Chapter 56 MOMENT WITH TORI

But in a sense, it didn't really matter what I thought. My executives seemed to believe the story, and while it had never been explicitly said, it was heavily implied that a woman of Tori's reputation would never be allowed to rise any further in this company. They would be happy to have her just be gone, but they didn't have any grounds to get rid of her. So, while this hire was entirely up to me, I could feel the pressure on my shoulders to not hire Tori.

Not that she would be hired anyway. I try to be as open-minded as possible, but her resume just did not compare to the other applicants. And plus, I wanted someone on my side who shared my value system, who felt the same way on how to conduct business. I took pride in doing business the right way. I didn't feel the need to use any dirty business strategies or underhanded tactics to get things done. Sure, some of those bad things may give you a short term benefit, but in the long term, the house of cards constructed by bad business would collapse. I was positive of that. The people who did business that way never thought of the long term implications of their actions.

I was happy to give Tori a chance, but she would have to plead a pretty convincing case for her to have a shot. I had never interviewed her, so I didn't know exactly what to expect from her or what she was capable of, but if she wanted this job she would have to earn it.

I always liked to take a few minutes to clear my head before an interview. I stopped thinking about Tori, about the job, and decided to just take in things for a few moments.

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I turned around and took in my office, and even that filled me with pride. At times, it felt like I was still an unsure teenager in grown-up clothes, but whenever I sat in my office and took it in, I felt like I belonged. Yes , I belong. My dad is the fucking CEO.

Everything in my office was there for practicality. Some people liked to have fancy trinkets or impressive tech, but I simply wanted stuff that worked, that made my life easier.

I had two computers, one that I did my work on and a spare one that was hooked up to a projector for whenever someone needed computer access or needed to give a presentation. The far wall was left blank, no decorations, where the image could be projected. I was always a bit scattered, so I had a few piles of papers on my desk, but I knew where everything was.

My desk was made of a dark, heavy wood, and although at first I thought it was a bit much, I had to eventually admit that it was pretty cool. It really cemented my role in the company in my own mind, and it really cemented that I had made it. This was the type of desk a grown-up, professional businessman had, and it was my desk. It was great.

I didn't have too many creature comforts or personal items. I had a couch along the side wall for when I was hosting some people or when I just needed to relax for a few minutes. I did have a flat-screen TV, but I would try to keep its use to a minimum, mainly keeping the news or the weather on. The only other real prominent personal items were the pictures on my desk of my wife vicky.

My eyes fell to one of the pictures, looking at my wife's smiling face, as if she was looking at me, giving me strength after a long and busy week.

I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock. I loved my work, I would never complain, but, it had been a long week, and I was exhausted. I had done a lot of traveling lately, and because of that I was playing catch-up. That, on top of doing all these interviews, it had worn me out. And plus, it had kept me away from Vicky.

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Knowing I had a few minutes before the interview was set to begin, I pulled my phone from the pocket of my suit jacket and pulled up some pictures of me and Vicky. I know it sounds dorky and cheesy, but I couldn't get enough of just looking at her. Seeing someone so pretty, with such an infectious smile.

I was looking at a picture of us standing together outside of a nice older movie theatre downtown, my arm around her. Her brilliant smile let me know that she was as happy with me as I was with her. I admired her again, her silky blonde hair, her slim, taut runner's body. She is such an amazing, impressive girl, and I couldn't imagine loving anyone as much as I loved her now.

For a moment, I was overtaken with an almost overwhelming obsession for the girl I married by mistake. I was again reminded of my current predicament and the plans we had for this weekend, and as much as I loved interviewing and this whole process, at this moment, it was the last place I wanted to be. I couldn't wait to leave, to just be around Vicky.

A knock at the door caused me to jump. I pocketed my phone and stood up as one of the women from HR poked her head in my office.

"Hey Randy," Shanice said, "Miss, um... Miss Krez..." she began, glancing down at her file, struggling with the name.

"Miss Tori Kryselneski," I finished for her, stepping around my desk, straightening my suit-coat.

"Yes, Miss Kryselneski is here for her interview," Shanice said, thankful for my help.

"Send her in," I replied with a smile. "And you can head out, Shanice. I'll finish up here." Shanice smiled and thanked me, before stepping aside. From behind her entered Tori, stepping past the HR woman to enter the office.

"You might be the first person to pronounce my last name correctly," Tori began with a smile. "I'm impressed."