The Interview (A Discordant Earth Mini Prequel)
The Interview
Discordant Earth, Book 0.5
by
Melony Paradise
Copyright © 2017 Melony Paradise
www.melonyparadise.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
Tension filled the air, thick and cloying. Every chair and empty space held women of all ages as they waited their turn. Alyssa Rose rolled and unrolled her resume for the hundredth time, leaning against the arm of her chair to let feeling return to at least one leg.
The door to Commander Kayn’s office swooshed open to reveal yet another unhappy woman, with Isa following her out. For the sixteenth time that day, the beautiful alien with iridescent, ivory skin shook hands with the interviewee, gave her a shallow bow, then turned toward her desk, effectively dismissing the dejected woman.
“Miss Rose, please follow me.”
Alyssa nearly jumped out of her skin with her almond-shaped, brown eyes wide as saucers and her pulse suddenly racing. This is it. Stay calm. Smoothing out her black pencil-skirt and pulling on the hem of her lavender, satin blouse, she quickly trailed after Isa while tucking a lock of black, wavy hair behind her ear.
With a stutter in her step, Alyssa’s light skin paled when she noticed the commander watching her from his desk on the other end of the cavernous office. The lighting was dim but a large desk lamp highlighted the imposing leader’s sharp features, setting her heart to pound against her ribcage. His appearance on the television broadcasts didn’t do him any justice.
Piercing, golden eyes seemed to reach down into Alyssa’s soul, judging her worthiness, making her flush with heat. Her faltering steps slowed under his scrutiny, her breath catching in her throat, but she still almost ran into Isa. With a quick apology, she looked up at the Szu’Kara female and found brilliant-white eyes with shimmery, golden swirls staring down at her, the thin, cat’s-eye pupil pinning Alyssa in place.
“Miss Rose, my name is Isa’Tala.” She raised a slender hand towards the commander. “I am sure you are aware that this is Commander Kayn’Kara, leader of the Szu’Kara.”
He tipped his bald head in greeting with a look of indifference, and Alyssa smiled, giving him a little wave as her heart skipped a beat. I can’t believe he’s here for my interview. She’d daydreamed about the gorgeous, steel-blue skinned commander for years, as most young girls did as soon as they were old enough to think about such things.
“Very nice to meet you, Commander.” Alyssa bowed her head, feeling the strange urge to curtsy but resisting.
His eyes softened and one corner of his mouth curled up. “And you, as well, Miss Rose.”
“Please, have a seat.” Isa gestured to a plush sofa in a small sitting area on one side of the office, seating herself in one of the two armchairs facing the sofa.
On the other side, in the corner, sat a large L-shaped desk with a basket full of files, a telephone with so many buttons, and a closed laptop. Alyssa assumed this must be the desk used by the commander’s personal assistant, when he has one. If she recalled correctly, it had been close to two years since anyone filled that role.
“Thank you for coming in today. As you can see, the position of secretarial intern is highly sought after. I am the commander’s secretary, and as my intern, you would assist me in efficiently performing all duties assigned to us. This position will require you to work long hours and many weekends. The work will be difficult and demanding. Are you prepared to commit to this level of responsibility, knowing you will not be reimbursed for your time or efforts?”
“I am.”
“You have recently graduated high school, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Why should I choose you, an eighteen-year-old, over all those women waiting outside?”
“My granny taught me everything she knows about being a head secretary of a large corporation…”
For forty-five minutes, Isa peppered Alyssa with questions about her schooling and her experience. She tried to resist but couldn’t stop herself from glancing at Commander Kayn after each question. Each time she looked his way to find him looking back, she blushed profusely and rubbed her sweaty palms over her knees, stuttering through her answers to Isa.
If she glanced at the commander when he wasn’t watching her, Alyssa got the impression that he still listened in on the interview, making her even more nervous and having to ask Isa to repeat questions. By the end, Isa seemed annoyed and impatient, and Alyssa didn’t blame the alien one bit.
When Isa finally led her to the door, Alyssa watched the commander out of the corner of her eye. He watched her the entire way, sitting up straighter when she stopped to face him from the door. Isa sighed but waited politely.
“Goodbye, Commander. It was nice to meet you.” Alyssa gave him her sweetest voice, trying to hold back more blushing.
He stood up, and Isa let out a small gasp. “It was very nice to meet you, Miss Rose,” he said with a deep, rumbling voice, giving her a tilted bow of his smooth head. “I hope we see you again, soon.”
“It’s not like you haven’t been around the commander before,” Melina, Alyssa’s mother, said.
“Yeah, Aly, we see him all the time,” her best friend, Jess, chimed in.
“Not like this, Jess.” Alyssa gave her friend big eyes, trying to get her to shut up. “He was there the whole time! I think he listened to the whole interview. I’m so embarrassed.” She dropped her head into her hands, biting her bottom lip.
Jess snorted from across the table, picking at her garlic bread. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“I’m sure you did fine, kitten.” Her father, James, twirled his fork in a plate of spaghetti at the head of the table.
Melina reached over from her end to pat her daughter’s head. “Sit up and eat, Alyssa. Stop worrying. I can talk to Isa, if you want.”
“No! That’ll make it worse. If I get the internship, great. If I don’t, it’s my own fault for having a stupid crush on the commander.”
Jess snorted again and her parents chuckled, making her want to melt into a puddle under the dining table. No way could she eat anything, not even her favorite meal, instead she pushed it away to sulk in her seat.
“I know you want to get this internship without our help, but there’s a lot of competition. Your father and I would be happy to pull some strings. Commander Kayn has always been good to us. He comes to all our gatherings and he appreciates your father’s paintings. We could probably bribe him with one.”
