Chapter 4

"Bro, face it. It's hopeless." Ricky said as Mason let out a groan and smacked his head on the table.

"I mean, Blondie was too clingy." Ricky reminded as the girl's face flashed before his eyes.

"Hi, I'm Chelsea." She giggled flirtatiously.

"I'm Mason King and this right here is my business partner, Mr. Richard Hellman." Mason introduced as he beckoned her to sit on the chair across from him. But to his surprise, she sprawled herself on his table and placed her long tanned legs on it sexily. Her dress was way too short for both Ricky and Mason's liking.

"Tell me, do you like what you see, Mr. King?" She whispered seductively as Mason voluntarily shivered in disgust.

"This is an interview, Ms...." He looked down on her résumé and found her last name. "Castillo." He continued. "Not a club."

"So, you're suggesting that you want me in your bed tonight?" She asked batting her eyebrows. 'Wow, talk about desperate.' Mason thought.

"I'm suggesting for you to leave." He announced earning a firm nod from Ricky in agreement.

"B-but..." She stuttered on the verge of crying. "That can't be! I'm Chelsea Castillo! I always get what I want! Especially guys! We are suppose to get married, Mason! You and me! Me and you! And have plenty of children!" She rumbled on as Ricky dragged her out of the office and quickly slammed the door behind.

Ricky let out a sigh and looked horridly at Mason, who was looking more terrified than him.

"And don't even get me started on red head's laugh." Ricky continually said. "Seriously, it sounded like a dying goat." Mason replayed the scene in his head.

The red headed girl walked up and introduced herself. Mason and Ricky introduced themselves as well and it was going pretty good, until Mason made a mistake of uttering a joke.

"So, you were a secretary at your previous job. Why did you leave then?" Mason asked curiously.

"It didn't really worked out for me. My boss was too demanding and he was putting too much pressure on my shoulders." She answered confidently.

"Oh, must be a mean boss then." Ricky commented.

"Yup, the worst boss ever." She agreed.

"You shouldn't judge yet, you haven't met me." Mason warned.

"Oooh, but I love bad boss!" She said seductively, pouting her lips into a kiss.

"Don't challenge me, Ms. Jordan. I can be very intimidating. I can roar like a-"

"Cat!" Ricky finished off with an amuse smile playing across his lips. Mason glared at him intently, until the sound of a dying goat rang to their ears. Or was it a dying horse? Maybe it was a mixture of both.

The red headed girl laughed herself out thinking that the little joke was the funniest joke ever said. The two men stared at her crazily with agape mouths. The sound of her laughter hurt their ears and they both felt like their eardrums were being led to hell.

When the girl finished laughing, she let out a sigh and smiled at them. "That was hilarious. So, do I have a chance of working here?" She asked hopefully.

For a few seconds, none of the men had the urge to tell her that she would never get the job because they never want to hear the sound of her laughter ever again. Mason and Ricky glanced at each other uttering the same words, "We'll call you!" And a forced smile made its way to their lips.

"Great, I'm looking forward to that." She admitted and left the room, leaving the two boys to stare at each other in horror.

"It's hopeless, just admit it! Let's just stop this nonsense and just find someone that would actually be able to tame that stone heart of yours." Ricky said giving up and plopped himself down on the couch beside the reclining chair.

"No one will ever tame my heart, okay! I'm Mason King and I will never settle down." He determinedly said pounding his fist on the table with every word.

Suddenly, Mason's buzzer rang. He answered it and Nina's voice echoed through the room. "Sir, the last woman is waiting. Do you want me to fetch her and bring her there?" She asked calmly.

Ricky stared at his best friends in horror and started to shake his head furiously. "Yes, Nina, please send her in." Mason answered, earning a glare from Ricky. Mason let go of the button and stared back at Ricky.

"If the next girl's a clown or a mermaid, I will actually kill you, Mason Emerson King!" He warned through gritted teeth.

"Relax, she's the last one, and if it doesn't work out, then I'll stop this whole fiasco."

"Fine!" He snapped defeatedly.

The door opened slightly and Nina's head peaked through the door. "Sir, she's here."

"Let her in." Mason's firmed voice demanded.

The door opened all the way and there stood the most beautiful yet simplest girl he had ever seen. Her dark straight hair flowed flawlessly at her back. Her black floral dress hugged her body showing off her curves. She looked perfect but Mason was afraid that there must be something weird about her too. And he didn't want to find out.

