CLAUDETTE'S POV

"You better get that job today. It's hard enough that I am the only working adult in this household." And this was the same person I married 5 years ago.

I couldn't believe how fast he changes from the sweet and charming husband to a bossy and demanding man he is today. I lost count of how many times he raised his hands to me now that I am almost 6 months unemployed.

To be frank, it's not even my fault I was fired. It was that interns fault! Oh, I wish I could just strangle her that time.

"I know. Can you just chill for a second! Why are you so obsessed with me having a job? It's your JOB to provide for us since you're the husband and I am the wife!" I don't know what came over me when I blurted it all out.

I was surprised when he didn't respond to me at all. I was almost sure he would hit me or something.

"I'm going to let that slide for today. But if you fail to nail this job, you should be ready for what will come to you later tonight." Did he just threatened me?!

"Roger, what is wrong with you? I never knew you were this abusive before! What changed you?" I asked as I facing him.

"And why do we seem to have trouble with money lately? With your salary, we could afford to live with it alone!" Now I'm sure he will hit me. I was waiting for it but it didn't come at all.

"Shut up and get yourself ready. I don't want to be late." Late? But it's only 7 am! My job interview doesn't start until after 9 am.

"I'm going to get Herminia." He said before walking out from our bedroom. It didn't take long for me to get ready and made myself presentable.

Honestly? I am curious to how that woman knows that I have a degree in accounting though.

I think Miss Maya was her name and she's actually a chief financial officer. For such young woman to have such important job, I don't know what to say!

I did look up for their company's history but nothing came up since they only started 6 years ago. At first, I was reluctant but, knowing I have no job now, I can't be picky.

Who knows, maybe from this, greater things will happen in my life.

Being a mother right after I graduated from college was not in my life agenda but, after having Herminia, I never been happier. At first, I was worried that it might be hard but it's not. I'm so used to it now that everything seems to be easy from here and now.

I went to the car and noticed that Roger and our daughter were waiting for me. He seems pissed but when I entered the car, he gave our daughter to me and just drive towards the address I gave him last night.

"This is the place?! Are you sure?" I never expected it'll be this extravagant! My image of a start-up company was far from what I'm seeing right now.

"Yes, this is the address alright." I got out from the car together with Herminia.

"Here." He handed my files and certificate.

"Please, get the job." That's his word of encouragement?! What a husband he is.

"Alright Herminia, let's do this!" I could just hear Herminia's little voice encouraging me.

To my surprise, there's a lot of women coming to work together with their kids here. It's just, where is it actually? Should I just follow the workers who're with their child? Or is there a protocol to follow?

"Excuse me, Umm, I'm sorry but where is the daycare center?" I asked the receptionist.

"Hello, welcome to Clemonte Corporation. I'm sorry for asking this but, are you a client or someone who work here?" She asked.

"I'm here for an interview. Miss Maya Abbot said I can leave my child in the daycare center." She smiled.

"Oh, you're here for the interview? I'm sorry. The daycare center is on the second floor. Once you reach the second floor, go to the counter and tell them that you're here for the interview in Miss Maya's department." I thanked the receptionist and went to the elevator.

"The second floor please." The woman standing next to button smiled at me.

"First day here?" She asked.

"No, I'm here for an interview."

"Oh, for the accounting department?" I nodded. She's pretty though.

"How old is she?" She asked about Herminia.

"She's 8 months old." Seems like she's fond of children.

"I have a daughter myself. She's 2 years old. My boss likes to call her little gremlin though since my daughter likes to pour any kind of food on her head." I gasped.

"She did that to your boss?! It must be nerve wrecking." She chuckled.

"Nah, she's okay with it. My boss is a good person. By the way, my name is Luna." Luna? That's a nice name for such a beautiful woman.

"I'm Claudette." She seems surprised for a moment but gave me a smile. The elevator door opens and I thanked her for holding it for me.

"Good luck." She said before the door closes. There's a lot of nice people in this company.

"Hello." I smiled at the person behind the counter.

"Hello, welcome to the daycare center. May I help you, ma'am?" I explained to her my situation and she gladly took Herminia from my hands.

"Miss Maya mentioned your name to us earlier. Good luck with your interview ma'am." I feel bad for not paying her for taking care of Herminia though.

I wave at my daughter before going to the elevator again. I waited but then I realized something crucial. Which floor should I go for my interview?!

When the elevator door opens, a woman with twins came out and she seems like she's ready to yell at everything. I was scared but I need to know which floor though. Ugh, come on Claudette, you can do this!

"Excuse me, ma'am." The woman stopped walking towards the daycare and turned to face me.

"Yes?" She actually replied me!

"Which floor should I go for my interview with Miss Maya Abbot?" I was scared when she didn't show any facial expression.

"I was planning to meet Maya myself. Could you wait for me? I want to send my sons to the daycare first." I nodded. She gave me a small smile.

***

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!

I was worried she might be annoyed by me!

