As Jackie has finished her secret story, the room goes into a pin-drop silence, every person's face has a look of surprise and awe.
"Hem-ahem!" Martin clears his throat and says "Jackie, Clara was the lady of wonders, she has so many secrets that I don't even know, her generous and compassionate nature made her the queen of hearts."
"You are absolutely right about her Martin, she had even sponsored some children around Angels Street, whose parents could not afford their school fees." Jackie replies in agreement.
Dr. Sean expresses his feeling "She must be an angel in disguise, I have now more respect for the late lady than ever.", then he stands up and present a salute to Clara for her generosity, "Salute to the queen of hearts."
Jackie looks at the wall clock "Oh! it's a quarter to eleven, my kids have been waiting for me."
"Martin, I feel so tired, if you give me the permission to leave, I would be grateful." Dr. Sean requests gently.
Martin responds in favor "Of course, we had an amazing evening and Kate made us a delicious dinner, and your wine came in handy at the dinner table.",
then he holds Jackie's hand "Jackie, the story you have told us has rekindled my heart with more love toward Clara, and made this evening a memorable one, thank you, Jackie."
"It is so heartwarming to hear something about my mother, and I feel immensely proud for being a daughter to her, thanks, Jackie." Kate also states her feelings to Jackie.
Dr. Sean draws Jackie's attention to himself "I can drop you by your home if you wish to accompany me."
"That'll be great, who knows when it rains, and this time it is hard to find a taxi." Jackie affirms
Jackie and Dr. Sean say goodbye and leave the building for their homes.
"Kate sit here, I don't feel like sleeping any sooner, so I want to tell you how Clara and I met." Martin asks her daughter with a warm smile.
"Okay dad, but I need to refill my coffee cup, would you like some more."
"Oh! of course, that'll stay us awake for a while, hehe."
Kate goes to the kitchen and brings 2 coffee cups, she presents one to Martin and places another on the table. She also brought a comforter for her father because the room feels a little chilly due to the windy weather.
She sits on the sofa next to Martin and requests to start the story.
Martin starts to talk after taking a sip of the coffee,
I was working in a job placement bureau, and our company was contracted by the Town Hall Committee to induct new candidates for several special posts, and it was advised to bring only the cream of the students from the top 5 institutes of the country.
The task took me to Wickers University where Clara was studying Library Sciences. She was a magna-cum-laude student, so she had already earned a place in the Town Hall's employment positions, what I needed was her consent and signing of the contract offered by the Town Hall.
I selected 10 candidates to get interviewed for 3 different job positions, and 1 of them was already decided for Clara even before the interview due to her excellent study profile and the top position in the university. The university sent invitations to selected candidates for the interviews.
I was a little nervous on the interview day because it was the first time I was interviewing someone since I had joined a month ago in that organization.
Clara entered the interview room, and greeted us with a smile "Good afternoon, I am Clara."
I rose my head, my eye stuck on her charming face, as I smelled puffs of lavender perfume blowing into my face, I lost my mind for a while, I was in a fantasy world and looking at a beautiful princess. She was wearing a red-white checkered shirt dress and a floppy hat decorated with 3 pink roses.
Linda, my colleague, whispered in my ear "Ms. Clara O'Malley is here."
A goosebump like sensation vibrated on my skin, I immediately restored my sense.
"Hi Ms. O'Malley, a-a please have a seat."
Clara asked us "Sir, I've got an invitation for the interview, but I have no idea what is this interview for?"
"Ms. O'Malley, this is a job interview, and we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the post of an archivist in the Town Hall, since you are a magna-cum-laude graduate, we have decided to offer you this job without any prerequisites to fulfill."
My throat dried out, I picked a glass of water and wetted my throat, and then continued telling "the only thing we need is your consent and signing of the job contract, I hope you would like to accept this opportunity."
I saw a little confusion on her face, but then she smiled and mentioned "Sir, I own a business, and it would be difficult for me to accept this offer."
Linda murmured in my ear "Oops, that's a bummer, we don't want to lose a finalized candidate."
"It's okay, let me talk to her." I responded to her convincingly.
"Look, Ms. O'Malley, we now know that you are already in a better position, but we must say that we don't want to lose a candidate having an impressive education portfolio. What we are offering is something related to your graduation, and with this job you can serve your fellow citizens, it is a respectable job position, I personally wish you should reconsider it." I paused for a while and said "We'll respect your decision, but people like you can be leaders of tomorrow."
Clara was literally calm and looked more confident, she peaked into my eyes as if she was trying to mesmerize me, and I liked to be in her control for a while.
"Sir, would you mind giving me some time to think, I'll definitely come up with a decision."
Again Linda was mumbling in my ear "Martin, I think we should give her some time to think, I guess 3 days are enough."
"Okay Linda, I've got it."
"Ms. O'Malley, we've decided to give you 3 days to help you decide about the offer, just in case take this visiting card, if you need any assistance regarding this job offer we'll be happy to help you. just give us a call" I explained to Clara.
Clara had a vibrant smile on her face, she stood up, showing humble gratitude, and said "Thank you, sir, I'll get back to you appropriately."
"You are welcome Ms. O'Malley, see you again after the weekend, stay safe." I wished her and then she left the office.
Linda came close to my ear and muttered "You are blushing, Martin."
To be continued..
To read previous parts of the story, kindly visit the following links:
Wreath of Pink Roses - Unknown Part of a Sad Story
Clara's Old Office - Wreath of Pink Roses (Part 2)
The Anniversary Dinner - Wreath of Pink Roses (Part-3)
Jackie's Secret - Wreath of Pink Roses (Part-4)
Image Credits:
Niña with Pink Roses Pixabay
Hear Divider Free Clipart flyclipart.com
Signature Card is made with Canva.com
