The Billionaire's Shy Obsession

(Ivy's Pov)

"Tell me everything," Maya's voice came from the other side of the line.

"How was your first day of job hunting?"

"OMG! It was so tiring and exhausting."

She could hear Maya chuckle on the other end.

Actually, the first one wasn't too bad, but the second? It was a total disaster.

That was quite embarrassing, Maya.

They didn't seem impressed with most of my answers.

"C'mon Ivy, you gon' be alright.

Okay, baby.

You're doing really great Ivy, thinking about it, you've come a long way since we met..."

"Let's not delve into that topic right now, Maya," she replied with a thin smile at the corner of her lips.

Ivy managed to drag herself to the bathroom, her muscles were aching from the long day. The warm water fell gently over her soft skin as she let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before snapping them open again. Her anxiety is taking the best of her.

Would she mess up again? She still felt the embarrassment from earlier .

She quickly rinsed off, shaking the thoughts away while stepping out of the shower, and wrapped herself in a towel.

Heading straight to bed, she began to stare at the ceiling, a yawn escaped her lips for the umpteenth time. Then slowly, she drifted off to sleep.

Meep, meep, meep...The alarm went off.

"Did I oversleep again?" she asked herself as she sprang up from bed. She zipped through her morning routine and got dressed, looking effortlessly graceful..

A gentle chime of a notification came in.

She smiled as she read the text:

Maya: I spoke to someone who might be of assistance. Here's the location: 580 California street. Go meet them today. You've got this, girl!

Ivy: Thanks a lot, Maya. I really appreciate this.

She stared at the pinned location for a while, heaved a sigh as she stepped into the busy street. "YOU'VE GOT THIS, IVY! She said while hailing a cab."

She checked her wrist watch immediately when she entered the building. It was 10:27. She took a seat as she waited for her turn.

After a very long wait, a man stepped out of the office. He looked like he was about to tear up. Her heart was beating so fast she felt like she would pass out any moment.

"Ivy Brown."

Her pulse quickened, and everything went blank. It felt as though the entire building was silent.

"Ivy Brown?"

She sprang up immediately. "Here!"

"You've got this Ivy, you've got this." She muttered.

She opened the glass doors, her eyes moved swiftly as she counted the number of people in the room.

"Four! Can I handle this?" she spoke aloud.

"Sorry?!" a young guy replied.

Ivy stood there, lost for words.

One of the ladies sized her up and down like she was on rags.

"Sit down," she said curtly.

She quickly sat, waiting for questions to be thrown at her as usual.

"You're beautiful," someone said.

She could feel his gaze on her from the moment she entered the room, like he was being entertained by her.

She did her best trying to avoid eye contact. But now, she quietly raised her head, which had been down throughout the time, and muttered, "Thank you," with a nervous smile.

"My name is Rosalie," she said with a smile.

"We don't bite, just be calm."

"Your credentials are good, I must commend that.

Any experiences?"

"No," Ivy answered.

"What does good customer service mean to you?" she asked again.

"Good customer service means making sure customers feel heard and valued. It entails solving problems, staying emotionally conscious, and also about creating a positive experience for them, even in small ways." Ivy answered.

They took turns asking her questions, and at the same time, she answered them all.

Alright, you can wait outside. Rosalie said.

Ivy went to sit nervously in the waiting area with the other candidates.

Minutes felt like hours. Finally, the HR manager stepped in.

"Ivy?" the manager called.

"We were really impressed with your interview. We'd like to offer you the position. Congratulations!"

Ivy froze on the spot. She could hardly believe it, after so many interviews, this one clicked.

"We'll send the details soon," the manager said and walked away.

Stepping out of the room, Ivy had mixed feelings about the job.

She was happy she got the job she had been desperately searching for, and at the same time, worried that she might not do well in keeping it because of her shyness.

I need this, she thought, her mind drifting to the stack of overdue bills waiting at home-rent, utilities, credit cards-everything was piling up.

She's always known how bad she sucked at being friendly-not because she didn't want to be, but because her shyness always got in the way.

Conversations were hard to start, even harder to maintain.

She always felt like she was searching for the right words, which mostly never came.

Now she's gotten a job that requires her to be friendly and nice to clients.

How was she going to cope with it?

Dialing Maya's number was the first thing she did immediately after she got home.

Maya squealed at the other end of the line as Ivy told her about the interview-with the hot guy who took his eyes off her, not even for a minute, that made her quite uncomfortable.

"Maya, you aren't being helpful here," Ivy's voice came out almost sobbing.

"Awwww, Ivy, you're going to be fine.

You can learn to overcome your shyness through this job, or you can work hard and get promoted to where you wouldn't need to meet many clients.

What do you think?"

"I think that's a nice idea.

But, I would have to work with this first," Ivy replied.

"Don't think you've gotten out of it this time.

I am coming over tomorrow so we can spend the weekend together before you get busy with work.

When I come, better be ready to spill everything about Mr. Handsome you met today."

"Get off my phone!" Ivy shouted at Maya as she ended the call.

It was really going to be a long weekend with Maya because she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it.

It always happened whenever Maya tried to set her up with someone. And somehow, it never worked out.

So Ivy had given up on relationships.