as I wondered what could be the reason behind her request. I wanted to call her back, but she had already closed the door before my reflexes dictated me to stand up and go after her.

I sank back in my seat and called up another seven applicants. And after that, I went to my room to take a break. They were all I had to see, and in the afternoon, I would be talking to the doctors I had personally picked up to work with me.

I went straight to the dining room, and the aroma of freshly-cooked food wafted through my nose. My stomach churned right away, and I glanced at my watch. I realized it was already lunchtime. I presumed that Sean was in the kitchen, so I went to see and help him with the preparation. To my surprise, he was not there, but the stove was on, and there was a pot--its lid moving against the pressure of the boiling content.

I went to open it and saw strips of beef tenderloin cooking under low heat. The fluid had almost dried up, telling me that this was unattended or forgotten. I picked up a piece and pinched it between my fingers. Seeing that the meat had tendered, I sauteed it with the spices that Sean had prepared at the kitchen bar.

Since Sean had not come back yet, I decided to prepare the table with the food that he had already cooked. However, he still did not come back even after I was done. I got worried, so I called him up. It took long before he picked it up, and I felt I heard the ringing of his phone from the next room.

"R-red-"

"Where are you?" I cut him off.

"I'm sorry. I got tangled up. I'll be there in a minute."

Before the sixty ticks of a minute got completed, Sean appeared at the door. His hair was disheveled, and his shirt got creases. He was no longer wearing his long-sleeved polo shirt he wore from the house. Worst of all, he looked guilty, and it seemed he could not look at me straight in the eyes.