The next day, James was faced with the responsibility of interviewing applicants for the vacancy post. It was a tiring day for him as more people turned up, unexpectedly. Well, so many people wanted to work for Charles as they all could feel the impacts of his company and they all witness the glow his employees had. They were well paid, respected, loved, cared for and even tipped when necessary. “Good day, sir.” One of the female applicants who was called in for an interview, greeted him. “Good day, miss. Let's get straight to what we're here for, right?” James said, wanting to conclude on things quickly. “Yes, we can.” She responded. “So, what can you offer this company? What difference will you make when you come into this company?” James questioned, then laid back on his chair, waiting to hear her response. “I’m Janelle Kristoff. Well, uhm… I'm very qualified. As you have looked into my credentials, you would notice I have good interpersonal skills, and I'm skilled in this line of work. The difference I'm going to make is that…” “Uhm Miss Janelle, we'll get back to you.” James cut her out. “B..but I…I haven't even answered your question.” Janelle stuttered, with her eyes moving around him like she was trying to understand what was going on. “That’s the thing. You haven't even answered my question and you've said a lot. You may have to use the exit door.” James said, now drifting his focus off her. Miss Janelle had no choice than to leave. Andrew, who had volunteered to help out a little then moved closer to James. “I think you might be looking for someone just like Vera and that's the problem. No one can be like Vera. It's either they are not as good as she is or they're better than her.” Andrew uttered, trying to make James see what exactly he was doing. He had noticed that the different people who had come here had been sent back and from what he deduced, he was looking for someone like Vera. James sighed and placed both hands on his face. “Alright. Thanks Andrew. It's an eye opener.” James appreciated Andrew for his advice.It was already time for them to stop receiving candidates and both Andrew and James rose to their feet to go out of the office. But a tall man opened the door after knocking. “Uhm… I'm sorry. Did I come in too late?” The man asked, looking at both Andrew and James. Although he was late, James had this liking for him immediately he saw him. He took interest in his confidence, aura, smile and even the perfume he used could tell a lot about him. “We can give you a chance if only you promise us that you're not going to be like the others.” James uttered, with a slight smile. The man smiled as well and walked in. “I'm just going to be myself and I hope you'll like who I am and what I can do.” “Alright then. Let's start with your name.” “I'm Van Pelt.” ~ James, Andrew and Van Pelt all came out, with smiling faces. Van Pelt was the one who won the race out of all those who wanted to get a job at the company. “It's nice to know you.” “Same here. So, you would have to resume work tomorrow as we have a lot on deck right now. I hope you understand.” James said to Van. “Yes, sure I do.” “Alright then. We will meet tomorrow.” James said, with a smile and then he left with Andrew. James headed to Charles’ office instead to give him the reports of the day. When he knocked, he got no response from Charles, so he opened the door only to see Charles staring into blank space. James sighed and dropped Van Pelt's portfolio. He stared at Charles for a while, hoping that he would notice him at least. But it was two minutes gone and Charles had not moved an inch. He could tell that it wasn't Vera's absence that was making him act this way but her messing up and even showing a bad attitude when leaving. Like anyone else, he would have felt that she changed and can no longer be a trustworthy person and that was understandable. “Once you can't prove your loyalty, it's all gone; the trust.” James thought to himself. James couldn't watch Charles get lost and deep in thoughts anymore, so he had to get him back to reality at least. “Boss.” James called out to him in a low tone as he didn't want to sound disrespectful. But then, Charles was still staring into blank space like he had something he was focusing on, on the wall. “Boss, I'm here.” James spoke out again, but it was still the same; no response. “Boss!” James raised his voice; although not too loud, but he came closer to Charles and made his voice sound sharp and bold enough to be heard. This time, Charles was snapped back to reality and the first place he looked at was where James stood. “What's… what's wrong?” Charles asked, looking a bit lost. He recalled being all alone in the office and now, Jamess was right before him. “I've been trying to get your attention since I came in, but you didn't move an inch.” James responded respectfully. Charles then let out a deep sigh, then sat up. “I'm sorry about that. How was today's interview?” Charles asked, not wanting to talk more about what he was thinking about or why he was lost in thoughts. “It went well. I was able to choose one Mr. van pelt. He seems really good, and when I say good, he'll be a good replacement for Vera, so we shouldn't have any worry when it comes to him.” James reported and Charles nodded. “Alright then, James. As I told you earlier, this is when the real work starts. I hope you're ready.”