Chapter 277

Tessa’s POV

We just bought a house!

Well, technically Joseph bought the house, but still. We are going to be officially living together. Our move-in date is in a couple of days. Joseph finished signing the paperwork first thing in the morning and Mary brought us a couple of sets of keys. Now all we had to do was pack up our lives back home and move into the big city.

My excitement was boiling over, but it was also bittersweet because I didn’t have my best friend here to celebrate it with me. This was supposed to be our dream; more than anything, Ruby wanted to move to New York City and become a bigshot fashion designer. She had all these dreams and goals, and now it was all put on hold because she was at the vampire academy, learning how to be a vampire.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t upset by the fact she wasn’t around. But at the same time, it meant she was alive. My heart swelled knowing she was okay, but I missed her terribly.

I stared myself over in the mirror, frowning at my appearance. I tied my hair back into a low pony, brushing the baby hairs off my face. I wore a white button-down blouse and a pair of dark skinny jeans. I only wore a little bit of makeup to highlight my best features.

My nerves were attacking my stomach and I thought I was going to be sick. Joseph stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my body and pulling me close to his chest as he kissed the side of my temple.

“Are you almost ready?” He asked, nibbling the lobes of my ear.

I took a deep breath, trying to get rid of my last standing nerves and then I nodded.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I told him, glad that my voice didn’t come out shaky.

“You are going to do great. Just be yourself,” he told me as he released his hold on me and stepped back.

I instantly missed his touch, and I turned around to peek up at him.

“Do you really think I’m going to get this job?” I asked him; I needed to hear him say that I could do this.

His brows furrowed as he reached his hand toward me and brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Then he ran his thumb down my cheek; goosebumps formed on my flesh from his touch, and I had to stifle a tremble.

“This job is practically yours already,” he reminded me. “They already love your writing. Just be yourself and everything will be okay.”

I smiled at his words of encouragement, and I nodded.

He lowered himself and then brushed his lips against mine, sending my entire heart into turmoil. I breathed him in, leaning into his kiss and wanting to melt within him.

Too soon, the kiss was over. He smiled down at me, a knowing look in his eyes. Then, he winked and turned toward the door.

“Let’s get going,” he said, offering me his hand. I took it without hesitation.

…..

Fable Magazine Corporation was a huge brick building right in the middle of the city. It was a skyscraper-type building. It nearly broke my neck to stare up at it and I still couldn’t see the windows on the top floor.

It looked just like it was pictured with the same beautiful flowers growing in the front. Joseph dropped me off and was still in his car, waiting for me to enter the building before he actually went anywhere.

Taking a deep breath, I took a step inside. I was already so overwhelmed by all the different corporations and organizations in this one building that I was all turned around despite the signs. I stopped a woman who seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere and I asked her where I could find the Fable Magazine organization.

Apparently, it’s the top floor, which she told me by pointing to the ceiling, indicating up. I stifled an eye roll and found the elevator. Once I was inside the elevator, I saw that each organization has its own floor and thankfully it was written beside each number on the elevator panel.

The very top floor was for Fable Magazine, which was exactly what I needed.

When I reached the top floor, the elevator doors slowly crept open, and seated at a round glass desk in the center of the room, was a woman who seemed to be enthralled by something on her computer.

She seemed very busy, and I didn’t want to disturb her, but she looked up from her computer and offered me a frown.

“Can I help you?” She asked, I could already feel her sizing me up with her eyes.

“Uh… hi…” I stammered, but then I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m Tessa Campbell. I’m here for an interview.”

She gave me a pointed look, then she sighed, and grabbed the phone off her desk. She pressed a button and put the phone to her cheek.

“Tessa Campbell is here for her interview,” she said, still glaring at me like I had done something wrong.

It made me feel uneasy.

There was a pause and then the woman said, “Yes, mam.”

She hung up the phone and then pointed down the hallway.

“Last door on the left,” she said and without another word, she went back to doing whatever it was she was doing.

“Thanks,” I murmured, passing her desk and walking down the long and wide hallway.

There were many doors down the hallway, and many had wide windows which left no privacy. I saw a couple of people in the offices, seated at their desks, looking hard at work. I tried not to linger too long as I passed by though, not wanting my potentially new coworkers to think I’m some kind of creep.

Once I got to the last door on the left, I paused when I saw a woman seated at her desk, typing vigorously away on her computer. She had short curly blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes; she had a face full of makeup and she wore designer clothing and expensive-looking jewelry. She was a pretty, and older, woman. She looked to be in her mid-50s, and she also looked like she hadn’t taken a day off in years.