“Oh, my gosh, mother. Please, don’t make it worse. If anyone found out you helped, it would be a disaster. Just waiting outside his office was like sitting in a room full of starving wildcats.”
“Yikes,” James muttered.
“Why do you want this job so bad, Aly? It doesn’t even pay anything. I bet I could get you a job at the clinic. We always need help answering phones.” Jess looked at Alyssa with her head tilted and confusion in her eyes.
“Well, obviously, I want to be useful to the Szu’Kara. They’ve done everything for us. Helping the commander, even if it is just as intern to his secretary, seems like the best way I can give back to them. Maybe it will help me get my foot in the door to become his personal assistant, you know?”
“It’s been a while since the last one left, hasn’t it?” Melina asked.
“I heard he fired her for telling people she was his mate.” Jess smirked.
James choked on a piece of bread, coughing to clear his throat.
Her mom peered at him, eyebrows raised. “That’s ridiculous. Everyone knows Commander Kayn doesn’t consort with humans.”
Jess popped her lips. “Last I heard, he wasn’t consorting with his own kind either.”
“Whatever,” Alyssa said. “I just want to do my part to repay our protectors for saving us from destroying ourselves.”
The waiting area felt cold and empty…well, definitely empty since Alyssa was the only person there. It had been a few days since her interview, and she’d nearly given up hope of ever getting the internship. When she received a call from Isa that morning, she got dressed and ready as fast as possible.
Alyssa arrived ten minutes early, anxious, excited, and hopeful, but Isa wasn’t at her desk. Now, twenty minutes later, she kept questioning herself, wondering if she’d gotten the time wrong. As soon as the door swooshed open, Alyssa jumped up from her seat.
“Please come in, Miss Rose,” Isa said, standing at the door like a sleek, marble statue.
Rushing forward, Alyssa followed Isa to the sitting area. Her hands started trembling, her breathing shallow, as she sat on the sofa across from Commander Kayn. Isa sat in the second armchair.
“Welcome back, Miss Rose.” The commander’s deep timbre sent delicious tingles along her skin.
“Thank you, Commander.” Alyssa smiled politely and fought off the urge to curtsy again, her inner fan-girl squealing with joy.
Isa cleared her throat, grabbing Alyssa’s attention, watching her with narrowed eyes and a small, polite smile. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Miss Rose. We have interviewed so many women and are quite ready to complete this process.”
“I’m just happy to get a call-back. Thank you for this opportunity.”
“Yes, well, you will be happy to know that there are many benefits to working within the commander’s office. You will be entitled to your own personal quarters, use of the business vehicles, a monthly allowance at the commissary and the cafeteria, and generous salary—“
“Wait, what? I’m sorry, did you say salary?”
“Yes…”
“I thought I was here for a second interview, or maybe if I was lucky, you’d be telling me I got the internship. Why are you talking about benefits? Interns don’t usually get benefits…”
“You may leave, Isa.” The commander flicked his fingers at the stoic secretary.
“Yes, Commander.” She stood up sharply, looking down on Alyssa, an undefinable gleam in her brilliant-white eyes.
The door swooshed open and closed while Alyssa watched Isa go, leaving her with the Commander of the Szu’Kara, the savior of humanity, one of the leaders of the world, her potential employer…her longtime crush. She gulped, trying to control her breathing and racing pulse, and turned to face the alien she had idolized since childhood.
Commander Kayn watched her with calculating eyes, unmoving and unexpressive. Alyssa clasped her hands together in her lap, worried she’d start fidgeting and embarrass herself again. Taking a deep, calming breath, she smiled and gazed back at him.
“I have attended many functions hosted by your family, yet we have never spoken.”
Um… “No, we haven’t.”
“I suppose I have always considered you a child, since you relocated to my compound at such a young age. I dismissed you as unimportant. I apologize.”
Woah! “Uh…apology accepted?”
“Are you…dating anyone?”
“Not right now, no.” Is he worried I won’t want to work the long hours if I’m dating someone?
“Who is your Asen’Sha guide?”
When the aliens arrived, they not only saved humanity from self-destruction, but they also brought the key to heaven, literally. Asen’Sha was like an out-of-body experience. Szu’Kara guides used a natural chemical in their skin to take a human to heaven, now called Zion, for a short visit.
During this visit, humans get to experience heaven without dying. The effects were limited because the human body wasn’t fully there, but that didn’t make it any less amazing. Most people felt the same things: euphoria, joy, peace, and tranquility. Some felt more, some less, but it always felt phenomenal.
“I don’t have a guide,” Alyssa said, praying he wouldn’t be insulted.
“You have not had Asen’Sha?”
“I did once, when I first turned thirteen, like everyone else.”
“You did not enjoy it?” His brow furrowed.
Sigh. “I did, but… I’m sorry, I’m not comfortable discussing this.”
“Fine,” he said, scowling, “you do not have to explain yourself.”
“Thank you. I don’t mean to offend—”
“You did not get the internship.”
With her hand hovering over the palm scanner, Alyssa took in a deep breath, keeping her eyes down. She touched the scanner, waiting for the door to slide open, watching the faces full of anticipation appear one by one on the other side. Three sets of eyes followed her as she shuffled into the only home she’d known since she was two years old.
Like a balloon popping, the tension erupted and voices overlapped each other. Alyssa bit her bottom lip, wondering if her parents would be disappointed, knowing Jess would stand by her no matter what.
“Well?” Jess asked.
“What happened, kitten?”
“Did you get the internship, Alyssa?”
She looked from face to face, grateful to have such a wonderful, supportive family, Jess included.
“Come on, Aly. Don’t keep us in suspense!”
Alyssa gave them all a wistful smile and said, “I’m not going to be living here anymore.”
The End
(For Now…)
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