It didn't take long for her to send her sons. We waited for the elevator and when we entered, she pressed the 10th-floor button.

"I'm sure you're ready meeting with Maya correct?" She started a conversation.

"Yes, ma'am."

"You ever work in such environment before?" I nodded.

"I did ma'am. Before I was fired." That piqued her interest.

"Oh? From which corporation?" She asked.

"Monolith Group, ma'am." She suddenly laughed at my answers. Was it funny? The way I said it?

"Just so you know, Monolith Group is one of our biggest rivals. We hated each other guts. I'm sure Amber would hate it when she knows that one of her ex-worker coming here for an interview." She continued to laugh.

Wait, Amber? Did she mean Miss Amber, the current Chief Executive Officer of Monolith Group?

"By the way, my name is Rafaela. I'm the Chief Operating Officer here in Clemonte Corporation. I'll be one of your interviewers today." She gave me a smile but it soon turned into something grim when the elevator door opens.

"Good luck." She said before leaving me in front of the door. There's a lot of people in the waiting area though. They seem so distinguished! I feel small.

"Hi, I'm here for the interview." The woman behind the counter smiled at me.

"Hello, ma'am. Welcome to Clemonte Corporation. Your name please?" I told her my name and she asked for my certificates and necessary files to present later on. She asked me to wait in the waiting area until my name is called.

Seeing everyone waiting for their turn, it's making me more nervous. Some of them even practicing how to greet the interviewer.

"Hi. Nervous? I am. I can't even sleep last night." A woman greeted me.

"Yea. I have never been so nervous before. Looking at the other candidates really does make you feel small." She chuckled.

"They're actually worried about you since they saw you walking with this company's COO. Mrs. Rafaela Stockholm is quite a famous name in the business world. We all thought that you might be related to her or something." I don't even know her until today.

"No. We're not related. We just met at the daycare center on the second floor." I literally heard some of them heave a sigh in relief!

"Miss Bianca Willow." The same woman who's behind the counter called the name of the person next to me.

"Good luck." I smiled at her. She gave me a thumbs up and followed the woman from earlier towards a room.

One by one of the people waiting in the waiting area were called and some leave with confidence and there's also someone that leave with tears flowing down their cheek.

They were that harsh?! Now I want to go home!

"Mrs. Claudette Lowe. It's your turn." I heard my name being called.

"Don't be nervous. Please follow me." She smiled. I followed her towards a room where she opens the door and let me in. This is a beautiful meeting room though.

My eyes landed on two figure. One of them was the woman from earlier and the other ... was the woman who I met at the restaurant yesterday!

Let me tell you, she's not the same person she was yesterday! Oh God, she's so serious! What should I do?!

"Please have a seat." Mrs. Rafaela offered.

"Introduce yourself." Miss Maya's voice almost startled me.

"My name is Claudette Lowe. I am 25 years old. I used to go to United University and graduated with honors in accounting and finance. I am married for 5 years and I have a daughter aged 8 months."

Miss Maya looked up to me.

"I see. Here stated that you worked for Monolith Group for a year and a half before they fired you. Care to explain why they fired you?" I knew it!

Interviewers always asked that kind of question. This is how every single one of them turns me down.

"It was my own wrongdoing for trusting an intern to do a very important job. In the end, my superior decided to fire me from my job because they thought I am incompetent in making a simple decision. That intern replaced me apparently." Miss Maya's eyes widen.

"So, let me get this straight. They fired you because the intern did something unnecessary and let the intern taking your old position?" I nodded. That basically what happened.

They both suddenly laughed at me.

"We're sorry. But, it's expected from Amber though. Letting such people work in her company like that! I bet her father really proud of her for doing such thing." Miss Maya said with a laugh.

They seem to know the CEO.

"Back to business. If you were to be selected among all who came today, what will you able to give back to the company?" Mrs. Maya asked.

"I may not have enough experience but I am diligent and a hard worker. I don't mind working an extra hour and I have no problem being yell at for my mistake." No, respond at all. This is bad, really bad.

"To be honest, I am impressed with your performance in Monolith Group. This is one of the best I've seen today. Graduated with honors and letter of recommendation from your past lecturers, you must be the best student they have ... "Miss Maya dragged on.

"What do you think Claire?" Mrs. Rafaela suddenly asked someone named Claire. Who's Claire?

Suddenly, the television at the wall showed a woman looking straight at me.

"She's the best among all who came today. I like her attitude and determination. Let's hire her." Wait, what? They want to hire me?!

"Well, Claire just gave us the okay. Oh, meet Miss Claire Arcan, the CEO of Clemonte Corporation." Miss Maya introduced us.

"Welcome to Clemonte Corporation, Mrs. Claudette Lowe." The CEO welcomed me. I can't believe this! They actually hired me!

"So that makes it 4 new accountants and auditors. I can't believe we manage to find these 4 outstanding people to be part of our team." Miss Maya smiled at me.

