Chapter 3 Is She Married?
One hour later, when Clara went out of the registry office with the certificate, she still felt it was unreal.
She could never see that she got married with a man in their first meeting.
Clara looked at the certificate. Their names were on it.
It was so ridiculous that she got to know her husband’s name from the certificate.
Horace. It matched with him.
When she was immersed in her thought, Horace stretched out his hand and handed her a card.
“Miss Selman, I know girls all dream of wedding, rings and stuff. I’m sorry I don’t have time to deal with it. You can go pick one for yourself.”
“It’s OK. I don’t need them.”
She was too old for romance. More importantly, though Horace was her nominal husband, she didn’t want to owe him.
“A ring is necessary.” Horace said and pressed the card in her palm.
“Alright.” Since they were “newlyweds”, she didn’t want to upset him on this trivial matter. Clara took the card.
“I have a meeting this afternoon. I can’t get you home.” Horace said coldly.
“OK.” Clara never expected that he would treat her like his wife, so she wasn’t disappointed.
“By the way, I’ll send my address to you later. You can move there whenever it’s appropriate for you.” Horace added.
“I’m not hurried.”
Clara said nervously.
She was not prepared to live together with a strange man.
Maybe it was because she seemed too averse, Horace looked at her but didn’t say anything. He pressed a button on the wheel chair. The chair turned. “I’m about to leave.”
“OK.”
Clara felt relieved when she saw Horace off in a black car.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
She immediately called the HR and made sure that the company would help her and her mother register for local healthcare. Clara was finally at ease.
Though the marriage was too hasty, she settled the problem that had long vexed her. Her mother’s medical fee was finally covered.
—
Clara worked at the GLAM magazine. Before she went to the office, she used Horace’s card to buy a pair of rings at the nearby mall.
Clara planned to read the material for the afternoon interview after she arrived at the office. But her colleague came and asked, “Clara, where did you get this ring?”
“You’ve got hawk’s eyes.” Clara wanted to cover up. But the HR had already known that she got the residence registration. After a while, probably everyone in the company would know that she got married.
“I got married.”
“Congratulations, Clara,” Her colleague looked at her rings again, “Did your husband give you this ring? The diamond isn’t very big. How much is it?”
“About three hundred dollars.”
She didn’t how much money Horace had. So she picked the cheapest and most common one.
The colleague frowned.
“Clara, come on. The ring is the symbol of marriage. You shouldn’t marry a man who is not willing to buy you a high specification ring.”
“I think it’s better to live within our means.” Clara said. The colleague gave her a compassionate look. She was probably thinking that her husband wasn’t well-off.
“Let’s move on.” Clara didn’t want to linger on this topic, so she started to talk about the preparation for the interview in the afternoon.
Today they were going to interview the boss of Solrace Corporation.
This was why all ladies in the office were dressed up today.
Solrace was a legend in Stratmont.
Solrace entered the market three year ago and soon became one of the largest companies in Stratmont. Soon it caught up with Stratmont’s three biggest family businesses.
While the boss of Solrace seemed to be more appealing than his company.
No one knew his name, appearance, nor anything for three years.
He never received interviews. When GLAM first invited him, it was also declined. But no one knew why Solrace called them again yesterday and said that he was willing to be interviewed.
Even the editor-in-chief was overwhelmed by the good news. It felts like a windfall.
Clara and other colleagues were led by the receptionists to the top floor of the Solrace Corporation.
The secretary guided them to the CEO office. He smiled and said Mr. Kirkland had been waiting for them.
Mr. Kirkland?
Clara grinned and thought of her husband.
They shared the same surname. She wondered what he did for a living.
Clara suddenly froze when she saw the man by the French windows.
Others also saw the man. They didn’t notice Clara’s behavior but cried out in a low voice. “OMG, the CEO is… is… on a wheelchair? Wow, he is so good-looking, even more handsome than the actors!”
They had neglected that he was on the wheelchair. They simply went crazy for his face.
Clara stared at the man by the window. For a moment, she felt like having been struck by thunder!