Chapter 18

“Welcome back, Mrs Jensen.”

At my city’s airport, I never expected a welcome from a stranger. Furthermore, she was an airport staff that checked travellers’ bags for any suspicious items.

I just responded with a fake smile. There was a long queue, so by the time I got to my checked-in baggage, almost everyone in the same flight as me had gone.

I thought of the job that I had just applied for in the short break while transiting, and it made me think twice after reading the negative reviews on an online forum. They painted the company as a shady place, and I believed it was so, since looking up the company’s corporate profile didn’t seem too convincing, like an empty shell company.

Even if Kaiser Klef Solutions was shady, I persisted to apply with them because their marketing line to sell my soul to them intrigued me. But then, I didn’t even know if I still had a soul. Before leaving, I did things to break up Sherry and her ex that had come back for her. I had bugged her devices and attempted to fool them with a prank call.

I had even hired goons to beat up her ex. But what I did had the opposite effect: it brought them together. And Shila didn’t even bother stopping her.

I couldn’t let Jacques know what I had done. Even if he claimed he understood me, I didn’t want him seeing this side of me. A part of me would always be grateful to him, but I couldn’t bear the thought of him forsaking me. Even when it was I who chose to leave him, I needed him to see the best of me. I tempted him into my bed, painted myself as the best wife ever, but I had secrets of my own. 

One of the reasons I left was because I could not bear the sight of seeing Sherry and her ex back together, after how he had turned a blind eye and not bothered to help me. I thought it was a fair punishment that he had lost his company and was reduced to a pauper, but he still managed to hook Sherry back.

Life was so unfair.

Jacques passed on to me the key to an old apartment left to him which wasn’t in his name. He had mentioned that this way, my old nemesis would never find out where I was. But if I needed his help, he wouldn’t hesitate to return to me.

But there was no point now. I wouldn’t drop my goals just to lay low and have a calm romance with him. My heart just wasn’t meant for love anymore. Even if I did nothing, I knew that Lenard Lee would come back for me, and give me no peace.

I found a power source and sat down to charge my phone. This was the phone that belonged to Piper, not to May. I had applied for the job using my real identity, not May’s. After some difficulty, I entered the phone gallery and swiped past photos of Syl and I. Those memories were best forgotten. I would have deleted them straight away, if not that there were 8,578 photos in my phone. Among them was a photo of Jacques that I had helped him take using my phone back at the company. I sighed and closed the gallery.

The first thing I realised was that I had to reactivate my sim card. I had my old ID and a few other documents to prove my identity, since the number was registered in my name. I had also listed down the same number in my job application.

“Welcome back to the city of dreams, Piper,” I whispered to myself. I pulled out my phone cable from the charging port and hailed a cab to Jacques’ place.

My new life had just begun, I told myself, watching the view from inside the cab. 

…………………………………………………………..

Three days later, I received an email for an interview later in the afternoon. It felt like ages since I had dressed for work, and luckily Jacques had kept a few of my old clothes and shoes. I donned a white work blouse over a black skirt that covered my knees. I had matching black flats.

I went with light makeup. I couldn’t afford what I used to have with my current predicament. 

Jacques’ place was warm, but it didn’t negate the fear I had of sleeping alone. I kept the night light on all night and laid out some photos of Jacques and I that we took before leaving. He owned an old laptop and some reference books which I made quick use of.

I was so adjusted to life in Bangkok that I had almost forgotten the subway routes in the city. I stepped into the carriage and listened carefully to the announcement on each stop. Just before reaching my intended stop, a foolish youth attempted to prevent me from exiting, and ended up trampled on under my feet.

I sneered at him, hearing the automated message that the train doors were closing, and stepped out. He howled in pain, but I was already outside the carriage to even make anything out of it. Life was just like that; only the strongest survive.

I got out of the station and moved over to the self-automated machines to top up more balance in my subway smartcard. The screen displayed my name in capitals, making me hesitate. But I knew this was me, and I had to bravely charge ahead.

After that, I took a bus to the nearest bus stop to the building mentioned. At the third stop, I got down. The fact that the building was far in the outskirts of the city, away from the major companies, seemed dubious to me. From my experience, it was either a scam or unscrupulous.

I marched on, and confirmed my doubts when I saw the building with my own eyes. The surroundings were dark and shadowy. I clenched my fists behind my back, looking around me to see if I was alone.

Indeed, there were no other applicants. I took a deep breath and touched the ring around my neck, before pushing the door open.

A man was seated at the front desk, appearing to be a receptionist. He was dressed casually in a tee and three-quarter pants. He smiled gaily at me.

“Here for the interview?”

I nodded, masking my discomfort. He didn’t hand me any application form and just directed me towards the elevator, to the sixth floor.

It was much darker up on the sixth floor. I concentrated on my plan, disregarding the uneasiness in my chest. Every absurd look I received from the passing staff made me feel unwelcomed, like I was a weirdo.

I cast aside my worries and entered the interview room. This time, the sight of a woman sitting on an ergonomic chair in a sexy suit greeted me. I had come to observe that there weren’t many female staff in the office, and most of the employees were male. She was likely the fourth woman I had seen on my way to this room.

“Take off your coat and shoes, and take a seat inside. Mr Klef will be here shortly.”

Mr Klef? The boss was going to interview me myself?

My mind wavered, seeing how I was the only person waiting for an interview. Why weren’t there any others coming? 

But I knew it wasn’t professional to ask about such things. I just wanted the job as a source of income. I couldn’t involve myself unnecessarily in any affairs of the company. I was in sales, not HR.

I just bowed and handed over my coat. I slipped off my shoes at the door, feeling absurd by the woman’s request. I had never heard of asking potential employees to take off shoes or to hand over their coats. Maybe it was for security measures, but if it was so, shouldn’t that have been done at the door instead?

The room had a few leather sofas instead of chairs that made me doubt the position further. By the looks of it, it didn’t even seem like an interview room, and instead it appeared like an adult playroom.

I diverted my attention to the magazines on the rack. A few of them were Playboy magazines, arousing my observant mind that the position wasn’t what it seemed. Right now, I had two options, and that was to leave or stay.

I asked myself. I had already lost so much. What could I even lose now?

Then I heard footsteps from outside, and the door opened. Noticing the familiar figure enter the room, I recognised the exact demeanour of the man.

“Miss Piper Taylor?”

I struggled to answer him, looking up confidently into the eyes of the man who I had a brief encounter with.

It turned out that his name was indeed Kaiser Klef.