"Your basic salary will be $6000. If you manage to do wonders, your salary will increase as well. I hope you can start by tomorrow." $6000? That's more than what I get at my old job.

"Yes! Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!" I thanked them all. This is great! I finally landed a decent job for once!

***

"How was your interview?" The babysitter asked me when I waltz in the daycare center.

"I got the job! I never knew it will go this splendidly! The top brass around here really is the best." The babysitter chuckled.

"They have their moments. I believe we get to see Herminia again tomorrow?" I nodded. Another babysitter was bringing Herminia when I remembered something crucial.

"I need to pay for the daycare service right? Do I need to pay it monthly or yearly?" I asked while taking Herminia from the person who brought her to me.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You don't have to pay for anything. The daycare service is free. It's fully funded by the chairwoman herself." For real?

"Most of the employees here are married and with a child. Sometimes it's hard for them to focus on work since they constantly thinking about their kids at home. The chairwoman establishes this center to ease their burden. We even have a team of experienced pediatric doctors and nurses available." She pointed at a room that says 'clinic'.

"The chairwoman must've love kids so much to even do this kind of things for her workers huh?" She smiled.

"From the stories I heard, she was raised in an orphanage. Another version of the story, she was abandoned somewhere around a church and the nuns found her laying around with nothing but a piece of white cloth. But, whatever the versions are, it's something to look up to when she's this successful in life." The babysitter praising her boss too much.

It's almost like she's kissing up to her.

"Oh, yea, ma'am, this Centre will open its door at 6 am and will be closed at 10 pm. Tell us in advance if your husband or the other guardians will be picking your daughter up. That way, we will know that your daughter will be pick up by the person you know." I'll make sure to remember that.

"Thank you for your time. Well, we have to go now... Umm ... Miss Eliza." She smiled.

"Please, call me Eliza. It's weird to be call miss." We both chuckled.

"Well then, just call me Claudette." We both bid our goodbyes before I texted my husband, telling him I got the job.

I was waiting for the elevator when Herminia started to make a fuss. I heard a 'ding' from the elevator and entered while apologizing to whoever's inside.

Come on Herminia, what's wrong? You were okay back then. Don't tell me you missed your new friends already.

"Do you need any help?" A voice startled me.

"No, it's fine. I'm guessing she just missed her new friends." When I looked up to the person talking to me, I was surprised. It's the woman from yesterday, the one who stopped Roger from hitting Miss Maya.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. My husband was not being himself." She gave me a small smile.

"It's fine. I was glad that I manage to stop him from hitting her. If not, he probably in deep trouble since he will be accused of hitting the daughter of a member of the parliament." She chuckled.

Say what now? My jaw dropped. Miss Maya is a minister's daughter?! Seems like Herminia think it's funny that I'm making such face.

"Don't worry. Everything is fine. By the way, how was your interview?" She asked.

"I got the job. I'll be starting tomorrow." When the elevator door open, she pressed a button and let me walked out first. I thanked her for doing so.

From just one look, people probably always mistaken her for a man since she dressed like one. But from a closer look, she does have a woman feature.

Her voice seems a bit low and it does give people the wrong idea at times. I wonder which department she's working at. I want to ask her a bit more but I don't want to pry and give her the wrong impression about me.

"Whoa!" She suddenly grabbed my shoulder. I have no idea what's going on until I heard somebody apologized to me.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I didn't see you there." I waved it off. He apologized again and continued to do his job.

"Thank you." I thanked her again.

"No problem. Do be careful now. Good day." She patted my shoulder before touching Herminia's cheek. I watched her go until she disappeared as she turned to the corner.

Damn it, why do I feel something weird whenever she's near me.

I was brought back to reality when my phone started to ring. Eh, Roger? I slide it open and read his text. This is weird, he's outside? But why? Did I ask for a ride just then? It's all so blurry.

Like the text read, my husband was waiting for me. When I entered his car, he didn't say anything but drive.

"You got the job huh?" He finally asked.

"Yes. I start tomorrow." He cleared his throat.

"What about Herminia?" He asked.

"There's a daycare center." He seems relieved but his face turned grim.

"How much will that cost us?" He was worried about that?!

"It's free for all employee." He was as shocked as I am.

"Are you serious?" I nodded my answers.

"That's good then. I was worried we have to find a nanny or a babysitter for her." I'm beginning to wonder if I marry the same man I knew in high school and in college. When did he become so fixated on how much we spent our money?!

I guess it all started right after we know that I'm pregnant I guess. He started to spent a lot of time at work rather than being with his family. Even after Herminia was born, he constantly with his calculator, calculating our daily expenses like a maniac!

Sometimes I wonder what does he do with his own salary. The last time I checked, his salary was too much for us three to even spend on. Even after we deduct from paying the bills and the house, we should have enough.

I'm curious about his doing behind my back. But, I don't know why I keep on trusting him. Was it for love? Or, was it for our daughter? Am I that afraid that she might be growing up without a father figure?