I knew right away that she was Megan Huxley, CEO of Fable Magazine and my potential new boss.

I sucked in a sharp breath, raised my fist, and then I knocked on the door.

She paused her typing and looked up at me; her eyes narrowed as she took me in through the window. Much like the woman at the front desk, Megan Huxley also sized me up with her eyes and I couldn’t tell from her expression if she liked what she saw or not.

“Enter,” she said, and her harsh tone made me flinch, but I tried to keep a strong composure.

I knew women like Megan; this wasn’t my first rodeo, and it wasn’t going to be my last. These types of women fed off weakness and fear and I wasn’t going to give that to her.

I opened the door and stepped inside her office. The first thing I noticed was the giant wall-length window that sat behind her desk, overlooking the gorgeous city and all it had to offer. The next thing was the gorgeous glass desk that housed Megan’s computer. She kept her office clean, and I could tell from the filing cabinets and the fact that there was no clutter anywhere, that Megan liked to keep things fairly organized.

She had a plush pink rug in the center of her office and there were a couple of light blue and very comfortable-looking chairs in front of her desk.

“Shut the door and take a seat,” Megan ordered without taking her eyes off her computer.

I did as she said but she didn’t pay me any attention. Not at first. She continued doing whatever she was doing on her computer, leaving me sitting in front of her and feeling more awkward than ever.

I had a feeling she was doing this on purpose.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally lifted her gaze and met my eyes.

“I have been following your online work for some time now and I have to say, Tessa. I’m quite impressed with your work. You also have the online magazine editor vouching for you and I take her word quite seriously. We are good friends and if she has faith in your abilities then I trust her judgment. Tell me, what made you want to be a writer?”

“My father, actually,” I answered honestly. “When I was a little girl, my mother passed away. I don’t remember much about her, but he told me that she loved the little stories that he would make up for her. He would read them to me at bedtime as well and I also loved them. After she passed away, every year on her birthday, he would write a new story and we would bring it to her grave to read it out loud to her. It was something that I cherished and held close to my heart. I grew up knowing I wanted to be a storyteller.”

She nodded, her face softening from the hardened exterior I had seen only moments ago.

“I went over your resume and I’m impressed with the level of work you put into your writing career. I enjoyed the couple of posts I’ve read on your blog as well. Have you had your blog for long?”

I nodded.

“4 years,” I answered. “When I started college, the writing program I took my freshmen year paid for the domain and got me started with my first blog. It was a rocky road, but throughout the years I gained plenty of followers and a voice for my blog. Of course, it was all monitored by the school and I had to be careful with some of the stuff I posted. But after I graduated, as a gift, the school lifted its restraints and now allows me full access to the blog. As of a few weeks ago, it’s officially mine.”

“Congratulations, that must be a huge relief,” she said, and she sounded genuine.

I nodded in response.

“Are you planning on moving to the city?” She then asked.

“I actually just bought a house in this area,” I confessed. “Not because of this job, but because I always loved New York and it’s closer to my fiancé’s family.”

She looked surprised.

“You are engaged?” She asked.

I nodded.

“Yes, mam,” I answered.

“When do you plan on getting married?”

“There’s no date set,” I admitted. “It’s a recent engagement.”

She looked skeptical.

“This job can be very demanding sometimes. There’s not always a lot of personal time; I hope that won’t pose a problem for you and your fiancé.”

I shook my head.

“It shouldn’t. His job is demanding as well.”

“What does he do for work?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“He’s a teacher,” I told her. “He teaches writing.”

Her eyebrows shot up and I knew she was working things out in her own mind; I needed to change the subject quickly.

“So, you are looking for another writer for your hardcopy magazines?” I asked, forcing a smile.

She blinked a few times, but then she nodded.

“Yes,” she answered. “We have 4 full-time writers, but the demand has multiplied this past year, and we are looking for another writer who is capable of creating engaging stories. This includes real-life articles as well. Fable magazine doesn’t just do fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction stories, we also do gossip news reports as well and we thrive for accuracy.”

I nodded as I took it all in.

“You don’t have to worry about my personal home life. When I’m here… I’m all in. I’ve enjoyed writing for the online magazine this past year and I would love to work for the franchise.”

She took me in for a moment, studying me with her eyes. Her face was hard to read and just when I thought she was going to dismiss me, she grabbed her phone, pressed a button, and put it to her cheek.

“Ashley, I just hired a new writer. Would you be a doll and show Tessa to her office?”