Ricky glanced at the girl and thought the same too. She looked gorgeous and innocent. He made his way behind Mason's chair and stood there motionless with his arms folded across his chest.

"Come in." Mason demanded as Nina nodded to the girl, who somewhat looked terrified and nervous. She glanced once more to Nina who gave her a smile and she firmly smiled back. Nina left the room and closed the door on the way out. "Have a seat, Ms..." He trailed off looking down at her résumé. "Parker."

Kelsey cautiously made her way to the chair and sat down gracefully. She smiled at the two men and held her hand out. "Good morning, Mr. King, my name is Kelsey Parker." She introduced as Mason shook her tiny frail hand.

"Mason King, and this is my business partner, Mr. Richard Hellman." He replied then glanced at Ricky as he introduced him.

"Pleasure to meet you." Ricky said politely, shaking her hand as well.

"No, sir, the pleasure is all mine. You have no idea how much I adore your work. And not to mention, you own the best diner in town." She complimented as Ricky's ego set off to the moon.

"I like this girl, let's hire her!" Ricky commented, letting out a knowing smirk to Mason. Mason shot him a flat look and rolled his eyes.

"I'm glad you fond with her but I still need to interview her."

"Alright, proceed."

"So, Ms. Parker, it says here in your résumé that you have no degree or a diploma from college. Is there a reason for this?" He asked glancing at the résumé then at Kelsey.

"I sort of quit school." She muttered under her breath. Indeed, it was embarrassing to be talking about her accomplishments in life when she got none.

"Why is that? Isn't education the most important thing you need to have a better future?" Mason asked with a raised eyebrows. Ricky found the conversation a little personal, so he made his way back to the couch at the other end of Mason's office and sat there instead.

"I do believe that education is important, sir. But unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough to pay for my tuition fees." She silently admitted.

Mason thought of her answer and he was intrigued of her. He wanted to know more about her and what might have been the cause of her drop-out. "I know this might be a little personal, and I wouldn't force you to answer if you don't want to, but why did you drop-out of college? Is there any family problems or financial problems?"

Kelsey stared at him for a second. She didn't really wanted to answer personal questions, mainly because she didn't want people to take pity on her.

Mason waited for an answer. However, when nothing came out of her mouth, he figured that she wasn't about to talk or tell him the reason.

"Ms. Parker, it's quite alright. I don't need you to answer such a personal question. I understand." He said as he watched the woman in front of him shift uncomfortably at her seat.

"But tell me, Ms. Parker, why should I hire you?" He asked as he tapped his pen against the table.

"I believe that you should hire me, Sir, because I am a very hard working person. I work as if it is my passion. I do my job properly and I try my very best on everything that I do. Not to mention, I am a fast learner. Teach me something right now and I'll most likely remember it for the rest of my life. I am also capable of doing things according to your liking and you will not hear a single complain from me." She answered boldly. She couldn't believed that she actually answered him with high confidence and she didn't even stutter. It was quite impressive.

Kelsey was staring at both men as they looked at each other without uttering a word. It was like they were telepathically communicating. She didn't understand nor comprehend what they were thinking about. She waited for a few more seconds until they broke apart and turned their attention back to her.

"I want to help you, Ms. Parker." Mason slowly said as Kelsey tried to read him and where their conversation was heading to. "I'm going to offer you another job, a job that I'm sure will help your financial needs." He expanded.

"What kind of job?" She asked curiosity seeping through her mind. She had no idea what was going on in Mason King's head and she was confuse on why he would offer her another job when he was looking for a personal assistant? Couldn't she just get that job to help her and her family?

"I can tell that you are confuse, Ms. Parker. But I can't guarantee you that you will get the job of being my personal assistant. Many applied for the job which are more qualified than you are and had past experiences. There's a high chance you might not get the job of being my assistant." He lied effortlessly as he played with his pen.

"However, this job that I am offering you right now, I guarantee that I will be able to hand it to you. Ms. Parker, I'm willing to pay you one million dollars." He announce causing Kelsey's eyes to widen and her mouth agape.

"Wha-wha-one million dollars?" She asked flabbergasted. She stared at him intently as he nodded in confirmation.

"That's right, one million dollars." He repeated.

Kelsey let everything sink it. She tried to wrap all the information around her head. One million dollars was a lot of money. It would not only help to pay for her brother's hospital bills but she could go back to school and fulfill her dreams of being a professional chef. It would finally be a dream come true. All she had to do was accept the offer and the job. "What's the job?" She asked.

"My hired bride." He bluntly informed her.