The Billionaire and His PA novel Chapter 15

Isabel was nothing but a filthy liar. Sulking to herself in one of the chairs at Hair Glam, that was the only thing Cassie could think about. Isabel had said that she would help her look through job ads in the privacy of her house. That was what Cassie had agreed to. She certainly hadn’t agreed to have her professional life dissected in front of the patrons and staff of Hair Glam. And the worst part was that although the ladies there had honest-to-good intentions and genuinely seemed interested in job searching on her behalf more than half of them were absolute strangers and most of their comments came out as backhanded compliments.

“Despite that absolute rubbish on your head, you’re kind of pretty.” A client with a Southern accent admitted. Her huge blonde hair was being put into delicate curls by Robin. “I mean if I squint and tilt my head to the left, you sort of look like a brunette Marilyn Monroe.” She attempted to tilt her head to the side but Robin smacked her lightly.

“Stop moving around Sharon. You’re disrupting my artistry.” Robin hissed.

Sharon stopped moving but she didn’t stop talking. “If you actually started to put in effort into not looking like a sleep-deprived homeless person, you could make a killing as a model. I know a guy.” She bragged as she brought her hand to her chest.

“Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.” Cassie declined politely through clenched teeth. If she held her false smile for a second more, her face might just remain that way for the rest of her life. She had been talking to Sharon for less than five minutes but the blonde woman had already dropped enough backhanded compliments to last Cassie the entire year. “I’m not interested in modeling jobs.”

Sharon shrugged. “Suite yourself.”

“What about working as an au pair?” Maria asked, showing the other ladies the ad she had found on her phone. She had come back to the salon to get bangs despite everyone in her life advising her against it. At least she hadn’t taken a pair of scissors to her hair by herself. That kind of move almost always ended up in regret and disaster.

Isabel looked up from arranging a stack of magazines that a group of rowdy teenage clients had previously disorganized. “What’s an au pair?” She asked.

“It’s basically a live-in babysitter, but rich people like to pretend that they were much too special to use the same words as everyone else,” Maria explained.

“No, thanks. I love kids but I already have two of my own and they are already so much of a handful.” Cassie admitted. “And besides, I’m pretty sure babysitting a bunch of rich kids is going to be a literal hell. They are usually assholes who think they can get away with anything just because their daddies have millions of dollars to their names.” She scoffed.

“You have kids?” Sharon asked, judgment evident in her tone.

“Not exactly.” Isabel started before Cassie could come up with a retort to put Sharon in her place. “They are her siblings but she takes care of them and legally they are her kids.” She explained.

“Why are you the one taking care of your siblings? Isn’t that your parents’ job?” Sharon asked.

“My parents are dead,” Cassie answered, her tone tense.

Sharon shrunk into her seat as the other ladies fixed her with disapproving glares.

“I think we’re going about this all thing wrongly,” Fern stated, putting down the broom she had been using to sweep up the mass of multicolored hair that littered the salon’s floor. “We’re just suggesting jobs to her but we don’t even know what she can do. What are your talents and educational qualifications?” Fern asked, turning to face Cassie.

Cassie sat up straighter. There was something about Fern’s tone that made her feel like she was sitting in the presence of a panel of interviewers. “I can waitress. I’ve been doing that at The Bean House for a while now. And I’ve worked in retail a couple of times; grocery stores and clothing stores mostly. But my current retail gig is at a bookstore.”

The ladies mused over her words, flipping through their magazines and scrolling through their phones as they searched for appropriate jobs for her.

“Tell them about your educational qualifications.” Isabel encouraged.

Cassie took a deep breath as all the ladies waited for her to speak. “I studied software engineering in university but…”

Both Robin and Fern fixed her with disapproving glares.

“Do you really think that we’re that horrible to let you go around looking like that without doing something about it?” Fern asked.

“We got you, girl,” Robin added. “Why do you think Isabel dragged your ass here? Once I’m done over here, I’ll move to your hair. Isabel already has a style in mind. Think of it as an early Christmas gift from us.”

“But you guys…” Cassie started to protest but was cut off by Fern.

“You better not turn down this offer.” She said as she pointed a curling iron threateningly at Cassie.

Cassie held up her hands in defeat. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.” She said, Getting a free haircut might not have seemed like much to most but it was a big deal to Cassie who greatly appreciated the offer.

Robin finished curling Sharon’s hair and started with Cassie’s. Robin started by washing and then blow-drying Cassie’s hair, complaining endlessly about the dandruff present as she did. Then she added honey highlights and cut away the split ends. Cassie tried to object to the amount of expensive-looking hair products that Robin was adding to her hair but the stylist glared at her every time she opened her mouth. When they were done, the women had compiled a list of jobs they thought she should apply to and Cassie’s hair looked healthier and fuller than it actually was. Robin had been able to turn her shaggy mop of hair into layered wavy hair. Even Sharon was thoroughly impressed.

In compliance with the instructions she had been given, Cassie applied to all of the jobs on the list and crossed her fingers for luck.

Her very first interview was on the upcoming Monday. Cassie found herself in front of an imposing skyscraper that served as the headquarters for a company called Tech Town. She had applied for a position there as a personal assistant. She straightened her skirt and smoothed the frills in her blouse.

“Well, it’s now or never.” She muttered to herself as she walked through the company’s doors.