Chapter 5 Without A Degree

Abigail quietly finished the macaroni on her plate, not leaving a single bite. It had been a long time since she'd had macaroni that tasted this good.

Only the celery remained, standing out on the plate. Abigail set down her utensils, stood up, and looked at the others. "I'm done."

Bianca hurriedly reached for her plate. "You barely ate anything. Let me get you more macaroni."

"No need. I'm heading out. You all enjoy." Abigail didn't want to keep going in circles with the Gibsons. She turned around and walked off without hesitation.

"Abby, you said you'd stay at home." Bianca's voice trembled with panic, like a cry. Her chair scraped loudly against the floor as she moved.

Stephen stood up and steadied Bianca. He looked at Abigail, guilt and disapproval written in his eyes.

Abigail frowned slightly. Her hands at her sides trembled. She couldn't handle that sound. It reminded her of the three months of abuse in prison.

She fought the urge to run and lowered her gaze. Her voice was calm. "I'll come back."

With that, Abigail didn't stop again and quickly disappeared from their sight. After she left, Ralph set down his utensils.

*****

Abigail walked out the front gates of Gibson Villa and took out her phone. She opened the last message. A new one had just come in—it was an address, asking her to come in for an interview.

Abigail didn't recognize the location. Her finger paused on the screen for a few seconds. She decided to leave the villa neighborhood first.

Three years in prison had left Abigail completely out of step with the world. It took her forty minutes to walk from the villa district to the nearest bus stop.

Once she got on the bus, she realized the stop wasn't near the address. She would have to walk the rest of the way.

Abigail looked down at the street outside the window. A BMW drove by, and her gaze fixed on it.

Through the open car window, she saw that Stephen turned to speak. Sitting beside him was Daniella, smiling sweetly.

Abigail turned her eyes away without any expression. The bus announcement played as the BMW passed.

"Stevie, what are you looking at?" Daniella asked.

Stephen snapped out of it and shook his head. "Nothing." He thought he had seen Abigail on the bus.

It took Abigail two minutes to ask a passerby for directions. She kept her head down, fiddling with her phone. She knew what navigation was, but had never used it before. This was her first time.

After a bit of trial and error, Abigail managed to enter the destination. Following the map, she walked to a tall building—that was the place.

Abigail put her phone away and stepped inside. A girl at the front desk stopped her. "What are you here for? Do you have an appointment?"

"I need an appointment just to come in? I'm here for an interview." Abigail hadn't expected it to be this strict and wondered if she'd even make it in today.

The receptionist looked her up and down and said impatiently, "Why are you here for an interview in the afternoon? Elevator's over there. Third floor."

Abigail frowned slightly, thinking she should explain. But before she could speak, the receptionist looked past her and suddenly changed her tone, cheerful and eager. "Ms. Harper, you're here for work?"

Abigail glanced back, said nothing, and walked straight toward the elevator. When she reached the third floor, she sent a message: [I'm here.]

She quickly found the room with a sign on the door that said "Interview Room" and knocked.

"Come in," someone inside said.

She pushed the door open. Inside sat a man and a woman.

Both of them looked at her, seeming a little puzzled. The woman pointed at the chair across from them and asked, "You're here for the interview? Just wait a moment. The interviewer isn't here yet."

Abigail gave a small nod and sat quietly, waiting.

Not long after, the door opened again.

"Ms. Harper," said the man and woman in unison.

Abigail glanced back. It was the same beautiful woman she had seen downstairs—Director Claudia Harper.

Claudia looked annoyed. She gave Abigail a once-over and asked, "Why are you showing up for an interview at this hour?" Before Abigail could respond, Claudia questioned, "What's your major?"

Abigail frowned. Before she went to prison, she had just received her college acceptance letter. She never even got the chance to attend.

But she had already completed a full set of college coursework, including advanced projects. In terms of knowledge, she was more than qualified.

"I didn't go to college," Abigail answered.

Claudia's face fell instantly, and she snapped, "Who told you to show up for an interview without a college degree?"

Abigail opened her mouth to explain, but Claudia cut in, "This isn't some no-name company that hires people without degrees. I don't care who sent you. There are no shortcuts here. Get out."

Abigail stood up abruptly, her eyes calm and cold as they locked on Claudia. "First, a degree isn't the only proof of ability. Second, I don't think your company is a good fit for me anyway."

"You—" Claudia raised her hand, about to yell again, when the door opened once more.

The moment she saw who it was, Claudia's entire demeanor changed. Her face lit up with a smile. "Mr. Gibson, Dani, why didn't you call me? I would've come down to pick you up."

Daniella looked surprised to see Abigail. "Abby, what are you doing here? Are you here for the interview? But the minimum requirement is a master's degree, and you've never even been to college."

As she spoke, her eyes shifted, and she bit her lip. "Stevie, Abby doesn't meet the qualifications. Maybe I should give up my spot for her instead."

Chapter 6 The Interview

"No need," came the man's deep, indifferent voice.

Just before the call ended, Jeremiah heard him add, "She'll figure it out."

*****

"Ms. Gibson?" Jeremiah rushed out just in time to catch Abigail before she left the building. "Ms. Gibson, one moment, please."

His eyes quietly scanned her. 'So this is the woman who made our usually distant CEO pull strings behind the scenes. She really is beautiful—but that aura of hers is cold as ice,' he thought.

Jeremiah kept the thought to himself and showed nothing on his face.

Abigail looked at the clearly forced smile on his face, a trace of confusion in her expression. "Did you need something from me?"

"Actually, I have a position that I think would be a great fit for you, Ms. Gibson. Would you be interested in giving it a try?" Jeremiah didn't waste time, getting straight to the point.

Something flickered in Abigail's eyes as her gaze settled on his face. For some reason, he actually felt a hint of pressure.

"Why me?" Abigail asked. As her cool, indifferent voice rang out, the pressure instantly vanished.

Jeremiah's eyes narrowed slightly in thought, but he kept his smile polite. "Ms. Gibson, no need to overthink it. The reason it's you is simply because someone gave the order."

Abigail was silent for a few seconds. She really did need a job—after she visited Wyatt, she'd have to leave the Gibson family for good.

"All right," she said.

Jeremiah had completed his task. He gestured politely with a smile. "Ms. Gibson, this way please."

*****

By the time Abigail walked out of the company, the sun was already setting. She strolled slowly toward the bus stop, taking in the deep crimson glow along the horizon.

But after waiting at the stop for half an hour, she finally realized—the buses had probably stopped running.

She glanced at the time. It was already seven. Abigail vaguely remembered the route back to Gibson Villa. Since she had promised to return, she wasn't about to go back on her word. She still hadn't seen Wyatt.

At eight o'clock, at the dining table in Gibson Villa, Stephen sat with an increasingly sour expression, staring at the empty chair. "Mom, let's stop waiting," he said.

"No," Bianca replied firmly. Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, "Abby will come back. She promised me she'd stay here."

"Then she needs to start treating this place like home. Mom, if she's still not back by now, it's obvious she never planned to come back. She's just tricking us." Stephen was fuming, his face twisted with rage, feeling completely duped.

"Stevie, maybe Abby's not coming back because of the job. It's all my fault. I should've given the opportunity to her. Abby must be mad at me." Daniella's voice trembled as she spoke, ending with a choked sob.