The Wrong Woman

Jasper felt flustered and hastily attempted to deflect. "I could tell something was bothering you, and I figured it might have been related to the interview."

Imogen wasn't convinced by his explanation, which seemed full of holes. She questioned, "Maybe I'm just in a bad mood from a botched interview. How do you know I didn't even attend?"

Jasper fell silent, leaving Imogen staring at him, clearly baffled. He quickly shifted gears, making his way to the kitchen. "You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? Let me whip something up for you."

"Jay," Imogen called after him.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

Jasper remained focused on cooking. "What are you in the mood for? Maybe some beef?"

"Are you really not going to explain?"

"I was just guessing."

Imogen let out a deep sigh, unsure of how to respond.

Jasper avoided addressing the question by spending the entire evening holed up in his study, deeply immersed in work, and retiring to bed late into the night.

…

The next morning, Imogen arrived at Star Enterprise's HR department as planned. She breezed through her initial interview and was hired on the spot. The straightforward process and the superficial interview seemed like mere formalities. They hired her without hesitation.

It felt surreal, like living in a dream, until she signed her employment contract with a flourish. If it weren't for Star Enterprise looming large before her, she'd find it hard to believe any of it was real, including joining the aerospace R&D department.

From the interview and onboarding to receiving her ID badge, everything was wrapped up smoothly in just a single day. It felt as though she was caught in a dream.

After finishing onboarding, instead of going straight home, Skylar led her to an adjacent, spacious building. Inside, the space was filled with mechanical displays and operational areas dedicated to the R&D department. In the R&D office, everyone was fully engrossed in their work. 

Skylar passed Imogen's information to Gerald Levingston, the director of R&D, and casually dropped a hint. "Gerald, meet our specially recruited newcomer. Please make sure she settles in well."

Gerald, a man in his 50s with thinning hair and a noticeable belly, scrutinized Imogen intently behind his thick glasses. The mention of Imogen being "specially recruited" intrigued him, pleasantly so.

He accepted Imogen's resume from Skylar's hand and studied it, initially assuming she was a highly paid expert poached from a prestigious institution by some higher-up. However, he was surprised to learn that "specially recruited" didn't mean what he had assumed. 

This "specially recruited" demanded his special attention and care.

Gerald angrily tossed the resume back to Skylar, snapping, "I don't care if she's connected to some higher-up! I won't have such a 'specially recruited' slotted into my department. We're not here to do clerical work."

Imogen's cheeks burned as the entire office turned to look at her.

Skylar whispered anxiously, "Gerald, keep it down. This isn't our call. It's out of our hands."

Gerald stood with his hands on his hips, delivering a stern and prideful reprimand. "This is R&D. Even if a company as large as Star Enterprise, assigning someone with just an associate’s degree would be considered too low, even for a receptionist!

"Who's the clueless higher-up responsible for this? Point them out, and I'll have a word with them. Even if it goes all the way up to the CEO's office, I doubt they could outmaneuver me!"

Imogen's expression darkened considerably. She struggled to understand how she had secured a role in Star Enterprise's R&D department given her educational background. She pondered which of her skills had impressed them and how she had been recruited. 

The other employees cast peculiar glances her way.

Skylar's face flushed with anger. After pulling Gerald into a quiet corner, Skylar muttered, "The clueless person you mentioned? It's Mr. Morrison. Are you planning to barge into his office and confront him?"